Re: Phlogiston rivers, portals and sphere isolation

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Adam Miller" <night_druid3000@?????.com>

> --- David Shepheard <david_shepheard@???????.com>
> wrote:
>
>> Does anyone think this is a useful idea to pursue?
>> How about you Adam? Does this sort of idea fit in
>> with the rest of yourCrimson Sphere ideas or does
>> it clash? Can you think of any improvements?
>
> Couple of small points:
> 1. I'm not sure I'd use the Crimson Sphere as a
> benchmark of any sort...its a bit unique :)

I was using it as an example of an isolated unique place.

> 2. Personally (and this is just IMHO), I view Flow
> currents as kinda like ocean currents, with spheres as
> islands & continents along the rivers.  The ultimate
> source of rivers is an unexplained mystery.

Sounds like a cue for background material or an adventure idea.

I'd love to know what *else* is in the phlogiston!

1) Phlogison salmon could be seen swimming up stream to breed (at one of 
your unknown locations). They could travel so fast a ship can not keep up. 
This could make PCs realise there *is* something out there.

2) If you travel up river you might get to Lepricornspace! (A sphere where 
all metal the natural metal is gold and every metal thing is made from 
gold - the homeworld of Lepricorns would be the major world here).

3) If you go off-river, there could be regions of phlogiston that are more 
or less explosive than normal. There could even be parts of the phlogiston 
that have other properties of elements (instead of the fire-like tendency to 
explode). Asteroid sized phlogiston rocks ("phlogi-stone" or "flow-stone" 
perhaps) could be home to native creatures of some sort. (Like the normal 
"gaslike version of the phlogiston" this "rocklike" material would vansish 
if taken into a crystal sphere - however it could be manufactured into 
items, that exist forever as long as they are kept in the flow). Flow-stone 
could be a miricle substance that can do the job of any solid substance, 
taking the place of wood and stone as well as metal.

I like the idea of a Dwarven Citadel made entirely from Phlogiston - with 
its dwarves using non-fire based creation methods instead of a conventional 
forge. The dwarves could whittle lumps of phlogiston into any sort of solid 
object (including weapons). Flow-stone weapons could function as +2 magical 
weapons (but would be worthless to anyone who doesn't want to stay in the 
flow forever).

When they first found phlogiston asteroids the dwarves didn't realise that 
they couldn't take them back to wildspace - now they are stuck in the flow, 
but have become used to the idea and are happy to be there trading to 
passing ships.

The dwarves could be honest to the players, tell them about the properties 
of flow stone and trade them conventional items (scavver bone knives, for 
example - brown scavver bone knives can deal poison damage as well as 
regular damage - the poison in the bone should only last a certain amount of 
time).

Alternatively the dwarves could con PC's by selling them anything, made from 
phlogi-stone, they can get the players interested in (knowing that it will 
all vanish when the PCs get to the next sphere). Items could be 
mastercrafted items with magical properties at knock down prices.

One useful phlogi-stone magical device the dwarves could sell is a sphere 
compass. This could point the way towards any individual sphere (a lodestone 
from that sphere would be part of the device - the rest would be made from 
phlogi-stone and would vanish when you enter a sphere). As this is a 
non-permanant magical item it should be cheaper to make. The dwarves could 
buy lodestone from anyone who has it and sell sphere compasses for all major 
spheres.

4) Rogue planets could float in-between spheres. I imagine "The Rainbow 
World" to be a semi-immortal place where people just don't stop "living" 
when they die of old age, illness or other natural means. Populations of 
"happy" undead could live freely among the living. Evil undead that kill 
other living (or undead) people could be hunted down by mobs and physically 
destroyed (to prevent them coming back).

The gods would be unheard of on The Rainbow World - clerics worshiping the 
natual "force" of the phlogiston could be the only clerics that get full 
access to spells in the flow. (If they enter a crystal sphere they loose 
high level spells - for them Contact Home Power would *never* work).

It would be great if the people of the Rainbow World were so ignorant about 
death that, if pursuaded to travel on a speljamming ship they would send 
along a random mixture of living *and* dead people. Upon entering a crystal 
sphere a random number of people from the Rainbow World would drop down 
lifeless as their souls finally found a way to pass onto the outer planes. 
The survivors would be shocked and may blame the spacefarers who 
accidentally *caused* their dead friends to leave the living world.

I also see no reason for the dead and living people to not be part of the 
same family. Perhaps we could knock up a Deathtouched "race" (the rare 
result of dead people breeding with the living). Deathtouched characters 
could have certain non-hostile undead qualities - they could for example 
have an "aura of undeath" that stops all unintelligent undead from 
initiating attacks on them. They could also be immune to any "life draining" 
attacks from undead (or regenerate draining damage in a similar way to troll 
regeneraton).

5) According to Legends and Lore, the Aztec gods are supposed to live in 
wildspace. It might be fun to have them living in a sphere that is the 
source of multiple phlogiston rivers (they would live in a giant space 
citadel that looks a bit like a step pyramid). Perhaps the phlogiston rivers 
could be something that the Aztec gods use to provide divne spells to 
spheres where their worshipers live.

The entire Aztec pantheon could be viewed as a space pantheon.

Inhabitants of worlds in Aztecspace could live on montainsides (and have no 
knowledge of the wheel). They could walk short distances and use small 
spelljamming boats to fly longer distances or between continents. Aztecspace 
could be a source for SJ magical items like Minor Helms and Major Helms.

If someone did try to create Aztecspace, they would need to look up a lot of 
Planescape stuff, to see how to design a setting where the gods can walk 
among mortals.

> I also
> view rivers as being very small, only perhaps at most
> 100 miles wide.  The reason for this is, of course, to
> justify any encounters in the Flow! :)

Works for me, and sounds in keeping with the existing SJ feel.

> 3. In terms of isolation, I think just simply having
> rivers not go directly to the sphere could do it.
> Afterall, what *really* is the purpose of an
> "isolated" sphere but to keep pesky
> merchants/low-level riff-raff out so that when the
> heroes arrive, they can have the fun of discovering a
> "lost world".

Maybe THE Spelljammer sees dangerous spheres and diverts rivers away from 
them.

> 4. I do, however, like the idea of listing major
> rivers & portals.  :)

1 good idea out of 4 is not bad! ;-)

David "Big Mac" Shepheard