Maj Space: Durin (partial, 10/Sep)

Geography and Recent History

Mostly a desert world, hot during the day and freezing at night. 
The world is covered by the remains of lost civilizations, mostly
in the forms of ruined towers of durable red stone or glass as
hard as steel, which the ogres use the occasional fragment of for
daggers, and there are canals, almost all of which are completely
dry.  There are said to be lost artifacts to be found, some of
which may hold a faint residue of the ancient energies that
powered them, and all of interest to collectors and magical
researchers.


While the sun is hot, it does not burn any but the most sensitive
skins, even at midday (Durin's days are almost exactly the same
length as Maj's).  There is little moisture in the air, but a
careful traveller can use the cold of night and a dew trap to
give enough to get by on.  There is red dust everywhere, which
for some reason does not tend to stick to even damp surfaces, or
clump, so it is less annoying than it might be.  Some magical
researchers believe that it is the transmuted air and water of
Durin, and that if the right magic can be discovered it would be
a very compact and efficient way of carrying air on long
spelljamming voyages.

The plant and animal life suit a desert world, with hardy plants
with thick skins to hold on to their water, or which grow, bloom
and die, after the very occasional rain.  Animals tend to be
small, and are often things like snakes (a few of which are
poisonous) and lizards, with a few small mammals.  There are
toads which hide near-lifeless, waiting for the rain to breed and
eat, then sleep again, and from which can be made a suspended
animation potion.  The air is too thin to support the flight of
birds.  The only larger animal life is humanoid, and no one has
yet found a riding or draft animal which prospers on Durin. 
There is no Underdark on Durin, probably due to problems with the
thin air.

The greatest danger of Durin is the red dust storms, which while
they are not directly dangerous (there is no risk to eyes or
breathing) reduce visibility to almost nothing.  Most creatures
who rely on sight just take shelter during these, and they can
last for several days.  Dust storms are most common in winter;
note that Durin's year is about twice the length of Maj's.

It is said the thin atmosphere and the desolation of this world
is due to ancient battles between the tower builders, those who
used stone, and those who used glass, who are said to have been
two different varieties of elf-like creatures.  Whatever
happened, there is little sign of them left.

In recent years the peoples of Maj have formed colonies, in
particular by re-building the two ancient cities that the winds
revealed from the sands just recently, at each end of one of the
few parts of the canal system that still holds water.  Dwarven
elders in the nearby mountains advised against this, saying the
waters were subtly cursed, and that not even the ogres or
hobgoblins would use them, but this was ignored.

While there were no problems initially, and the two colonies
quickly grew into city states, one in the city of stone, Dur, one
in the city of glass, Crys, tempers began to flare, and
eventually, only ten years ago, war.  The wiser sages of Maj
believe that this is some ancient curse left by the tower
builders, and note that almost all children born on Durin (in the
cities of Dur or Crys) have a perculilarly red tinge to their
skin, and definite aggressive and war-like tendancies.  Those now
living on Durin claim this is nonsense.

Game Mechanics: Those not born on this world are -2 on any
Fortitude roll related to exertion, due to the thin air.  Living
on the world continuously for at least a year makes this modifier
only -1, and once acquired this advantage takes a month to loose,
and only takes one month to re-acquire on returning to Durin. 
The same applies to natives, but they fully adapt.  These may be
represented by two background feats, 'Durin Adaptation', and
'Durin Blood' (for natives).  GMs may allow those with this
advantage to better survive asphixiation.  Ships with active
Helms will hold a normal air envelope, and this will only be lost
when the ship lands and there is no one at the Helm for at least
half an hour.  Once the Helm is occupied again for at least five
minutes the ship's air envelope will be normal again.

Game Mechanics: Those who have lived in the cities of Dur or
Crys, for at least a year, and drunk the local (canal) water (or
drinks made from it, or eat food grown using it), are -1 on Will
rolls to control their aggression.  Those born there a further -1
and have a perculilarly red tinge to their skin; GMs may give
both similar penalties on Cha-related rolls (particularly
Diplomacy).  Those who live on other water for a year recover
from this, though if born there this makes the effect only -1,
rather than removes it completely (and the red skin tinge
remains).  These may be represented by two background feats,
'Durin Curse', and 'Durin Birth Curse'.  The only ones immune to
this are Dargold; the problem even afflicts half-Dargold.


Dur and Crys

While these two cities are intermittently at war, and can agree
about very little, the only real difference between them is that
one is made of durable red stone and one is made of glass as hard
as steel.  Both cities are fortified, both have excellent
canal-drawn water supplies, running to water on-tap in every
house or home, and with similarly widely distributed dry sewage
and waste disposal facilities.  These lead via excellent sewers
to buried deep underground automatic fertilizer production, which
in turn feed nearly water-less immense plant-growing halls.  The
cites seem nearly perfect to live in; just sweep the sand out.

Both cities have deep power cores, which while they do not run
100% smoothly, emit etheric energies, allowing things like air
cars and a wide variety of powered equipment, particularly
weapons, to be used within tens of miles of the cities. 
Unfortunately the fields do not reach the other city, so more
conventional means of warfare, or captured enemy equipment, must
be used.  There has been little success in adjusting equipment so
it can run on the enemy power source, except by a complete strip
down and re-build; no dual-mode equipment has been created (it
tends to just (electrically) explode, messily).  There have been
the occasional rare artifacts, found out in the deserts, which
are self-powered; typically hand weapons.

A few Dargold have come to the cities, typically entire small
tribes of seven to fifty (6d8+1, if randomly determined), and
claim to understand something of their secrets.  The elders of
these tribes have worked on the power cores, making them, and
other parts of the city infrastructure, more reliable, though the
tribes are very clannish, having little to do with other city
people, and steering clear of anything to do with the war.  In
particular they have opened up deep boreholes, and after failed
attempts to give away the limited amounts of water from these now
sell it, as health-giving mineral water, though most in the city
use the water from the canals.  They also make attempts to sell
food grown from this 'healthy' water, but the rich don't think it
or the water fashionable, and the poor are suspicious.  While
these Dargold seem essential to the working of the cities, they
are treated as suspect, due to not being enthusiastic enough
about the war.


Durin Tech

This applies to the technology found in the cities of Dur and
Crys, and also elsewhere, for example lost in the deserts of
Durin.

The technology of Durin appears to be based around highly
advanced use of precisely aligned and cut crystals, which focus a
combination of magical and etheric energies to produce spell-like
effects.  These crystals would seem to include impurities which
colour them, sometimes in exotic ways, like ever-changing rainbow
patterns, and are material elements not found in nature, probably
produced by very advanced alchemy.  There has been some limited
success in cutting down or reshapping some of the large, possibly
damaged crystals, to make one or more smaller ones.

Self-powered equipment would appear to run on a power source made
from the very rare magical material 'Spectrum', also called
'rainbow metal' because of the sheen on its surfaces, and
occasionally referred to as 'true mithral'.  Even the smallest
piece can be of use, and a pound typically changes hands for
5,000 gp.  An unknown charging process alters spectrum so as to
act as a power source for a self-powered device, and it would
appear acting as a power source slowly consumes it, and charged
spectrum slowly decays to nothing over time (centuries).

Spectrum is also needed to repair the engine shielding on air
cars, and the reaction chambers of power guns.  Another use for
(very small amounts of) spectrum is that mirrors silvered with it
can be used to focus or direct magical and etheric energies. 
There are legends that the artificers of the gods (in particular
the Finnish ones) use spectrum in some of their greatest
workings.


Dwarves and Gnomes

While they don't tend to talk about it, the dwarves and gnomes of
Durin tend to be more skilled in the enchantment of magic than
their races are generally known to be, though they don't tend to
go around casting spells.  Those who look carefully at the hills
and mountains in which dwarves and gnomes live may be suprised to
find carefully concealed carved gutters, drains and cisterns,
which make best use of the occasional rain of Durin.  These feed
into concealed valleys, where crops are grown, and where the
cisterns are not sufficient, water is raised from deep wells. 
Meat is in short supply, mostly limited to domesticated desert
hares and a few small fish, but one or two tribes have carefully
tended goats, which they presumably traded with the dwarves of
The Belt.  The goats are mostly for their wool and milk -
slaughtering a goat for a feast is a sign something major has
happened.

Much better hidden tend to be the magical rather than purely
mechanical water-raising systems, the hidden greenhouses, and the
concealed sewage and ventilation systems.  While the later two
don't need to use magic, they are obvious risks to security.  In
preferance the sewage systems go to sealed magical sumps, which
extract the water and produce fertilizer, and the ventilation
systems have filters and cut-offs, are too big for an orc (and
certainly a hobgolblin) to get into, and contain traps.

Some of the enchantments allow things like:

* Making a rock surface into a mirror, as reflective as a good
glass-and-silver mirror.  The enchantment is applied after
grinding the rock into the appropriate shape, and is used for
things like light wells.

* Making several inches thickness of rock more-or-less
transparent in one direction to light and radiant heat.  Fifty
percent makes reasonable greenhouses, and looks from outside like
a dark patch on the rock, rather than a suspicious area of total
blackness.  Another application is windows.

* Transmute dirty water or sewage into clean water and
fertiliser, using a filter bed.  This also purifies water of
diseases and simple poisons, as well as mud, plant and animal
life.

* Making a pipe or bore in the form of an n-tube (an inverted
u-tube) act as a magical siphon.  Typically a number of these
will be needed for deep boreholes.

* Making a corridor, tunnel or pipe gently move air along itself. 
This is quite adequate to make ventilation systems work in
unlikely places, such as caverns miles below ground level.

Some dwarves and gnomes believe that, having observing the way an
active spelljamming Helm gathers a full atmosphere to itself,
this suggests that a suitable enchantment could do something
similar.  This might allow them to have areas where they could at
least raise healthier goats, and maybe other livestock, though
this would likely be quite expensive in terms of the amount of
magic required.


Hobgoblins and Ogres

While these are quite different races, their lifestyle is
similar.  They are tribes of hunter-gatherers, making the best of
the scarce resources of Durin.  It is possible that some tribes
may plant hardy crops in sheltered, more fertile, areas, then
return to harvest them, or have agreements with other tribes
about harvest and planting in return.  The long year of Durin
probably allows several crops in the growing season.  While water
is scarce, most tribes will likely have a circuit of travel,
which leads them from one water source to the next, and know the
tricks of catching dew.

What may surprise outsiders is that most tribes will have a
loremaster (Expert or Bard), who knows the histories and in
particular all the tribal agreements about hunting and water
sources.  Many tribes also have an Adept, who rather than the
more common gods of hobgoblins and ogres follows the Ancient
Powers, of the world of Durin.  Quite a few tribes also have
relics and artifacts, found in the desert, some of which actually
still work.  Most tribes are a stable size, what the lands they
travel will support, with a little spare for the bad times.


Dargold

What no one seems to have noticed yet, or if so they are keeping
quiet, so that it is not general knowledge, is that there are far
more people living in the Maj colonies on Durin than actually
arrived from Maj.  Maybe twice as many.  These people seem to
perfectly blend in, to anything short of True Seeing, and are in
fact Dargold, the supposedly original native people of Durin.

The Dargold are perfect mimics, in many respects too good mimics
for their own health, as they completely lose themselves in the
role that they take on.  They typically become the perfect
partner that someone has always been looking for, with just
enough courtship to be credible.  Other possibilties may be the
perfect secretary, clerk, servant, follower or henchman.  If they
have children with a non-Dargold partner then the child is
perfectly healthy, but has none of the Dargold race's
characteristics, except for being more empathic (+2 to Cha-
related rolls; the next generation loses this).  Dargold are as
fertile with non-Dargold as is normal for their apparent race. 
As their partner grows older, typically so do they, but unless
the partner actively wishes that they die before them, then after
their death they can usually slip away into a new role.  Unless,
of course, there are children, or even grandchildren, who need
them...

Another possibility is that they can become a child that was
lost, but they will never grow up, unless this is expected of
them.  Occasionally they have wound-up as a visiting long-lost
aunt, who then never goes away.  Or, at their most distant from
any one individual, an ancient and wise neighbour, who everyone
local goes to for advice, and calls 'Granny'.

This is one reason that the Dargold, though theoretically as
immortal a race as the highest elves, are dying out, but they
find it very difficult to resist the attraction of new peoples,
and new cultures, this being a very strong addiction amongst
them.  They are not any more fertile, among their own kind, than
elves.  Their own culture is a deceptively simple one, apparently
hunter-gatherer, with some basic agriculture, but in fact making
very efficient use of the sparse resources of Durin, with a
strong emphasis on wisdom, knowledge, and the simpler, often
participatory, performance arts.

Dargold, living among non-Dargold, who cannot bind themselves to
one being who has a clear idea of who they should be, can be in
considerable danger.  If faced by multiple people who all want
them to be different they can find themselves flicking from one
shape to another, one personality to another, and the strain of
this can kill them.  Even though they can normally only change
shape when no one's attention is on them even this can break-down
if too many people know their secret, and focus their desires on
them at once.  This break-down will almost certainly cause rapid
death.

Dargold will retain their assumed shape, as long as they still
live, even if asleep or deeply unconscious, but on death return
to their own form.  This has resulted in a few very shocked
families, if the Dargold has not managed to make proper
arrangements for their death (other Dargold will typically be
very accomodating), and a few quick cremations or closed-coffin
funerals.  There are a few, very rare, diseases that afflict
Dargold, and the most magical and rarest forces them to return to
their own form, permanently, and usually kills them.  If needed
for their roles Dargold will catch diseases, and if it is
expected of them, die.

No more than half of any group will be Dargold, as this will
dilute the culture they need to experience too much.  In a group
which contains non-Dargold the Dargold will not be attracted to
their own, though they will in general be polite and try to get
on with other Dargold, if they can fit this into their required
role.  Even though the next generation have no obvious Dargold
characteristics, the Dargold don't find them so attractive,
though they might marry them due to social pressures (any
children will still be half-Dargold), and by the third generation
there is no further attraction, though any Darkgold already
snared by the culture will likely remain, unless forced out.

If the proportion of any group is nine-tenths Dargold or more
then the Dargold will not change shape, for example when there
are visitors to their tribes, but individual members may be
seduced into following visitors, usually to be sucked into their
culture.

A very few Dargold learn the strength and discipline to control
first their own minds and personalities, and possibly later their
shapes, but these skills are only acquired after a great deal of
work, which will involve taking the risk of interacting with
non-Dargold.  Generally this development only goes smoothly with
the assistance of some understanding non-Dargold, who preferably
have a great deal of mental discipline themselves.


People of Maj Space

Urag, Ogre Shaman

Alignment: Neutral/(Good)
Class: Expert 5, Adept 5
Race: Ogre (Dargold)
Str 20(10), Dex 8(10), Con 18(14), Int 9, Wis 14, Cha 10

(..) Dargold abilities.

As a young Dargold, several millenia ago, she was never very
impressive, being below average Str, Dex, Int and Cha, but
something drew her to ogres, who were quite impressed by her
toughness, and her healing skills, of limited interest among her
own people, so she became one.  Over the years her skills have
developed, and she is now considered a legendary ogre shaman, as
an Adept following the Ancient Powers.

Urag carries a Huge greatsword made of almost unbreakable
crystal, and a Huge longbow.  Over the centuries she has learned
the Dargold feat Control Role.  While she is not actually Good,
she is about as nice a person as you are likely to meet among
ogres.

GM Note: Urag might be met with a band of ogres, and might
survive (due to her slow Regeneration) the usual 'kill the
monsters and check the bodies for treasure' attitude of many
adventurers.  Alternatively, perhaps she might be found in the
city of Dur or Crys, searching for those who have killed her
tribe, and protected from those around her forcing her into a new
role by a background feat Life Gift of revenge/justice, from her
murdered many-times-great ogre granddaughter, Grat.  In the first
case she might later join the adventuring party, take on a role,
say as a native guide/wandering healer, and try and work on some
way of making them pay for/regret what they have done to her
tribe.

Urag added +1 Str at 4th, and +1 Dex at 8th.


Jack the Shift, Professional Shapeshifter

Alignment: Neutral
Class: Dargold 2/Rogue 8
Race: Dargold
Str 10, Dex 14, Con 12, Int 14, Wis 13, Cha 14

Hit Dice: 10d6+10 (52 hp)
Initiative: +2
Attacks: +7/+1 melee, +9/+3 ranged
Saves: Fort +3, Ref +11, Will +8(+6)

Jack has many names, whatever is convenient for the job he is
doing, and 'Jack the Shift' (he 'shifts' information and objects
around) is just his business name.  Unlike almost all other
dargold, Jack has embraced the possibilities of the dargold
shapeshifting, and has worked to make himself the most effective
information gatherer and object relocation specialist that he can
using it.

He has always had an interest in shapeshifting, from quite a
young age, and he was thought a bit strange because of this. 
Even before he left his tribe he had advanced two Dargold racial
levels, and acquired, by spending time with some explorers of
Durin, the Control Role feat, which made him a better
shapeshifter than most dargold ever manage in their lives.

Jack then took the big step of going to the city of Dur, where he
quickly acquired the background feat Life Gift from a dying
half-orc Rogue, Des Halfbrow, along with the responsibility to
ensure her new-born daughter had a chance to grow up.  Life as
Des, in the bad part of the city, proved interesting, as a number
of her associates were quite unhappy to find that she wasn't
dead, and a several times only the dargold Regeneration saved
'Des', who acquired a reputation for toughness and miraculous
escapes.  After fifteen years the daughter, now a fully trained
Bard, left, and with a little regret Jack was freed to follow his
own life again.  He paid the skill point to hold on to Des's form
and role, even after the Life Gift finished; Des is still seen
around the city of Dur, on occasion.

Having had so much experience at being a Rogue, Jack decided to
continue in the profession.  He deliberately placed himself in
situations, sometimes after very careful study, where he could
acquire new forms and roles, and using his Control Form feat,
memorise them for future use.  In this way he learned two human
males, a half-elf female, a male ogre, and a female halfling. 
He'd like to add a dwarf and gnome, and maybe a hobgoblin,
sometime; an arcane/mercane would be really good (but he might
need some more Form Taking feats to fully manage this).

He has Form Taking 6, as a result of his two Dargold racial
levels, which means that he is not restricted to humanoid form
and his allowed size range extends from Tiny to Giant.  At 3rd
level Jack took Control Role, which freed him of the risk of
getting killed by a role, at 6th level he took Control Form,
giving him a lot more control over his form, and at 9th level he
took Iron Will.

His two Dargold levels give him +1 BAB, +0 Fort, +3 Ref and +3
Will, and his eight Rogue levels give him +6/+1 BAB, +2 Fort, +6
Ref and +2 Will; Iron Will gives a further +2 Will.  Also note
his dargold -2 saves (generally Will) against enchantment spells
and effects.  His initial level was Dargold, so 40 skill points
were spent there, then 80 skill points on Rogue; note that six of
the Rogue points have been spent on forms and roles.  GMs should
give Jack suitable magic items for his level.

Jack added +1 Con at 4th, and +1 Dex at 8th.