Isles of the Saharan Sea: Devil's Cove...

Good Afternoon, All:

Now that work has let up a little bit, I can continue my exploration of the major ports of the Isles of the Saharan Sea setting. Today, I'm writing up some basic details for Devil's Cove, or Kelshandan.

Kelshandan
Location Name: Devil's Cove, or Isle of Games
Ambiance: The slave trade thrives on this Kelshani island. The extreme social distinctions between the masters and their slaves divides the residents and flavors almost all social interactions. The Demon Court, an arena where warrior-slaves fight for their masters and for treasure, is the most recognizable feature of the island, and easily distinguishes this port from others at a distance. Other vices, particularly those of a hedonistic nature, thrive in Devil's Cove.
History: Around seven human generations ago, the Kelshani emerged from their underground empire and began to establish a presence on the surface of the World Within. About two human generations ago, the Kelshani established their autonomy from the Serpentfolk through a regular tribute of slaves every season.
Encounters: Important political prisoners are often sold into slavery in the markets of Kelshandan, so diplomats and representatives of many different island kingdoms maintain a presence here. Wild creatures are also imported to fight in the gladiatorial games.
Treasures: Much of the monetary treasure garnered by the Slaver Houses of Devil's Cove are transported to the Kelshani cities of the Underworld. However, political prisoners and well-trained pleasure slaves remain on the surface, and there are always people willing to pay for their rescue.
Hooks and Hotspots: A number of gambling houses provide diversion between gladiatorial combats, which are held for two watches with a twenty watch rest in between. (A watch is roughly four hours in length, and is the basic unit of time in this world where the sun never sets.) Great wealth can be earned in the Demon Court in one can survive the games, but few volunteer to participate of their own volition.

Enjoy,
Flynn

A Replacement For The Drow...

Good Afternoon, All:

I have always disliked the drow as a villainous race, primarily because they are yet another elven race. I've always felt that a humanoid race should remain the same, despite their culture. After all, humans are still human, with capacities within the same basic parameters of one another, regardless of skin color or place of origin. I figured that I didn't need umpteen species of elf and only one variant of human to choose from. It just didn't make sense to me.

It occurred to me today that I have the perfect replacement for the drow from the Hammersong's Legacy Campaign Setting, the Kelshan. By placing the Kelshani in the underworld, you can tie in to the social conventions many American are raised with. "The Devil dwells in Hell, and Hell lies in the depths of the earth below us." That kind of imagery can be pulled on for powerful effect in a game, if I as a Referee can manage it. The devilish appearance of the Kelshani would also contribute to this underlying imagery, giving the illusion of depth by pulling on these social conventions. Plus, given their write-up, they already worship the King of Demons anyway, so you can still use a lot of the old drow adventure concepts with a minor amount of reskinning anyway.

I may have to do a little rewriting on Hammersong's Legacy to accomodate this change, because the more I think about it, the more I like it. What do you think?

With Regards,
Flynn

The Kelshan - A New S&W Race...

Good Evening, All:

The following is a racial write-up for the Kelshan, another new race for the Hammersong's Legacy campaign setting, written in support of Swords & Wizardry. As always, your thoughts and input are most welcome.

The Kelshan
Servitors of Sandamos, the Great Tyrant, Lord of Demons, these red-skinned humanoids bear a strong resemblance to devils. Along with their general tendencies towards cruelty and sadism, their physical appearance has earned the Kelshan the nickname of "devil-men."

Character Advancement: Kelshan characters may advance in the same manner as Elves, under the Elven Adventurer class as described in the Core Rules, or the Variant Elf class in the White Box rules.

Weapon/Armor Restrictions: Whether advancing as a Magic-User or a Fighting-Man, the Kelshan are trained in the use of a whip in addition to other weapons based on his advancement.

Sadistic Reputation: The Kelshan as a race are known for their cruel and sadistic natures, which imposes a -2 penalty on all reaction rolls involving a Kelshan character. However, foes of the Kelshan also suffer a -1 penalty on morale checks for the same reasons.

Saving Throw: Kelshan are resistant to enchantment and charm magics; they get +4 on saving throws to resist such effects.

Languages: For campaigns that give each race its own dialect, the Kelshan should be able to speak with demons, humans and hyrknoff.

With Regards,
Flynn

Hammersong's Legacy: The Kelshan...

Good Morning, All:

One of my goals when developing the Hammersong's Legacy setting was to find uses for the more common minis I've collected over the years. Given WOTC's predisposition towards tieflings and other demonic folk, I have a number of tiefling adventurer miniatures that I wanted to have a use for. However, I didn't want to go with the traditional perspective on tieflings themselves.

As I was thinking about my quandary, I remembered a race called the Kitaki from the Dray Prescot of Antares series, by Kenneth Bulmer. This was a race that were very devilish in appearance and temperament, but were just as earthly and mundane as any other on the face of Kregen. With that concept in mind, I created a race called the Kelshan:

Kelshan
These red-skinned, fork-tailed folk are known as sadistic slavers and cruel warriors in service to their dark master and patron deity, Sandamos, the Grand Tyrant. Were it not for the fact that a common enemy during the War of All Gods bound together people whose differences might have otherwise made such a union impossible, we would never have known these “devilfolk” to be anything other than a vile and despicable race, unworthy of our attention. Yet, in fighting side by side, there are those among the Kelshan who have come to see another path, one of Light and Redemption, and those Kelshan whom I know that walk that path are good and noble folk, as devout a friend as any could imagine. Sadly, the actions of the majority may doom these few social exiles to a life burdened by mistrust and antipathy.

I was thinking about giving the Kelshan a -2 penalty on reaction rolls due to the sadistic reputation the race has, in addition to any benefits I give the (low-light vision, a bonus on saves versus charm and mind-affecting effects, or something like that). What do you think?

With Regards,
Flynn