A mystery solved? from Prism Pentad - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

A mystery solved? from Prism Pentad

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
gforce99
Sep 15, 2003 14:46:31 While reading archives of the DS list, I came across this question (which I always had) and the actual answer from Troy Denning.

Who were the halflings in the transparent tombs, under the split rock oasis called Cleft Rock, and why did they moved and looked at sadira ? (from the Amber Enchantress)

They were ancient halflings from the Blue Age--a small sect in suspended animation who hoped to be able to reclaim the world some day. Halfling biotechnology was also a design feature. The scene with the halfling in suspended animation under Cleft Rock was meant to show that the halflings were the ancient and advanced creator race.

Does anyone have any comments about this?
Supposively this was the source material for the Space Halfling idea.
#2
zombiegleemax
Sep 15, 2003 16:29:18 Sorry, no space halfling stuff here.

The 'biotechnology' of the ancient halflings, called Rhulisti, was called Lifeshaping. The halflings of the Blue Age shaped some kind of strange coral called . . . well, I forget what its called, anyhow, its far less like a technology and more like magic or psionics. Yet even that's not quite true either since its not magic (as magic had yet to be invented) and its not psionics (since that too was by way of rumor not part of the Blue Age). Lifeshaped objects do not look like something you see in Star Trek, it looks like somthing from H.R. Geiger. The Lifehshapers themselves were split into two groups during the blue age, the nature-masters and the nature-benders.

There are still ruins left over from the Rhulisti scattered about (supposedly Tyr was built atop the ruins of a Rhulisti city called Tyr'Agi or something). There is also one small group of halflings that are direct descendants of the Rhulisti, the halflings of the Jagged Cliffs (a worthwhile sourcebook to pick up, I see it often enough on ebay cheap). They still practice lifeshaping as the ancient Rhulisti did, but they have forgotten much of the old lore.

The Shadow Giants are described as being ancient halfings as well, banished to the Black along with Rajaat. Since they seemed to differ greatly from the halflings of the Jagged Cliffs, either their mentality change much during their time with the Warbringer or their 2,000 year imprisonment, or the culture of the Jagged Cliffs itself has changed much since the Clensing Wars.
#3
gforce99
Sep 16, 2003 6:27:09 Thanks Mach2.5, I always like reading your posts. And BTW I had no intention of supporting the "evil space halfling's return" idea that TSR preported as of planning.
I believe that Mr. Denning's comments were that if he was allowed to continue Dark Sun (if only...) then he was going to continue from this Cleft Rock halfling statsis plot. And I am sure thats where this "evil space halfling's return" came from.
I thought it was great to read, as I had always wondered what the freak those Halflings were doing in cryogenics in a world like Athas???
#4
zombiegleemax
Sep 16, 2003 7:14:46 Well I don't recall reading anything about Denning comments of picking up the campaign line (even if just in passing), I do recall hearing that not only were the ancient halflings originally designed to be lifeshapers from the beginning (the stasis/cryo tanks were biological, suspended not in liquid nitrogen or some other more sci-fi plausible explaination, but more of a weirdo lifeshaped tank of perserving fluids meaning that the tanks themselves were a living creature), but that the designers of Windriders of the Jagged Cliffs came out 'mostly' as the halflings were originally designed by him and the rest of the core team of developers.

It was a remark made by Lynn Abbey that brought about the whole Killer Halflings From Outer Space, where she was informed by the R&D of TSR that the Messenger, a comet that appears over Athas every 7(?) years, was an orbiting halfling mothership. If you look at similar bizzare responses in the lines of communication between TSR's Novel department and R&D department at that time, you'll find other even stranger comments. One can then only speculate wether the R&D department were pulling a prank, or if they were indeed serious. It would not have been the first time that an author was fed a line of . . . bull, by the then R&D teams.

Seriously check out (either through SVGames download or nab one from ebay) Windriders of the Jagged Cliffs. Its a worthwhile sourcebook for halflings that are 'mostly' similar to the ancient Rhulisti. Although like everything else on Athas, their society is in a dying state of decay. If you can get past the quasi sci-fi element of having 'biological manipulations' as a form of technology (which is done with psionics, so why not), then its generally a good add on to a DS campaign.

Anywhoo . . . as a side note, I fully support the idea of Giant Hamster Riding Laser Beamgun Weilding Killer Halflings From Outer Space (GHRLBWKHFOS for short). So much so that I'm going to start spamming some Senate mailboxes with request to pick up on this (unfortunately) forgotten campaign theme. Well, at least for as long as They keep giving me my weekend pass from the Asylum.
#5
Kamelion
Sep 16, 2003 7:46:15 Picked up a copy of Necromancer Games' "Tome of Horrors" - it has a 3.0 conversion of the Giant Hamster (no mention of space, spelljammers or those cool penguins, though...) Anyway, the Tome is all OGL, so there's no reason that the hamsters can't start appearing in official athas.org releases. Nope, no reason at all... :D
#6
gforce99
Sep 16, 2003 8:12:56 hamsters?
I guess this thread has seriously deterioated.
Oh well, just wanted to say that I didn't think Denning planned the space halfling idea, just that TSR (according to Abbey) was planning a space Halfling story and MY OPINION was that TSR was basing that story on Dennings concepts of biotechno Halflings.

Did these Rhul-Thaun (modern Rhulisti) ever interact with other races in Athas/Tyr region?
#7
Kamelion
Sep 16, 2003 8:18:35 Sorry - there are a couple of hamster-freaks in these here hills...

IIRC, one of the ideas behind the Rhul Thaun of the Jagged Cliffs were that they were largely isolated from the rest of Athas. The supplement was presented as being "news from the Wanderer", following his recent visit to the Cliffs, or something similar. So, barring a few exceptions, I'd reckon that the existence of the Rhul Thaun would be news to most of the rest of Athas.

There is also the case of the last rhulisti king (or whatever), called Lord Rahn Thes Onel, who was said to have left the Jagged Cliffs and headed out into the rest of Athas to see if any rhulisti still remained. He never returned and (AFAIK) no reference was ever made to him since.

(I always figured that he found a way to reach that daft Messenger mothership, but that's just me...)
#8
jon_oracle_of_athas
Sep 16, 2003 8:38:55 New Familiar:

Miniature Giant Space Hamster: Grants owner +1 bonus to damage rolls using bite natural attacks.
#9
zombiegleemax
Sep 16, 2003 9:42:50
Grants owner +1 bonus to damage rolls using bite natural attacks.

Do taped up glasses come with the new buck teeth?
#10
Kamelion
Sep 17, 2003 2:04:56 IMHO, a better power for the familiar would be to grant its owner the ability to store item of size S or smaller in his cheek pouches...
Y'think?
#11
zombiegleemax
Sep 17, 2003 7:45:28
Originally posted by Jon, Oracle of Athas
New Familiar:

Miniature Giant Space Hamster: Grants owner +1 bonus to damage rolls using bite natural attacks.

Variant Miniature Giant Space Hamster Familiar: Grants permanent Bag of Holding but occasionally consumes what it holds.
#12
gforce99
Sep 17, 2003 7:55:48 Man, you guys really killed my thread.
Hamsters???
(I always figured that he found a way to reach that daft Messenger mothership, but that's just me...)

I was reading on the archive again and it seems that many DSers thought it would be cool if the Messenger (which many believe was a halfling spaceship) crashed. Then many stories could be about looting the dead rhulisti corpses.
#13
zombiegleemax
Sep 27, 2003 15:46:48 Anyone interested in working up a Lifeshaper PrC, for those Halflings who have learned a bit of their ancient ways?
#14
zombiegleemax
Sep 28, 2003 2:00:15 Lifeshaping is "presented" as a ritualistic and time consuming proccess by those who practice it. The halflings of the Jagged Cliffs still practice the art, but their knowledge is limited and tainted by time itself. They don't even know what aspects of lifeshaping are a real part of the proccess and what aspects are just ritualized mumbo jumbo.

A PrC should give the user 'immediate' benefits, ones that apply in game. The ritualistic aspect of lifeshaping, to me, doesn't seem like the kind of thing that would lend itself easily to a set of rule mechanics that would turn out a decent PrC at all. The abilities that a lifeshaper PrC should gain would be offstage abilities, ones without that immediate effect that makes a class or PrC appealing.
#15
Kamelion
Sep 28, 2003 5:40:46 There was a lifeshaper presige class presented here some time back - possibly on the old boards (as per flippin' usual I can't remember who wrote it!!). Just tried to access the old boards to have a look but the link didn't work. Are they still available?

Anyway, I have a copy of the class on my pc at home and could email it to you if you like (but I really wish I could remember who wrote it so to give proper credit - does this class ring any bells with anyone?)

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 gforce99 Sep 15, 2003 14:46:31	While reading archives of the DS list, I came across this question (which I always had) and the actual answer from Troy Denning. Who were the halflings in the transparent tombs, under the split rock oasis called Cleft Rock, and why did they moved and looked at sadira ? (from the Amber Enchantress) They were ancient halflings from the Blue Age--a small sect in suspended animation who hoped to be able to reclaim the world some day. Halfling biotechnology was also a design feature. The scene with the halfling in suspended animation under Cleft Rock was meant to show that the halflings were the ancient and advanced creator race. Does anyone have any comments about this? Supposively this was the source material for the Space Halfling idea.
#2 zombiegleemax Sep 15, 2003 16:29:18	Sorry, no space halfling stuff here. The 'biotechnology' of the ancient halflings, called Rhulisti, was called Lifeshaping. The halflings of the Blue Age shaped some kind of strange coral called . . . well, I forget what its called, anyhow, its far less like a technology and more like magic or psionics. Yet even that's not quite true either since its not magic (as magic had yet to be invented) and its not psionics (since that too was by way of rumor not part of the Blue Age). Lifeshaped objects do not look like something you see in Star Trek, it looks like somthing from H.R. Geiger. The Lifehshapers themselves were split into two groups during the blue age, the nature-masters and the nature-benders. There are still ruins left over from the Rhulisti scattered about (supposedly Tyr was built atop the ruins of a Rhulisti city called Tyr'Agi or something). There is also one small group of halflings that are direct descendants of the Rhulisti, the halflings of the Jagged Cliffs (a worthwhile sourcebook to pick up, I see it often enough on ebay cheap). They still practice lifeshaping as the ancient Rhulisti did, but they have forgotten much of the old lore. The Shadow Giants are described as being ancient halfings as well, banished to the Black along with Rajaat. Since they seemed to differ greatly from the halflings of the Jagged Cliffs, either their mentality change much during their time with the Warbringer or their 2,000 year imprisonment, or the culture of the Jagged Cliffs itself has changed much since the Clensing Wars.
#3 gforce99 Sep 16, 2003 6:27:09	Thanks Mach2.5, I always like reading your posts. And BTW I had no intention of supporting the "evil space halfling's return" idea that TSR preported as of planning. I believe that Mr. Denning's comments were that if he was allowed to continue Dark Sun (if only...) then he was going to continue from this Cleft Rock halfling statsis plot. And I am sure thats where this "evil space halfling's return" came from. I thought it was great to read, as I had always wondered what the freak those Halflings were doing in cryogenics in a world like Athas???
#4 zombiegleemax Sep 16, 2003 7:14:46	Well I don't recall reading anything about Denning comments of picking up the campaign line (even if just in passing), I do recall hearing that not only were the ancient halflings originally designed to be lifeshapers from the beginning (the stasis/cryo tanks were biological, suspended not in liquid nitrogen or some other more sci-fi plausible explaination, but more of a weirdo lifeshaped tank of perserving fluids meaning that the tanks themselves were a living creature), but that the designers of Windriders of the Jagged Cliffs came out 'mostly' as the halflings were originally designed by him and the rest of the core team of developers. It was a remark made by Lynn Abbey that brought about the whole Killer Halflings From Outer Space, where she was informed by the R&D of TSR that the Messenger, a comet that appears over Athas every 7(?) years, was an orbiting halfling mothership. If you look at similar bizzare responses in the lines of communication between TSR's Novel department and R&D department at that time, you'll find other even stranger comments. One can then only speculate wether the R&D department were pulling a prank, or if they were indeed serious. It would not have been the first time that an author was fed a line of . . . bull, by the then R&D teams. Seriously check out (either through SVGames download or nab one from ebay) Windriders of the Jagged Cliffs. Its a worthwhile sourcebook for halflings that are 'mostly' similar to the ancient Rhulisti. Although like everything else on Athas, their society is in a dying state of decay. If you can get past the quasi sci-fi element of having 'biological manipulations' as a form of technology (which is done with psionics, so why not), then its generally a good add on to a DS campaign. Anywhoo . . . as a side note, I fully support the idea of Giant Hamster Riding Laser Beamgun Weilding Killer Halflings From Outer Space (GHRLBWKHFOS for short). So much so that I'm going to start spamming some Senate mailboxes with request to pick up on this (unfortunately) forgotten campaign theme. Well, at least for as long as They keep giving me my weekend pass from the Asylum.
#5 Kamelion Sep 16, 2003 7:46:15	Picked up a copy of Necromancer Games' "Tome of Horrors" - it has a 3.0 conversion of the Giant Hamster (no mention of space, spelljammers or those cool penguins, though...) Anyway, the Tome is all OGL, so there's no reason that the hamsters can't start appearing in official athas.org releases. Nope, no reason at all... :D
#6 gforce99 Sep 16, 2003 8:12:56	hamsters? I guess this thread has seriously deterioated. Oh well, just wanted to say that I didn't think Denning planned the space halfling idea, just that TSR (according to Abbey) was planning a space Halfling story and MY OPINION was that TSR was basing that story on Dennings concepts of biotechno Halflings. Did these Rhul-Thaun (modern Rhulisti) ever interact with other races in Athas/Tyr region?
#7 Kamelion Sep 16, 2003 8:18:35	Sorry - there are a couple of hamster-freaks in these here hills... IIRC, one of the ideas behind the Rhul Thaun of the Jagged Cliffs were that they were largely isolated from the rest of Athas. The supplement was presented as being "news from the Wanderer", following his recent visit to the Cliffs, or something similar. So, barring a few exceptions, I'd reckon that the existence of the Rhul Thaun would be news to most of the rest of Athas. There is also the case of the last rhulisti king (or whatever), called Lord Rahn Thes Onel, who was said to have left the Jagged Cliffs and headed out into the rest of Athas to see if any rhulisti still remained. He never returned and (AFAIK) no reference was ever made to him since. (I always figured that he found a way to reach that daft Messenger mothership, but that's just me...)
#8 jon_oracle_of_athas Sep 16, 2003 8:38:55	New Familiar: Miniature Giant Space Hamster: Grants owner +1 bonus to damage rolls using bite natural attacks.
#9 zombiegleemax Sep 16, 2003 9:42:50	Grants owner +1 bonus to damage rolls using bite natural attacks. Do taped up glasses come with the new buck teeth?
#10 Kamelion Sep 17, 2003 2:04:56	IMHO, a better power for the familiar would be to grant its owner the ability to store item of size S or smaller in his cheek pouches... Y'think?
#11 zombiegleemax Sep 17, 2003 7:45:28	Originally posted by Jon, Oracle of Athas New Familiar: Miniature Giant Space Hamster: Grants owner +1 bonus to damage rolls using bite natural attacks. Variant Miniature Giant Space Hamster Familiar: Grants permanent Bag of Holding but occasionally consumes what it holds.
#12 gforce99 Sep 17, 2003 7:55:48	Man, you guys really killed my thread. Hamsters??? (I always figured that he found a way to reach that daft Messenger mothership, but that's just me...) I was reading on the archive again and it seems that many DSers thought it would be cool if the Messenger (which many believe was a halfling spaceship) crashed. Then many stories could be about looting the dead rhulisti corpses.
#13 zombiegleemax Sep 27, 2003 15:46:48	Anyone interested in working up a Lifeshaper PrC, for those Halflings who have learned a bit of their ancient ways?
#14 zombiegleemax Sep 28, 2003 2:00:15	Lifeshaping is "presented" as a ritualistic and time consuming proccess by those who practice it. The halflings of the Jagged Cliffs still practice the art, but their knowledge is limited and tainted by time itself. They don't even know what aspects of lifeshaping are a real part of the proccess and what aspects are just ritualized mumbo jumbo. A PrC should give the user 'immediate' benefits, ones that apply in game. The ritualistic aspect of lifeshaping, to me, doesn't seem like the kind of thing that would lend itself easily to a set of rule mechanics that would turn out a decent PrC at all. The abilities that a lifeshaper PrC should gain would be offstage abilities, ones without that immediate effect that makes a class or PrC appealing.
#15 Kamelion Sep 28, 2003 5:40:46	There was a lifeshaper presige class presented here some time back - possibly on the old boards (as per flippin' usual I can't remember who wrote it!!). Just tried to access the old boards to have a look but the link didn't work. Are they still available? Anyway, I have a copy of the class on my pc at home and could email it to you if you like (but I really wish I could remember who wrote it so to give proper credit - does this class ring any bells with anyone?)