Back to Thinking About an Ancient Egypt Campaign

 I've been stewing on this for close to two years now, but I have a surprising ally in my slow-burning quest to eventually start some archaic old-world gaming set in as close to a historical setting as I can possibly manage, with the first planned campaign arc to take place in ancient Egypt. That ally would be my son! He became quite interested in Egypt after playing Assassin's Creed: Origins which, despite being a single player game, he and I played borderline competitively just to see who could level up the fastest and do the most quests. Say what you will about video games, but the level of authenticity that Ubisoft put into trying to make a fun but also reasonably informative historical setting out of late Ptolemaic Egypt really caught my son's attention, and he has proceeded to move beyond just the game, reading books and pursuing questions. We even let him play in our ongoing Call of Cthulhu Delta Green campaign not long ago, in which he played an expat marine named Bayek who had retired from the rough life in Cairo, and who secretly heard voices in his head from Anubis. 

This is a short way of saying that I see two opportunities here: one is to spring an Egypt campaign on my group that is legitimately aimed at close historical authenticity (but likely at times with supernatural elements because those are always fun), with at least one player (Marcus) as an advocate. The secondary opportunity is it lets me run historical games which can (hah! surprise!) impart more history lessons disguised as actual good old fun. Sneaky!

The trick is determining what game system to use. I have a number of systems which could get the job done, but with the caveat that the system needs to skew close to realism as a baseline (so supernatural elements may exist, but the characters are going to have the veneer of historical verisimilitude as the goal). Want to play an Egyptian warrior loyal to his Pharaoh who thwarts assassination attempts while secretly believing he communes with Anubis or Sobek in his dreams? Sure! Want to play Anubis, or a Set-beast or something weird like that? Nope, not the goal here. 

The best book I have found so far, outside of simply doing my own research, is GURPS Egypt. It's got that "surprising amount of information packed into a short book" GURPS quality that was so amazing with GURPS 3rd edition era resources from the 90's. It's only downside is its statted for 3rd ediiton, which is no big deal for a GURPS Fan to translate to 4th edition, but a bit of a headache explaining to GURPS noobs. Indeed, the single biggest hurtle I can see if that I think a lot of players feel GURPS is a tough system to master not because of its complexity (it's really not that complex) but because of its freedom of choice in design....the decision paralysis can be thick.

So some alternatives include the BRP family of games, including but not limited to Call of Cthulhu 7E with the archaic era guidelines turned on; the BRP Gold Book; the Mythras rules (arguably quite suited to this, but requiring me to think hard about the combat system which I have issues with) and Open Quest 3, which I am leaning towards right now. I am evaluating how easy it would be to modify OQ3 to work. 

Of the BRP games above, I'd probably eliminate Mythras (the combat is too simulationist for the group  I am aiming at). It does have a great module (Temple of Set) which could be adapted to an Egyptian setting, maybe. 

BRP could work fine, but Open Quest 3 is a more streamlined and easier to use edition of the system, and I've been itching for an excuse to use it anyway. But if I went with a period-set Call of Cthulhu (maybe sans Cthulhu stuff, maybe not) I know that everyone would handle that variation of the system just fine.

Other systems include True20, which recently returned to print as a POD product. I like it, but the key issue is (similar to GURPS) getting buy-in and then getting everyone up to speed. It's not really that complex a system, either, and may be an easier sell. Does it have enough support material to make adapting it to a quasi-historical Egyptian setting work? I think so.

Cypher System is a fine generic system but its also inherently suited to gonzo/creative endeavors. Yes, historical setting are discussed in Cypher, but I think it would be doing the system a disservice to run something aiming for a baseline of realistic and low-key with an emphasis on historical accuracy. If I were going to run something in which everyone, for a random example, played actual Egyptian demigods or something then I think Cypher would be extremely well suited to such a game. Maybe in the near future!

I thought about D&D/Pathfinder for a bit. Unfortunately the current iterations of both Pathfinder and D&D are really hardwired to the D&Disms of their default/implied settings, so the result would be "D&D or Pathfinder, but with a shiny veneer of Egypt." I've technically been running that for two years now with Pathfinder at least in my Egyptian/Roman Republic inspired Oman'Hakat campaign. D&D style changes the feel, and as a good example of the extremes one might go through just to make it work I would showcase the old Historical Reference books TSR published for AD&D back in the day, or the many third party products that came out for D&D 3.5. 

Indeed, there are several Egyptian sourcebooks for D&D (and both Pathfinder and Castles & Crusades) out there, but all of them are distinctly "D&D fantasy, with Egyptian style" rather than more authentic historical treatments. That said, these tomes might have some useful content. Codex Egyptium for C&C has an interesting take on Egypt, and is mostly aimed at a historical representation laden with a heavy treatise on many, many gods. That alone is useful, though I wish the book provided a bibliography of the resources used by the author, which makes it difficult for me to do more research and reconcile variances in this book with other research I have done.

Likewise, the two main Egyptian themed books I have access to that bear mentioning is Necromancer Games' Necropolis (the 3.5 edition; the 5E Kickstarted edition appears to be in shipping hell right now); and the Hamunaptra boxed set from Green Ronin. Both are decidedly "D&D fantasy, now with more Egyptian stuff"...think "Like going to Egypt, but you visit the Luxor Casino instead" type stuff, but the actual adventures and content can be mined for some ideas.

The best overall resource remains GURPS Egypt, though, along with GURPS Places of Mystery and GURPS Low-Tech. Those are likely the only three game-related books I need at the table along with my library of actual books of Egyptian Archaeology, magic and warfare.

So....for the moment, I think I have to decide on using Open Quest 3, True20, or GURPS as the best overall choices. I think if I take some time to prep the 3rd edition GURPS content for 4th edition templates it will help, a lot. But...Open Quest 3 looks to provide a sound experience, and is easily quite familiar to the group. True20 less so, but I think once people see how it works and how character generation flows it will prove quite easy. 

The big decider will probably be, "which of these games have the best character sheet setup in Roll20" though. I guess I should look there first!

UPDATE: Roll20 has  GURPS character sheet, which looks overly complete and scary, especially for largely new players. If I go that route, I may need to make an opening game that is a shorter introduction and do some pregens. True20 has representation, which is good. Open Quest 3, much to my disappointment, does not have a character sheet on Roll20, though. 

Despite what I said above, I may peruse the "historical" stuff in Cypher a bit more, and think about it. I should not dismiss Cypher out of hand just because the goal is "historical realism." Stay tuned....

Isomular: Locust Men!

And with the Locustoids my Isomular Month ends. Perhaps someday in the future I will get a chance to design some more material for it should inspiration hit...or even get to at last run a campaign in this setting! Who knows...

Locustoids (Locust Men)


Type: 2nd level Monstrous Humanoid Expert

Size: Small

Speed: 20 ft, 40 ft Jumping

Str  Dex Con Int Wis Cha
0      +4     -1    0    0    +1

Skills: Notice +4, Stealth +13

Feats: Double Strike

Traits: Armored Carapace +3 Toughness, Darkvision 60’, Amazing Jump ability

Combat: Attack +6, Damage +1 (claws) or weapon (usually swords +2 damage), Defense +16, Grapple +2, Initiative +4

Saves: Tough Fort Ref Will
              +2     -1    +7   +3

Jumping: Locustoids can move by jumping with their powerful hind legs. They are built for landing, and do not sustain damage from a controlled fall of 100 feet in height or less.

Short creatures of about 3 feet in height, locustoids look much like their name (chosen by men long ago) suggests: short, humanoid locust men, with two strong hopping legs and four lean but armored arms, the locustoids lack the ability to do much damage with their limbs, but they become pretty good swordsmen in short order.

Locustoids are fairly intelligence pests, once the throw-away race of the Isomular empire, now a strange mixture of menace and cheap labor. Locustoids breed like flies, literally, and if a Hive queen of the locustoids sets up shop in the area, they can multiply in to the thousands in short order. After enough of them crop up, they start getting grand visions of conquering the world, which is only made impossible by their thorough lack of loyalty to anything save themselves and their queen.

Locustoids which have been neutered so as not to be able to breed (male locustoids are necessary for the queen’s eggs to be fertilized) and female locustoids which have been “snipped” so that they cannot ever transmogrify one day in to a locustoid queen are considered perfectly decent creatures to live with. Most human lands either tolerate them as cheap labor or enforce laws enslaving them. In the wilds, locustoids that are not regulated can quickly get out of hand, and some entire cities have been overwhelmed by enraged locustoids searching for food for their queen.

When not under thrall to a queen, the locustoids are pretty agreeable, friendly folk who often dominate social scenes and take on rapacious, insatiable appetites for entertaining and being entertained. They are also known for their thievery, and some make excellent scouts. Locustoids almost always wear some mark to show that they have been “fixed” so that they are never mistaken for wild locustoids.




Locustoid Queen

Type: 10th level Monstrous Humanoid Adept

Size: Huge

Speed: 20 ft

Str Dex Con Int Wis Cha
+6    -2   +4   +4   +1   +5

Skills: Notice +4

Feats: Double Strike, Diehard, Improved Grab, Improved Pin,

Traits: Armored Carapace +3 Toughness, Darkvision 60’, Trample

Combat: Attack +3, Damage +3 (claws) or +5 (trample), Defense +13, Grapple +7, Initiative -2

Saves: Tough Fort Ref Will
            +11   +11  +5   +8

Powers: Each queen has a unique set of powers, of one or two particular foci. Choose 6 powers of Power Rank 13; Save DC 15

The enormous 25 foot long queen of the wild locustoids is an immense, bloated version of her tiny children. She can lay hundreds of eggs a day, and the males can busily fertilize the eggs, which will in about six weeks hatch to create a veritable army of locustoids. The ravenous young need food, which the elders bring to them. Given that locustoids only need about three months to reach full maturity (3 feet tall), it doesn’t take long for a queen to generate a ravenous army of loyal kin.

Most queens live delusional states of fantasy. They are always transmogrified females, which undergo a process wherein a chemical is released in to their body sometime after their fifth year of life (occasionally later). They enter a chrysalis like state and emerge three weeks later as a young queen. After another few weeks, they have eaten enough to gain the mass necessary to begin producing eggs. The queen looks essentially like an enormously bloated version of a normal locustoid.

Most females intentionally cut out the chemical sack which activates their chrysalis stage, but a handful embraces it, seeking to flee in to the wild to become new queens.

Isomular: Octogashi, the Octopus Men

Octogashi (Octopus Men)


Type: 6th level Monstrous Humanoid Adept

Size: Medium

Speed: 30 ft, 40ft swimming

Str Dex Con Int Wis Cha
+2   +4   +2   +2   +2   0

Skills: Escape Artist +8, Notice +7, Survival +6, Stealth +8, Swim +14

Feats: Chokehold, Grappling Finesse, Improved Pin

Traits: Darkvision 60’

Combat: Attack +10, Damage +3 (tentacles), Defense +14, Grapple +8, Initiative +0

Saves: Tough Fort Ref Will
              +2     +2    +4    +5

Powers: Water Shaping (Int), Body Control (Wis), Drain Vitality (Wis), Mind Touch (Cha), Pain (Cha), Power Rank 9; Save DC 13

Swimming: +8 racial bonus to swimming

The octogashi appear to be tall, almost creatures with thick legs and a bulging torso. These parts are almost humanoid, except for the head, which is replaced by the body and tentacles of an octopus. The body and head are fused, such that there is no neck and a fair portion of the torso and octopoid component are one and the same. Moreover, the torso has no arms, instead relying entirely on the mass of tentacles to provide manipulative appendages.

Octogashi are a very mysterious race of the aquatic depths, and appear to be venomously hateful of the surface dwellers of Isomular. They worship a strange demon god that they call Ith’quill and will often force other aquatic beings to worship this god. The octogashi are fond of raiding the surface world for possible slaves and general mayhem. They have a unique creature which they breed, called the Chargash Mussel, a sea creature that, when placed along the skin of a human’s throat will bond like a parasite to that person. It simultaneously replaces their own breathing mechanisms, converting water in to breathable filtered oxygen for the land-dwelling host, but that person will not suffocate in open air without a very radical surgery (DC28 Medicine check with surgical tools to succeed) to remove the parasite.

Isomular: Scorponids

Scorponids (Scorpotaurs)


Type: 5th level Monstrous Humanoid Warrior

Size: Large

Speed: 30 ft

Str Dex Con Int Wis Cha
+6     0    +2   0    +1    0

Skills: Notice +7, Survival +7

Feats: Improved Critical (Claws 19-20/+3), All Out Attack

Traits: Armored Carapace +3 Toughness, Darkvision 60’, Double Strike (both pincer claws)

Combat: Attack +4, Damage +9 (pincer claws), Defense +14, Grapple +8, Initiative +0

Saves: Tough Fort Ref Will
              +7      +3   +4   +5

These enormous predators are tall, scorpion-like creatures averaging 10-15 feet in length and about 8 feet in height. They are vaguely centauroid, as where a normal scorpion’s head be there is instead an armored torso from which a multi-eyed head, mandibles, and two large pincers on carpaced arms extend.

Scorponids are one of the more fearsome predatory sapient races of Isomular. The Scorponids were once a warrior-thrall caste in the old Isomular empire, said to have been enhanced in intelligence and prowess by alchemical processes. Since the collapse of the Isomular empire and the rise of humans, the Scorponids have been cut free, and those which survived the old wars now wander in large tribes, ravaging the region in to which they seek to settle.

Scorponids have a callous disregard for most human races, but they are strangely in awe of the Isomular, with some scorponids reacting in fear or anger upon encountering their old slave masters. Curiously, scorponids love the myrmidons, and it is not unknown for one or more scorponids to take up guard as protectors of the myrmidons, who they recognize as another slave species freed from Isomulii rule. These scorponids will usually defend the myrmidon families they protect with their life.

Isomular: The Vile Worm

Before I gave up on this campaign, I designed several monsters for it. Actually, a key reason I gave up was the monumental task of monster design, which in D20 3.X era systems is a laborious pain for the time-challenged (plus I just found it tedious and uninteresting). Anyway, no reason to let the ones I did finish go to waste, so first off we have....

The Vile Worm


Type: 20th level Adept Aberration

Size: Colossal (Reach 15’)

Speed: 30 ft, 40 ft burrowing (both earth and stone)

Str   Dex Con Int Wis Cha
+12   +2   +8    0   +4    0

Skills: Notice +14, Search +10, Survival +14, Intimidate +18

Feats: Great Fortitude, Endurance, Run, Track, Diehard, Stunning Attack, Improved Grab, Trample, Tireless

Traits: darkvision 60’, Blindsense, Swallow Whole, Frightful Presence (DC 20)

Combat: Attack +4, Damage +15 (bite), Defense +14 (dodge), Grapple +20, Damage +15 (Swallow), Initiative +2

Saves: Tough Fort Ref Will
             +16  +16  +8  +10

Powers: Variable, but usually all of the Empathy Focus powers (cha), plus Blink (Wis); Power Rank 23; Save DC 20

Vile worms look like immense, heavily carapaced earthworms, with large sucker-like maws and a ring of glimmering eye-like growths along the first several feet of their head region. The worms are lean, usually about 5-10 feet in diameter but are upwards of 150 feet in length.

Dwelling in the deep wastelands of the largest deserts of the Whispering Kingdoms, the Vile Worm is a ferocious species which has terrorized many communities in its time. There are only known to be a few of these immense creatures, and a handful of ascetics have formed a dedicated cult (The Followers of the Worm), following these enigmatic beasts around, seeking to learn the ways of their kind. The known psionic power of these ancient beings makes them especially fascinating to their followers, who believe the worms are actually an ancient, enlightened race, possibly the first progenitor race of Isomular.

Vile worms are usually encountered as solitary creatures, although they often have a flock of dedicated pilgrims following them. On rare occasions they will encounter another of their kind, at which time the worms will usually go in to a curiosu trance as they seem to communicate with one another telepathically. On very rare occasions (once every hundred years) a few dozen of the creatures will converge in one location for some sort of enigmatic gathering. This can be problematic if they choose an inhabited region.

Isomular: Monstrosities

Introducing new Creatures to Isomular


When deciding to include a new creature in Isomular, consider the following: fey creatures, most outsiders, and many magical beasts and aberrations with non-psionic magic effects should be excluded. Any beast which has an effect that can be psionically duplicated, as well as any beast which is sufficiently exotic and alien (reptilian, insectoid, or just weirdly alien) will probably work. Humanoids should be excluded, as the only hominids on Isomular are those who arrived on the Coral Ark (the true humans, transgenics, and mutations). If a humanoid does look like it could be a previously undiscovered or forgotten mutation or transgenic species, then feel free to work it in. The key idea here is to preserve the sense of the alien an exotic about Isomular, and to stay as far away as possible from elves, dwarves, orcs and other classic trappings of fantasy. Some beings can have names derived from fantastic elements, but also bear in mind that much of the ancient lore of earth was lost to the men of the Coral Ark even before they left Earth. Notions of medieval magic did not exist for the founders of the modern Isomular cultures, and so they have never been prone to identifying such notions of fanaticism with their strange world and psionic powers.

One good trick you can always use to borrow a monster for Isomular is simple: make it insectoid or reptilian. The planet’s native flora and fauna are dominated by these two types of life, and making almost any species one or the other will allow it to “fit in.” Ogres, for example, could be revised as Great Lizard Men, hulking two-legged brutes that are giant kin to the Kamodons.

Creature Types of Isomular

Alien: The creature is of alien origin, not native to Isomular, but not necessarily an Astral visitor. Such beings may also have traveled to Isomular from space.

Annunaki: The creature is or has been known to work for the enigmatic Annunaki. It is eminently hostile to humanity and all other beings.

Architect: The creature is a disciple and creation of the Architect and appears at his behest.

Construct: The creature is created through the old clockwork technology of the Isomulii, the animating forces of a psionicist, or is a remnant of the ancient apocalyptic civilizations of a million years ago. Some undead (skeletons) are really psychic constructs.

Exotic: The creature is exotic, and does not seem to fit the normal ecosystem, but is also not obviously a visitor from another realm. Such beings may be remnants of older ecosystems destroyed, or products of genetic or psionic experimentation.

Insectoid: The being is part of the insectoid kingdom of animals on Isomular, and is usually a native animal.

Mechanoid: The creature is mechanical, or robotic. It is usually a relic of a forgotten age, or a product of the Architect (a survivor of the Coral Ark).

Native: The creature is a native of Isomular.

Reptilian: The creature belongs to the animal kingdom of the reptilians, and is likely a native to Isomular.

Subterranean: The creature belongs to the strange ecosystem of the subterranean realms of Isomular.

Terran: The creature is part of the transplanted life created by the Architect when man was brought to Isomular. Many creatures from Terra were recreated, though there are many more that did not survive the times during which the native and imported ecosystems fought for cohabitation. Animals which were most useful to man, or most self-subsistent and quick-breeding did best (dogs, rabbits, etc.)

Undead: The disembodied spirits of psychic energy which linger in the astral or return to animate their corpses. These are psionic undead, and all magic traits are changed to psionic traits.

Isomular: Ecology

The Ecology of Isomular


Isomular is a world with a diversity of strange ecologies. The Isomulii and other insectoid species reflect the most ancient of the ecological niches in the long history of this world, but there are a number of strange, reptilian species which are part of a more contemporary stretch of Isomular evolution, as well. Some Eldaran who are privy to the ancient lore suspect that the reptilians and amphibians of Isomular are part of a transplanted ecology, just like the Terran ecology created by the Architect.

When humans arrived, the machines of the Architect began to convert local materials in to a newly created ecosystem derived from Old Terra. The result was a fairly balanced ecology which immediately sought to insert itself in to Isomular’s own rough, predator-heavy ecology. The smaller mammals and beasts of man were better at avoiding predation, and were quick to spread. The result was a devastating shift in Isomular’s newly blended ecosystem, with a sudden dominance of the transplanted mammals. Many native herbivorous species on Isomular died out as small species such as rabbits, rodents, and birds fought for resources. The new species were cultivated by the Arechitect to be compatible with their new environment, even as the region was also seeded with Terran flora to further advance the terraforming process.

After nearly two-thousand years, few scholars can speak much of what the pre-Terran ecology was like. Isomular is now a blended ecosystem, with a strange balance between the insectoid, reptilian, and mammalian groups throughout the land. Some native beasts have still done well, such as Ankhegs, which are caught as young and raised as beasts of war and burden by both men and Isomulii. Likewise, horses and ponies are prized by both men and myrmidons, as well as other sentient species. A few strange niches have kept to their own. Except for the invasion of the mutated grimlocks, a human variant which survived the great journey of the Coral Ark in the deepest bowels of the vessel as beings hideously mutated by cosmic radiaton leeching through he Ark’s protective armor, most of the underground caverns and subterranean ruins of old still harbor a unique ecosystem unsullied by the presence of Terran lifeforms.

The following is a list of Isomular’s native life, as well as a short list of creatures which manifest that have a clear extraplanar origin, deriving from the Astral Realm. These beings from the astral definitely manifest from other dimensional planes and worlds, and some may even be beings from other civilizations on distant worlds which have discovered the secrets of planar gate travel.

When deciding if you want to use an existing creature for an Isomular campaign, consider that some beings which are of the “magical” type have that changed to the “psionic” type instead, and their special abilities are redefined as psionic abilities. This will mostly prove relevant in a cross-worlds campaign, in which real magic users appear in Isomular. Otherwise, assume all powers are psionic in nature.

Sentient, intelligent species are also note so as to provide a basis for those beings which are tribal, engage in civilization, trade, warfare, and communication. Some of these species are sentient, but due to numbers and interest are extremely isolated, but they are included anyway.

Special types of undead are found on Isomular. The undead are psionic manifestations, beings created when a strong psionic mind dies and retains an impression in the psionic energy which permeates the quantum strata of creation. Undead which are appropriate are listed below, and include both corporeal beings animated by a potent psionic presence (a possessing poltergeist) or incorporeal beings which have found a new level of existence in the Astral (a ghost of spirit). The understanding of psionic energy as a binding force of the universe has led psionic practitioners to identify death with transcendence in to deeper understanding of the universe. The afterlife, if it can be seen as such, is thought of as a form of ascension to an immaterial state, in which one joins with the forces of creation. Reincarnation is the return of that soul if it has not learned enough in its mortal journey, to be reborn as a new life. Undead appear when these spirits are unwilling to ascend or be reborn. A strange, reverse form of undead are called the soulless, mortal beings born without souls or psionic ability. These entities are anathema to psionicists, for they are immune to the powers of the mind and can never manifest such abilities, either. The soulless are strange, driven beings, and often outcast in some societies for their nature as anathema (see more on the feat which can be chosen to reflect a soulless character).

The Unbodied are psionic beings which have made and recalled the transition from death to psionic formlessness, and have learned to control this process to the point that they leave their mortal forms behind. Such beings are technically considered undead according to the description above, but they are also much, much more.

As a rule, any undead which is manifested through its own willpower, hatred, or other strong need or emotion is pemitted and considered a viable psionic entity. Undead which can only manifest through magical means or divine means do not exist on Isomular (mummies and skeletons, for example). A few corporal undead, such as ghouls and ghasts, do exist and are classified as undead by most advernturers, but are in fact human off-shoots who suffer from a terrible mutant disease that forces them to live lives as beast-like cannibals. Such undead are classified as “mutations.”

There are a great many different Terran-analog species among the insectoid fauna. Giant and varied sizes of scorpion, centipede, spider and other insects exist, though they are not biologically the same creatures as their Terran counterparts. Most of the human names for these things stem from their own titles, but the native Isomular name will be listed for such creatures in parentheses. These beings, while superficially similar to earth insects, have some startling differences, including stronger shells, larger brains and fully developed lungs with large mouths that extend proboscides for feeding along with mandibles of all sizes.

A small number of the creatures below are classified as “alien.” These beings are not native to Isomular, and clearly do not belong, but if they arrived by space or by the Astral realm, no one can say. Such beings are usually inimical to other life, have strange or unfathomable purposes and natures, and are often opposed to the Annunaki as well as humans and other native beings.

Isomular: More on Technology

Technology on Isomular

There are two sources of ancient technology on Isomular. The Isomulii created many wondrous clockwork items, and their ancient civilization was harnessing steam power when it was shattered in rebellion. The distant apocalyptic society that once existed on Isomular was very high-tech, and while almost nothing of this civilization remains, occasionally a very unusual artifact will surface.


In contrast, the Coral Ark brought with it both men and technology, and while the long voyage of the ark had left much of its wondrous technology exhausted and damaged, enough artifacts survived to make a measurable impact on the future of man.

These artifacts were built to last, and certain small, dedicated orders (especially among the Engineers and the Eldaran) have taught the rituals of maintenance, to insure that these fabulous items are not lost to disrepair and damage. Some of these items include the lightning and fire guns, the war helms, and the communicators. A few air skiffs still survive, held in jealous possession by the noble families of Zymvaj and Kalashtam. There are even a few of the ancient mechanoids, tirelessly serving the needs of the Architect and the Coral Ark out in the Whispering Ocean.

Essentially, almost any old world and science fiction technology described in True20 can have an interesting place in Isomular if the GM wants it to.

Isomular: New feats for True20

New Feats in Isomular


There are a number of new feats which characters of Isomular may take. Among these feats, all characters should have the option of choosing the Hidden Talent feat at 1st level in the EPH (pg. 66). Some feats are unavailable in Isomular, such as all spell enhancement metamagic feats and item creation feats. All of the psionic feats in the EPH are available. Additional feats available include:

Adapted

The harsh ecosystem of Isomular is not too friendly to the human races which settled here. Some humans have developed a good resistance to the local flora and fauna, such that they can eat and partake of plants most people find barely digestible. These people can also resist poisons and toxins in the native environment better.

Prerequisite: 1st level only

Effect: You get a +4 Fortitude save when exposed to poisons and toxins from a native-born plant or animal. You may also get a +4 modifier to your Survival skill rolls to forage for edible food from the native wildlife, as your range of options is somewhat wider than normal. This does not apply to other characters unless they also are Adapted.

Psychic Linguist

You are unusually well-versed in the strange languages of Isomular, even the insectoid ones which are unpronounceable and sometimes incomprehensible to most humans.

The insectoid languages of Isomular all have an ancient, common root and all insectoid species of intelligence derive their language from the same root source. As such, the nature of these languages is similar enough for a wisened linguist to grasp as a spectrum. Similarly, the simplistic languages of the reptilian species are also, apparently, derived from a common source and work much the same way.

Effect: Your keen ear and psychic propensity for the strange languages of the myrmidons, Isomulii, lizardfolk and other species lets you make an Intelligence check at DC 15 whenever communicating with these beings to grasp what they are saying, even if you do not know their languages as skills. You may apply this to any species’ language you encounter, even if it is for the first time. You may also attempt to communicate back, making a DC 20 Intelligence check to try and replicate the strange clicks, whirrs, and hoots of the language to make a basic point known. You won’t be quoting Shakespear, but you will be able to get ideas like, “Don’t kill me,” and “I’ll give gold for food,” across.

Past Lives

You are an old soul, and you have probably reincarnated many, many times. As such, you seem to have a unique grasp on the world around you, and sometimes can relate your current events to spontaneous memories from prior lives. These memories are sudden and usually disconnected. Occasionally, they are older than man’s time on Isomular.

Prerequisite: Wis 15+, psionic abilities

Effect: You may periodically ask to make a Wisdom check against a variable DC to see if a given situation awakens a past-life memory. You may do this a number of times per game session equal to your Wisdom modifier.

Past Lives DC Results:

DC 10< A fun, odd, or otherwise interesting but useless memory of a past life, not relevant at all.

DC 10-14 A vague memory, with some allegorical or suggestive reference to the present quandary.

DC 15-19 A useful memory that provides a +1 circumstance modifier to the current problem.

DC 20-24 A distinct memory that offers a +2 circumstance modifier and some insight.

DC 25+ A vivid memory, which allows the PC to take 10 on the situation even if he normally couldn’t, or a +4 circumstance modifier, whichever is better.


Soulless

You are born without psionic ability, and are described by the cosmology of the psionicists as a being without a soul. You can never manifest psionic ability, and are remarkably resistant to psionic effects.

The philosophy of the psionic colleges and monasteries says that all beings seek true enlightenment in the fabric of the universe, but that until they achieve this goal, they will eventually wander back to the mortal plane to reincarnate. Some children are born that do not have a reincarnated soul, secular vessels which, while biologically alive, are not gifted with the psionic essence of the universe.

Prerequisites: No adept powers at all.

Effect: You can never manifest psionic powers, and can never learn any powers or take levels in the Adept role. Instead you receive a few unique resistances: First, you can never be contacted using the Mind Touch power. Second, you gain a Psionic Resistance score equal to 10 plus your Intelligence modifier. This value increases as your character’s level advances. The trade-off, of course, is that this resistance value is always on, and will work against beneficial psionic effects as well as hostile psionics. The Psi Resistance works like this: any time a power is used that would affect you directly, you must make a Psi Resistance check by rolling 1D20. If your score is equal to or less than your Psi Resistance score, the power fails against you, automatically. If you roll higher than your score, then the power’s normal process continues (including any subsequent saves and effects) as normal.

Isomular: Racial Backgrounds

Source

Racial Backgrounds of Isomular


Humans are the only core book race to be found in Isomular. The following races are also permitted as player characters:

Bael

Bael are physiologically similar to human beings, but have black skin and large, grey orbs for eyes, as well as mere slits for a nose and ears. The spine and back of their arms, legs and neck have smooth but ridged spinal outgrowths, a sort of exoskeletal carapace that serves to reinforce their musculature and makes them more resistant to damage from broken bones or nerve injury.

Nonetheless, the smooth and graceful features of the Bael have often been found attractive to some humans, and some humans have Bael heritage, as well. Bael tend to remain isolated from humans in communities, but as a species they have lived in the presence of humans so long now that it feels natural, even if they keep their own community tightly entwined within the larger human cultures they find themselves nestled in.

• Ability Adjustments: Con +1, Cha -1

• Bonus Feats: Iron Will, Night Vision, Natural Armor +1 AB

• Favored Feats: Tireless and Body Control

• Physical Data: 5’6”-6’6” feet tall on average; 150-250 lbs; Age: Bael can live 200+ years.

Eldaram

Eldaram are ancient controllers, once the humans who had engineered the great exodus of the Ark and later the humans who became the psychic controllers and manipulative agents of the secret priesthood dedicated to the Coral Ark’s location off the coast of the continent. The Eldaram are firmly entrenched in society as keepers of lore, historians, advisors, and voices of the ancient power that is the Coral Ark.

Eldaram are physically identical to humans, but their brains have changed, and all Eldaram are inherently psychic. Even the least potent of the Eldaram know at least one technique or skill in psionics worth mentioning. Additionally, although they look human, they radiate a presence that belies their human nature, and makes it difficult for Eldaram to disguise themselves as anything else.

• Ability Adjustments: +1 to either Cha, Int or Wis (player choice) and -1 Str

• Bonus Feats: One power of player’s choice. Eldaram also have a Psychic Aura, which makes it difficult to avoid detection. This aura acts as a -2 penalty against stealth and any effort to avoid being seen, felt, heard, or psychically revealed.

• Favored Feats: Any two powers

• Physical Data: 5-6/6” feet tall on average; 125-250 lbs; Age: most live to 70-80 years old.

Empathics

The descendants of the socialites, the social controllers and charismatic personalities of the Coral Ark, Empathics have evolved today into strange, semi angelic beings who have an overwhelming impact on humans and other creatures around them. Empathics appear as graceful, slender humans with an almost radiant glow about them. They have a naturally calming effect if they so desire.

Empathics are valued in the courts of kings as advisors and diplomats. They are popular as entertainers and thespians, able to bring crowds to literal tears of joy or fear with mere thoughts. Some lands fear and hunt Empathics for their reputation as manipulators.

• Ability Adjustments: Cha +1 and Con -1

• Bonus Feats: One power from the Empath Focus group of choice (most Empathics have calm). Empath Adepts must choose the Empath Focus. Empaths also gain the Talented feat (Diplomacy and Bluff) and the Fascinate feat.

• Favored Feats: Any two Empathic Focus powers.

• Physical Data: 5-6 feet tall on average; 120-200 lbs; Age: most live to 70-80 years old.

Engineers

The stout, muscular engineers are strong, resilient, and very efficient folk who descend from the ancient engineering class of the Coral Ark. Most engineers appear to be burly, muscular men and women of short stature (usually no taller than 5 feet). Engineers have a get-it-done kind of attitude, and tend not to mince words. Engineers are the least likely of the human offshoot races to manifest psionics, curiously, and their dour attitude toward all non-technical things make it likely that even if they did have psionic potential it might well be suppressed or disregarded. Nonetheless, the engineers have founded some of the societies of the technomancers, and those engineers who do manifest psionic potential tend to become very good in the Psychometry Focus.

• Ability Adjustments: Str +1, Con +1, Dex -1 and Cha -1

• Bonus Feats: Great Fortitude, Talented (Craft and Disable Device)

• Favored Feats: Diehard, Skill Mastery

• Physical Data: 4-5 feet tall on average; 200-300 lbs; Age: most live to 80-90 years old.

Half-Giants

The last of the human offshoots from the Coral Ark, the half-giants are a curious mixture of humans and the now nearly extinct original giants. Despite their stature, half-giants are actually very slim and delicate, as their bones are brittle and hollow like a bird’s, and they are extremely flexible, with double-jointed knees and elbows, an adaptation transgenically engineered long ago on the Coral Ark to make them more flexible in zero gravity. Some humans describe them as gaunt and bird-like in their features and movement.

Today, on the normal gravity world of Isomular, the half-giants are a slowly dying breed, weak and poorly adapted to their environment. Nonetheless, the half-giants struggle to persevere and maintain their own culture and society within the greater kingdom of humanity. Most half-giants develop excellent psionic talent, and many are widely regarded for their skills of philosophy and esthetics, as quiet and contemplative artists and writers.

• Ability Adjustments: Str -1, Con -1, Int +1, Wis +1

• Bonus Feats: Improved Evasion and Lightning Reflexes

• Favored Feats: Supernatural Talent, Inspire

• Physical Data: 7-8 feet tall on average; 125-200 lbs; Age: most live to 50-60 years old.

Isomulii

The Isomulii are the native species of Isomular, tall and fearsome looking insect-like humanoids with four arms and two legs, a body that is vaguely reminiscent of a cockroach’s, and an ancient legacy upon their world. The Isomulii still have hidden cities, usually in caverns or remote valleys, where they continue their ancient traditions and maintain their curious clockwork and steam-powered technology while revering their mysterious gods and fearing the Drauga, the demon-gods, who most Isomulii, even the ones friendly to humanity, believe were the cause of this alien invasion so long ago upon their world.

• Ability Adjustments: Str -1, Con +1, Cha -1, Dex +1

• Bonus Feats: Night Vision, Natural Armored carapace +2 AB, Razor sharp claws (+2 damage melee), Heightened Senses (+2 Notice)

• Favored Feats: Lightning Reflexes, Mind Touch power

• Physical Data: 7-8’6” on average; 225-350 lbs; Age: most live to 250-300 years old.

Myrmidons

One of the lesser sentient native races on Isomular, the Myrmidons are ant-like and very social, with a keen interest in humanity and a strong willingness to integrate with other cultures. Myrmidons are short, no larger than human children, and very tenacious, often to the point of being very annoying. Myrmidons make great allies, but can be terrible pests.

Myrmidons physically look like small, carpaced gnomes with large ant eyes and antennae, but they only have two arms and four legs, unlike their Isomulii relatives. They can move very fast.

• Ability Adjustments: Str -1, Dex +1

• Bonus Feats: Night Vision, Natural Armored carapace +2 AB, Mandible attack (+1 damage), Lightning Reflexes

• Favored Feats: ElusiveTarget and Improved Evasion

• Physical Data: 2’5”-3’6” on average; 50-150 lbs; Age: most live to 40-50 years old.

Shedahai

The quasi demonic Shedahai were one of many races forced to serve as thralls to the Annunaki. Shedahai who escaped have proven to be very prolific, and their numbers have dramatically risen. Some lands are dominated by the Shedahai now, and the old, warlike nature of these creatures is resurfacing.

Physically, Shedahai are tall, red-skinned humanoids with human-like qualities, but covered in spiny scales and with long tails. They have clawed hands and feet as well as hinged lower legs, like an animal’s, letting them run faster than normal. Shedahai make natural fighters, and those that have psionic ability make excellent psychic warriors, though Bael rarely let them join the orders of the mindblades. Instead, Shedahai like to form their own mercenary companies, offering up services to the highest bidder.

• Ability Adjustments: Str -1, Dex +1

• Bonus Feats: Night Vision, Natural Armor +1 AB, Claw attack (+2 damage), Fast move 7

• Favored Feats: Spirited Charge and Tough

• Physical Data: 6’-7’6” on average; 250-350 lbs; Age: most live to 70-80 years old.

Optional Races in Isomular

There are a few additional races that may be permitted as characters, if the GM is willing:

Greys

The greys would be obvious alien or other-dimensional visitors who are in all likelihood studying the curious phenomenon of Isomular, with its mish-mash of foreign cultures. Greys as player characters might not be seen as terribly strange, just mistaken instead for some foreign race “over the mountains.”

Nords

Much like the Empathics, Nords are a charismatic and ethereal race. This could be a rare off-shoot of humanity or a genuine alien visitor, depending upon your story needs and tastes.

Reptoids

The reptoids might be aliens, or possibly natives of Isomular. Native reptoids are the remnant survivors of an ancient civilization that fought the Isomulii and lost, dwelling in deep caverns of the world and plotting their revenge against the insectoids. Alien reptoids are possibly visitors from a foreign world, discovering Isomular and fascinated at the remnant civilizations of an ancient Reptoid presence that was long ago forgotten.

Calibans

Described as monsters in True20, Calibans are nonetheless representative of mutations and transgenic sample groups gone wrong. The calibans have banded together and taken refuge in the depths of the earth, where they harbor a deep resentment against the more powerful and beatific humans and their kin. Calibans would make excellent villains, but a crafty player could make a character of one, as well.

Isomular: The Secret History Plus a World Map

The Secret History of Isomular


Isomular is a world orbiting a distant star, thousands of light years from the Sol system and the world called Terra. The Coral Ark was the last of a great fleet of STL generation ships, dispatched to the far quarters of the galaxy in a great wave of human expansion. The Coral Ark, so named for the startling web-work of its assymetrical hull, was the greatest of these vessels, carrying nearly a hundred thousand humans in to the depths of space. The reasons for this outward expansion were varied, but man had reached the end of a singularity in social and cultural evolution, one in which no further development as a species was possible without this great migration. The generation ships were designed to be self-sustained ecosystems, fully developed worlds in their own right, floating cities between the stars. As mankind traveled towards an unknown destiny, each ship would be the seed of a new potential evolutionary branch.

Some of the world ships were lost, never to be seen again. Others found habitable worlds and settled upon new planets for mankind to conquer and develop. A few remained, wandering through the endless night of the galaxy, developing unique ecosystems in an artificial environment. The Coral Ark was the last of the great generation ships, and by the time it launched, more than two hundred such vessels had preceded it. During the decades of its construction, a terrible alien presence, using other-dimensional technology, began to manifest in the Sol system. These entities, ancient, cosmic beings of great power, were served by many minions, including the rapaciously evil Psychic Vampires. These entities had been discovered, somewhere in the depths of space, by one of the generation ships. The ship was seen as an invasion by the species, which was known only as the Annunaki according to their minions. Humanity had almost forgotten the most archaic of references to such beings in their own founding mythologies, and was very nearly destroyed for this lack of knowledge. Man had passed through a million years of social and evolutionary change since the era of the Sumerian cultures founded all civilization, and the realization that there was an undisclosed relationship between humanity and the Annunaki was disturbing. Worse yet, the minions of the Annunaki included humanoid beings, such as the Bael and Shedahai, and other hominid species that had evolved psionic potential. Humanity, in a million years, had discovered the potential of psionic energy, but had barely advanced it beyond telepathy, whereas the minions of the Annunaki could manipulate space and time.

A war which lasted for decades raged between Annunaki forces invading from the Astral Plane, a dimension outside of time and space, while humanity itself struggled to survive against an attacker that seemed to have unlimited resources, as well as the ability to attack any location, anywhere and anytime it wished. As the conflict escalated, the Coral Ark project came to be seen as the final Ark of the generation ship project. A plan was hatched to take the brightest and best of mankind and place them on the Coral Ark, as a final effort to escape the Annunaki assault. The secret location of the ship was compromised, however, but the invaders did not let on to this fact. When at last the ship made its escape, it did so to an earth overrun by the enemy, and the first of the cosmic entities manifesting on the planet. The Coral Ark came under sudden and intense assault, then, in an effort to take the ship intact, for the biotechnical and psionic minions of the Annunaki had no capacity for conventional space travel, and the limits of travel through the Astral Plane depended upon exact knowledge of the destination point.

The invading aliens were thwarted by their own kind. Traitors among the enemy, human psions who may have descended from the stock of the first generation ship to come across the Annunaki homeworld, and Bael aliens who were close relatives of humanity and descended from another planet which had also been conquered by the Annunaki, had conspired to escape aboard the Coral Ark. In the assault, they switched sides and assisted in repelling the assault. The Coral Ark survived the attack, barely, but with serious casualties among the crew and its systems. It escaped the Sol system and gradually crept up to nearly three quarters of the speed of light, headed for the NGC 22778 star system, a world which observational evidence suggested contained a habitable world. The system itself was centered in the ancient Isomular Nebula, remnants of an ancient supernova in the region. For a time, the Coral Ark moved safely along. The handful of psions who were now aboard were quickly integrated in to the active crew compliment, and presented themselves to the scientists of the vessel for study.

Unfortunately, one of the key components of the Coral Ark was its bussard ramjet, which provided a renewable power resource as well as a protective element against stellar particles which would otherwise damage the ship at .70 speed of light. An unknown collision annihilated the bussard ramjet, and severely damaged much of the onboard artificial intelligence, which served as the ship’s master controller. Most of the active crew, not in suspended animation, were killed or madly injured, but they managed to begin the slow down and reverse the ship’s passage. The AI, called the Architect, was brought back online, but most of its functioning systems were corrupted, and the Architect was cut off from its irrevocably damaged library banks. As power systems fluctuated, the surviving crew realized that they had no choice but to awaken the sleeping passengers of the ship.

The Coral Ark seemed doomed. A ship built to comfortable manage no more than ten thousand crew and passengers while the remaining ninety thousand rested in cold sleep, and loaded with the genetic materials to create a new earth-like ecosystem, had been terminally compromised. The managing crew learned to operate the automated backup system as best they could, and put the bio-domes in to full swing. With luck, they felt that they could find a local star to stop at, one which could provide a terra-formable or Earth-like environment, if they could just hold out for a few decades.

Decades turned in to centuries, and centuries turned in to a period of time both undefined and unknown to the inhabitants of the Coral Ark. The inhabitants of the Coral Ark lost much of their advanced knowledge, and only the engineers and crew retained such lore. The anagathic processes of the elite became sparse, and the genetic modifications necessary to reach immortality were distributed only to those who committed to the secret knowledge of the Ark. The infantile voice of the Architect was taught how to learn once more, and how to try and restore its lost knowledge, to little avail. It was centuries before one of these elite, now called the Eldaran, helped restore the higher learning skills and some astrographic data for the AI, returning the Architect to a state of higher intelligence.

The Architect was reawakened to a ship filled with factionalized survivors of the awakening from the long sleep. It discovered that the transgenic variants of humanity had broken into distinct cultural groups, and that these groups had evolved complicated and often misinformed beliefs about the true nature, origin, and purpose of the Coral Ark. Except for the original crew, which had evolved in to the secretive Eldaran, no one truly recalled the real purpose and nature of the Coral Ark. Terra had become a mystery to ponder, the destiny world was now called Isomular and was considered a paradise promised as an escape from the demons of the Planar Realms, the Annunaki and their minions now depicted as monsters from a hideous afterworld sent to slay humanity. This knowledge, it seemed came from the works of the psionically gifted descendants of the original psion defectors, who had become a special cult of sorcerous beings, themselves. More amazing, these original psions had interbred with the human population, and psionic powers were now prevalent throughout many people in the ship, with perhaps one in fifty displaying some talent. The powers displayed were incredible.

The Architect realized there was a problem. The population seemed to have thinned out to about forty-five thousand humans, larger than the ship should have sustained, but made possible by the cooperative nature of the different groups, and the secret direction of the enigmatic Eldaran. The Empathics were once the politicians, leaders and socialites of the ship, transgenics bred for charisma, empathy and charm. They had remained so, as social manipulators, prostitutes, and rulers among the human groups. The people now called Engineers were once the transgenic template for laborers and engineers, bred for hard work in space and high gee environments. They continued to labor, ritualistically, in the bowels of the ship’s great engines and control the production resources of the ship. As such, the ship’s capacity to continue recycling and processing waste in to useable form was intact. The so-called giants were humans who dwelt in the low-gee sections of the great vessel which had lost spin, and no longer held gravity. These great men and women had sometimes grown to twelve or more feet in height, but their strength was limited in the full-gee sections of the ship, and so they had interbred with common men to create the half-giants, who served as intermediaries for their section of the vessel and others. Several of the bio-domes were in the zero-gee section of the ship, and these important resources made the culture and trade of the giants and half-giants vital. Finally, Bael descendants of the original aliens who defected aboard the ship dwelt in small communities of their own, and had evolved in to a rather efficient warrior culture of mindblade practitioners, who provided enforcement to the different human factions.

Over time, it was inevitable that the existing population would swell, and once again a period of warfare would force a thinning. With each period of conflict and collapse, more knowledge of the ship and its past would be lost. The Architect calculated that, in a period of no more than twenty generations, the system would suffer a terminal collapse, if some piece of technology vital to the process did not fail, first. The Architect decided it was time to end the voyage of the Coral Ark. It used its restored knowledge to recalculate its stellar location, and was amazed to discover that the ship was now within two light years of the original star destination; though it had slowed to no more than .31 speed of light, it had never actually deviated from its plotted course. NGC 22778 was just a few generations distant. To speed up the process, the Architect decided it was worth the risk to begin a new acceleration. The damage to the bussard ramjets was extensive, but the Engineers had faithfully repaired what they could long ago, at the direction of the Eldaran. The architect, in preparing for the journey, had relied on its Eldaran contacts to reinstitute itself as an object of faith, a voice of the gods, to be obeyed. With its direction, the cultures of the Coral Ark were instructed on how to prepare for the voyage.

The acceleration was initially successful, and the Coral Ark made the remainder of the journey in less than a generation; the children who were born during the beginning of the acceleration were of middle age when the ship decelerated in to the NGC 22778 system, on approach with the world now dubbed Isomular. Though the Architect detected the presence of sentient beings and primitive civilizations on the two super continents of Isomular, it knew that nothing could be done about this. It’s efforts to establish some sort of contact with the indigenous species were thwarted, as the suborbital shuttle with its crew of enlightened landed in the capitol of the aliens, the insectoid Isomulii. The Eldaran were quickly identified with the Isomulii notion of demonic gods called the drauga, and were enslaved. The Architect searched for an isolated, possibly safe landing point, and concluded that the subcontinent that would come to be called Hadrushar was an ideal location. The Coral Ark was designed to separate and drop its colonization units leaving behind the massive skeletal frame, command station and engine structure of the ship. As the vessel prepared to begin descent and separation, the Coral Ark discovered that it could not release the colony units in to a safe trajectory without compromising the orbital integrity of the skeleton itself. The Coral Ark’s frame and engine would have to come down, as well.

In the end, it was probably a terrible landing, but most all of the human residents in the care of the Architect survived. The great frame of the Coral Ark plunged in to the Whispering Ocean, and the tidal effect devastated the coastline of the Isomulii Empire and its people. The eighteen colonization modules descended like enormous, barely aerodynamic discs from the heavens, slowed only by the nuclear thrusters that properly ignited in all but three. The biodomes almost all arrived intact, and the seeds of Terra were immediately sewn.

Thus did man arrive on Isomular, and a new era of history began. The history of man as recorded in the introduction is a fairly accurate tale as known by the most learned of Kalashtam and Zymvaji scholars. Mankind’s initial presence was seen as a fearsome affront by the gods, but the pragmatic Isomulii, locked in a society of medieval monarchies and slave systems, readily enslaved the diaspora of humanity. Over the generations, all but a few of the true giants died out, unable to survive for long in the nearly earth-normal gravity of Isomular (.97 G). The Bael, ever insular, traveled far to the south, and continue to migrate even in the present. When the Architect fell silent, it was due to systems failure, and the absence of its voice proved the undoing of the secret lore of the Eldaran, who lost much of the knowledge of humanity’s origins. It was not until the gifted Eldaran Vedderik Non sought out the ancient passages of the rusting hulk in the shallow coastal waters that he accidentally awakened the Architect’s power reserves and discovered the AI once more. He restored the secret society, and the Architect chose specific prophets through which to once more carry its voice to humanity, to try and protect its children. By now, the poor AI was so badly damaged that its mind was largely constructed around notions of fantasy and memories of old earth, and it’s grasp of reality had faltered, but the Voices became very good at interpreting its will.

In the present day, Isomular is a world dominated by multiple insectoid species, all in competition with humanity, which has swelled in number to more than fifty million people worldwide, among the various transgenic descendants. Isomular is a world only slightly smaller than Terra, and with two modest moons trapped in orbit, named Krinos and Theris by the Isomulii after the twin creator gods of their old religion. Humanity holds the Architect as their caretaker and savior, but little or no knowledge from old Terra remains. Instead, a complicated society built on the foundations of a million years’ of alien civilizations, which at one time (about a hundred thousand years ago) had reached a scientific peak in a nuclear age before bombing themselves back to the Stone Age has developed. The current level of technology is just barely renaissance level, and developments such as gunpowder are not far off. The ecosystem of Isomular has been thrown in to disarray by the arrival of the Terrans and their bio-domes, as the planet became home to both the strange and menacing local species and the biogenically recreated flora and fauna of old Earth. This is the world of Isomular today.

Isomular: A Planetary Romance Campaign Setting Using True20

I've had Isomular...or what I completed of it, in the can now for many years. I wrote the original back in 2003 or thereabouts for use with the Expanded Psionics Handbook with 3.5 D&D, and then quickly adapted it to True20. I've toyed with using Isomular as a GURPS, 4E, Traveller and BRP setting at different times, but ultimately because its a weird mix of space fantasy, psionics and high tech meets swords & sandals it was easier to keep it in a system that focused on genre blending, and so True20 remains my favorite iteration. Anyway, For March I present you with everything I wrote on this particular weird world....

Isomular


The Land of the Whispering Kingdoms

A Planetary Romance Campaign Setting
Isomular is a campaign world firmly rooted in the Planetary Romance genre of science fiction and sword & sorcery. Tales of Barsoom from Edgar Rice Burroughs, the travails of Howard’s Almuric, The Krishna tales of Sprague de Camp and the adventures of Thongor by Lin Carter are all tales in this classic vein. The big thing to remember about planetary romances is that they readily abuse science, freely mix weird science gadgets and concepts with high fantasy swords & magic, and the heroes are usually the pretty ones in the midst of a barbaric land of hideous monsters, vile villains and nubile damsels in distress. Isomular is all about that!

The following adaptation should give you everything you need to run adventures in the Land of the Whispering kingdoms using the True20 rules. All standard rules apply with no modifications, except as noted. This is a genre-subversive setting, and oen can readily blend a mix of fantasy, SF and adventure together to make it work best.

The History of Isomular: The Native Viewpoint

If you ask a native of Isomular where his land and world is, he will tell you, “At the center of the universe.” How might he know this, you ask him? “Because the Architect deemed it so.” Isomular is a world of strong will and unyielding belief. Behind it all is the shadow of the being called the Architect, a man who is like a god, yet whose philosophy is so profound that it necessarily commands the people of the world to accept a near-magical belief in their own inner strength.

Isomular was colonized by the races of men long ago when the Architect, a being of immeasurable power, transported the chosen few of humankind to this world, that it might live and prosper. When the Architect brought his flock forth on the wings of the great Coral Ark, it fell in to the sea and the people waded ashore in the regions now known as Kalashtam and Zymvaj. Amongst the diaspora of man were the many races they had become, including the true humans, the Engineers, the half giants and the now supremely rare true giants. The Bael, Empathics, and Eldaran were known by different names then, but such are the names they are known by now.

These first men washed ashore to a land already occupied by the myrmidons, Isomulii, and other strange species, none even remotely human. Isomular, as it would come to be called, was inhabited by many unusual beings.

In those early days, men were struggling to survive, and there was a time that the Isomulii and other dominant races took pity on man and let him occupy their cities. In this time, the myrmidons were servants of the superior species, and humanity realized that the Isomulii had decided upon this destiny for the strange primates that joined them. Meanwhile, the remnants of the Coral Ark still rested like a great projection of white bone out in the sea, and the Architect brooded upon the fate of man. He at last determined that it would be necessary for his children to take ownership of Isomular.

This early era was a period of bloodshed and warfare, as humanity revolted against the Isomulii empire and, with the aid of the myrmidons and other thrall races, cast out the insectoid overlords. The Isomulii were unprepared and fell in a century of conflict, their surviving kin driven in to the jungles, deserts, and wastelands of the world. This happened two thousand years ago, according to the record halls of the Archivists.

With humanity in control of the great and ancient cities of Isomular, there was a short period of peace and prosperity during which the people sought the enigmatic dictates of the Architect to guide them, and looked to their new alliance with the myrmidons to keep the clockwork architecture of the ancient Isomulii engines running. For a time there was peace, but inevitably it would not last.

First, the Architect fell silent in the third century since man’s arrival. One day, the Disciples of the Architect returned from their villages on the atoll near the Reefs of the Architect, with word that he had fallen silent, and spoke no more. Unable to determine what had happened or why, humanity suddenly found itself without a voice of leadership. Initially, they looked to the disciples for guidance. The disciples were the first of the Eldaran, the enigmatic servants of inner light who were born to serve the Architect. Unfortunately, in this early era, men who grew unhappy with the will of the Eldaran turned on them, and humanity descended in to conflict and war.

A dark age fell upon the land, as the diaspora of men turned on one another. First the giants and many half giants marched north, to seek out their own kingdoms in the strange wilderland of Isomular. Then the Engineers, stout and short, descended in to the depths of the stony caverns which laced the world’s mountains. The Eldaran slipped in to obscurity, as they became a secretive order, to preserve what knowledge of the Architect they could during this barbaric time. The Bael as a people migrated southward, and the maenad thrived among men, relishing this time of high emotion. After another three centuries, the races of men had dispersed across the two continents. Humanity in the most populated central region founded the four great kingdoms that would come to be called Zymvaj, Kalashtam, Hadrushar and Eremach. The first great king to unite any of the lands came in the ninth century, an Empathic named Tonaras Zar. He founded the first Kalashtam Empire, and conquered his neighbors, bringing about a local unity that lasted more than a century.

Eventually, the kingdoms of humanity became stable and consistent forces, and the world moved out of the traditional Dark Age. The Order of the Archivists was founded, dedicated to historical research and the sometimes forgotten teachings of the Architect. The Eldaran, behind the scenes, began to teach the lost arts of inner strength, the will of psionics, to others outside of their secret culture. During this time, many monasteries were founded, each dedicated to a specific philosophy or doctrine of belief. By this time, the memory of the architect was steeped in mysticism and religion, and the faithful were developing complicated religious teachings based on what little the people remembered of the revered savior.

It was in the thirteenth century of man that the first of the Others arrived. Terrible portals to the beyond, the land that would be called the Astral, were ripped open to pour forth armies of the evil beings called shedahai. Driven by dark masters called the Annunaki, the shedahai were an army sent through strange dimensions to find and destroy the diaspora of man. Their dark masters were the huntsmen of a great evil, who had invested cosmic levels of power in seeing to the destruction of all humanity. A terrible war erupted, and for a time, the kingdoms of men were stricken with terrible losses against an unpredictable foe.

During this time, an Eldaran called Vedderik Non journeyed to the Reef of the Architect, to invade the ancient halls of the Coral Ark and seek out answers to this inexplicable enemy. His discoveries were shocking, and when he returned, he spoke as the new voice of the Architect, whom he had awakened. Vedderik Non became the first of the Voices, special servants of the Architect who were his direct vessels, avatars of the savior. Through Vedderik, the lost arts of planar travel and astral conduits were given to the monastic orders of the psions who had taken up arms, and the fight was taken to the shedahai’s planar homes. There, these psychic warriors discovered that the shedahai were true slaves of the Annunaki, and they fought with the shedahai at last to free them from the yoke of tyrrany. The shedahai who were grateful for this aid, and willing to make peace with humanity broke away from their hostile kin, who sued for peace only long enough to rally. The more peaceful group came to be called the kazavai, and they remained tentative allies of the men of Isomular.

It is now one thousand nine hundred years since men were saved by the Architect and transported to Isomular. Many mysteries of this land remain undiscovered, and many questions have yet to be answered. The fifteenth voice of the Architect has just taken up the mantle, a young human named Astenar Gadarik. The kingdom of Kalashtam is the seat of power and trade among the four great kingdoms and the many lesser ones.

Next: A Map of Isomular Plus The Secret History

Green Ronin Blowout Sale

It's here, with Thieves' World, True20, Blue Rose, Mutants & Masterminds 2E and others that you may hold near and dear. I myself just snagged all the True20 stuff, a game system that I have rather liked in the past and unfortunately got rid of along with many other books when I moved from Seattle to Albuquerque many years ago; it's definitely a system I'd run if I can find a batch of players willing to try it!