Typo in bottom left paragraph, page 14. "Now almost exclusively nocturnal, it moves beyond a being a mere monster [...]"
Nit-picking: The table for the Pakubrazi-Tainted, page 94, has lines around the sections, while all the other tables in ToA have sections with invisible lines.
The Sand Bride and Sand Mother are listed on page 5 has Undead, while in their monster description, page 114, they are described as Outsiders.
Typo in bottom left paragraph, page 14. "Now almost exclusively nocturnal, it moves beyond a being a mere monster [...]"
Nit-picking: The table for the Pakubrazi-Tainted, page 94, has lines around the sections, while all the other tables in ToA have sections with invisible lines.
Thanks for these!
The Sand Bride and her mother are both Outsiders. This was changed at a very late stage and we missed the amendment on the list at the start.
For example, Desert & Plains Giants are listed as having normal-to-above-avergage intelligence (12 & 10). The Giants, Athasian page from my old Monstrous Compendium supplement lists all types of giants as having Low (5-7) Intelligence. The Wanderer's Journal agrees with the MC. I'm not sure if the Crag Giants' intelligence is a mistake or not, since I don't have their 2E stats.
Another example, Hej-kin shouldn't have a poison attack. In the 0.9 version of ToA, it looked as if someone had copy&pasted the Jankx attacks into the Hej-Kin description (1 spur +1 melee, 1 plus poison) at some point in the process. But Hej-Kin don't have spurs and don't have poison. In the new version, both the Hej-Kin and the Jankx have been changed to "claws" instead of "spurs" (correct for the hej-kin but not for the jankx?), but the Hej-Kin still have poison for some reason.
Also, in the most recent document, someone got biofeedback and body adjustment confused in the Hej-Kin description. It should read: Psi-like Abilities: 3/day – biofeedback (3/-*).
EDIT: thanks for all the work, BTW. While I often find myself disagreeing with the choices made by the converters, the document gives me a solid base to make changes from, instead of having to start from scratch.
Is it too late to point out mistakes in the conversions?
For example, Desert & Plains Giants are listed as having normal-to-above-avergage intelligence (12 & 10). The Giants, Athasian page from my old Monstrous Compendium supplement lists all types of giants as having Low (5-7) Intelligence. The Wanderer's Journal agrees with the MC. I'm not sure if the Crag Giants' intelligence is a mistake or not, since I don't have their 2E stats.
Another example, Hej-kin shouldn't have a poison attack. In the 0.9 version of ToA, it looked as if someone had copy&pasted the Jankx attacks into the Hej-Kin description (1 spur +1 melee, 1 plus poison) at some point in the process. But Hej-Kin don't have spurs and don't have poison. In the new version, both the Hej-Kin and the Jankx have been changed to "claws" instead of "spurs" (correct for the hej-kin but not for the jankx?), but the Hej-Kin still have poison for some reason.
Also, in the most recent document, someone got biofeedback and body adjustment confused in the Hej-Kin description. It should read: Psi-like Abilities: 3/day – biofeedback (3/-*).
EDIT: thanks for all the work, BTW. While I often find myself disagreeing with the choices made by the converters, the document gives me a solid base to make changes from, instead of having to start from scratch.
Never too late - there should be another revision before the version with images is released. Thanks for the input too - always welcome
The crag giant is correct (did that one myself). I am not sure about the other two and I just packed all my DS stuff in preparation for moving to UK. Nyt, Gab, would one of you chaps check this one?
Ditto for the hej-kin. It looks like the poison reference slipped in there somehow (sneaky little buggers, aren't they?). Good catch on the biofeedback too - cheers.
We normalised the attack names, so "spur" was replaced by claw. If you check the janx combat description, though, the spurs are still referenced.
Thankyou too for your feedback, MrSpatula. It is the only way to ensure complete quality in a product like this
.Don't know if it is nit-picking, but if Claustrophic is named it the statistics block it should also be named in the descriptive text (Claustrophobic: description).
My suggestion would be to change
- -2 morale penalty on all rolls when in an enclosed space. Aarakocra are claustrophobic, and being underground or in enclosed buildings is extremely distressing.
into
- Claustrophobic: Being underground or in enclosed buildings is extremely distressing for aarakocras. Therefor they get a -2 morale penalty on all rolls when in an enclosed space.
May I ask where the differents stats of the kanks are from? I always thought that kanks are anatomically equal, but use their abilities according to their duty within the hive.
p.14 - Aarakocra:
Don't know if it is nit-picking, but if Claustrophic is named it the statistics block it should also be named in the descriptive text (Claustrophobic: description).
My suggestion would be to change
- -2 morale penalty on all rolls when in an enclosed space. Aarakocra are claustrophobic, and being underground or in enclosed buildings is extremely distressing.
into
- Claustrophobic: Being underground or in enclosed buildings is extremely distressing for aarakocras. Therefor they get a -2 morale penalty on all rolls when in an enclosed space.
May I ask where the differents stats of the kanks are from? I always thought that kanks are anatomically equal, but use their abilities according to their duty within the hive.
It's not nitpicking - it's formatting :D. And it's a good point too.
With my stuff packed, I am not 100% on this, but iirc, the kank differences were a design decision to make the types more distinct.
With my stuff packed, I am not 100% on this, but iirc, the kank differences were a design decision to make the types more distinct.
Agreed.
It made sense to break up the kanks into three different subspecies and then make a domestic and non-domestic version.
For example, Desert & Plains Giants are listed as having normal-to-above-avergage intelligence (12 & 10). The Giants, Athasian page from my old Monstrous Compendium supplement lists all types of giants as having Low (5-7) Intelligence. The Wanderer's Journal agrees with the MC. I'm not sure if the Crag Giants' intelligence is a mistake or not, since I don't have their 2E stats.
It's not a mistake, we just don't take 2e stats as biblical.
For example, check the Int they gave a athasian 2e elf and then check the racial stats you got for playing the race. ;)
I personally don't think that giving them the Int that we did is too high and conflicting with cannon. Look at the Int and Dex mods for giants in the MMs, not too much different from that and I used that as a basis when converting the giants.
In the section "Creating a Half-Elemental" under "Special Attacks:" it is said that "Half-elementals with a Wisdom score of 8 or higher possess the following spelllike abilities,...."
In the examples the spell save DC is Charisma-based...
I'm confused, because in the section of "Creating a Half-Elemental" it is not mentioned that the save DC is Charisma-based, so I asumed it would be Wisdom-based. But the examples have it Charisma-based.....now I'm realy confused...
.....please sombody help me.....It's not a mistake, we just don't take 2e stats as biblical.
For example, check the Int they gave a athasian 2e elf and then check the racial stats you got for playing the race. ;)
? MC 2, Elf, Intelligence: Average (8-10). Elven characters got a +1 Int, so I suppose it should have been Average (9-11), but the intelligence ranges were pre-defined and a +1 isn't enough to bump it up to the next category.
I personally don't think that giving them the Int that we did is too high and conflicting with cannon. Look at the Int and Dex mods for giants in the MMs, not too much different from that and I used that as a basis when converting the giants.
Well hell, why not just use the MM giants then? "Giant, Athasian: see Giant, MM pg XX" would have used up a lot fewer pages.
I was reading the Half-Elemental - Paraelemental template und took a look at the examples, and now I am confused.
In the section "Creating a Half-Elemental" under "Special Attacks:" it is said that "Half-elementals with a Wisdom score of 8 or higher possess the following spelllike abilities,...."
In the examples the spell save DC is Charisma-based...
I'm confused, because in the section of "Creating a Half-Elemental" it is not mentioned that the save DC is Charisma-based, so I asumed it would be Wisdom-based. But the examples have it Charisma-based.....now I'm realy confused...
? MC 2, Elf, Intelligence: Average (8-10). Elven characters got a +1 Int, so I suppose it should have been Average (9-11), but the intelligence ranges were pre-defined and a +1 isn't enough to bump it up to the next category.
Well hell, why not just use the MM giants then? "Giant, Athasian: see Giant, MM pg XX" would have used up a lot fewer pages.
Balancing. Are you familiar with the term, and how it applies in 3/3.5E's scheme of things? If so, then your questions are rhetorical, because you know the answers you seek. If not, then maybe you should review the CR system, how it applies in the 3/3.5e mechanics, and also the countless threads in this forum that explain that Athas.orc are mandated, by WotC to balance everything. You'll find most of those posts under the topic headings referring to Defilers and Preservers, or related issues. Why did the stats get changed? Because the giants had to be adjusted to fit the 3/3.5e mechanics. Abilities in 3/3.5e don't scale the same in power as 2e ones did, and the same numeric values do not mean the same thing from 2e to 3/3.5e. It's a simple as that. If you don't like it, then give it a crack yourself.
They're just basing the mechanics off of existing half-X templates. See the half-fiend & half-celestial templates in the MM and the half-elemental templates in the Manual of the Planes.
MrSpatula is right on the nose with this one too. I modelled the half-elemental templates off the similar ones in MM3.5 and MotP. You're right, though - there is an error of ommission in the write-up as it should indeed note that all save DCs are Charisma-based in the Special Attacks section of "Creating a Half-Elemental". Thanks for spotting that one
.? MC 2, Elf, Intelligence: Average (8-10). Elven characters got a +1 Int, so I suppose it should have been Average (9-11), but the intelligence ranges were pre-defined and a +1 isn't enough to bump it up to the next category.[/b]
There's more than one instance of 2e nixing the stats up...
Don't have my 2e books anymore and don't feel like arguing about it.
Well hell, why not just use the MM giants then? "Giant, Athasian: see Giant, MM pg XX" would have used up a lot fewer pages.
To be even more of an ass, why does Athas need a monster manual anyways? Let alone two? It would have saved us a hell of alot of time let me tell you. ;)
The REAL answer is because there is more than just stats when comparing the giants of Athas to those of other worlds. Athas giants are unique in some areas that other worlds are not. Just becaise I BASED, i.e. not copied, the stats from the giants in the MM, doesn't mean they suddenly lose the Athasian flavor that they had. Stats aren't everything.
To be even more of an ass, why does Athas need a monster manual anyways? Let alone two? It would have saved us a hell of alot of time let me tell you. ;)
True!
The REAL answer is because there is more than just stats when comparing the giants of Athas to those of other worlds. Athas giants are unique in some areas that other worlds are not. Just becaise I BASED, i.e. not copied, the stats from the giants in the MM, doesn't mean they suddenly lose the Athasian flavor that they had. Stats aren't everything.
...and part of that flavor is that they were not that smart. Now they're as smart or smarter than humans. It's a flavor change as well as a mechanical one, and an apparently senseless one to my eyes.
The MM giants have gotten mechanical boosts across the editions (3E giants are much nastier than 2E giants which are tougher than 1E giants), but their flavor hasn't changed. Some are stupid (hill giants), some average, some are very smart indeed (storm giants), and that's the way they've always been. I guess I'm saying that I expected something similar from the DS update to 3E, rather than a "re-imagining" of the monsters.
If there's a mechanical reason to change something (because the concept doesn't transfer properly in the new edition or whatever), I fully support that. This isn't one of those changes though, as far as I can tell.
True!
...and part of that flavor is that they were not that smart.
Define "not that smart".
The Plains Giant is the only one with a bonus (Int of 12), all the others are average (Int 10) or have a penalty (Crag Giant).
That's "not that smart" to me, heh.
Xlorep pretty much explained it to you, rather beautifully I might add, and you just blowed him off, which is a mistake IMO.
2e stats != 3e stats, they don't even come close.
All of the monsters, and I do mean all, went through massive reimaging when needed. Unfortunately that's needed sometimes when you upgrade to a newer edition. Especially since 2e was so chaotic it was hard to figure out what exactly the stats meant, esp when things in the flavor contradicted the stats and other mechanics of the monsters. So basically we did the best that we could when redesigning everything (which was me for the most part alone for the first year and a half), and instead of getting a headache over it, I went with a few gut feelings and called it good.
We have had a massive, and I do mean massive, sweep in editing this beast. Thanks go to Kam, David, and Mike on that. Kam got on board and helped me out as lead designer then helped with the editing (I hate editing!). The other two came on and ripped ToA a new one. Oddly enough, the giants weren't brought up much, guess that means it's pretty safe to say that they are probably ok.
Now, if you would like to rework them, then go for it. Maybe they will be good enough to change what's currently in there now, but don't expect such a change till the next release, which will probably have images too.
Define "not that smart".
Lower than average, which would mean a penalty at the very least.
Xlorep pretty much explained it to you, rather beautifully I might add, and you just blowed him off, which is a mistake IMO.
Xlorep started talking about the CR system and how WOTC mandated that the conversion be balanced. That has no bearing on what I'm talking about.
Thanks for all the work on this stuff, I really mean that. I've tried my hand from converting monsters to 3E and it's a lot of work. Going from "monsters have no stats" to "monsters now have stats like PCs" leaves a lot of gaping holes in the old monster description. How strong should this thing be, exactly? How charismatic, etc.? What role should this monster fufill in the grand scheme of things? What existing 3E mechanism can be used to model this special ability, or do I have to define a new one? etc.
Some of the work is already done for you though, like attack modes (still have to decide which is primary), HD (may need to be revised upwards), and Intelligence. The Intelligence for the average creature is right there near the top of the 2E descriptions. Why change it? That's what I don't get. If there's a compelling reason, tell me and I'll admit I'm an idiot and shut up.
DS desert and plains giants were big dumb brutes. In the athas.org conversion, they're big not-so-dumb brutes, or big smart brutes in the case of plains giants.
Now, if you would like to rework them, then go for it. Maybe they will be good enough to change what's currently in there now, but don't expect such a change till the next release, which will probably have images too.
Desert Giant: Int 6
Skills: Climb +11, Jump +11, Listen +5, Spot +5, Survival +4
Plains Giant: Int 6
Skills: Climb +15, Jump +15, Listen +5, Spot +5, Survival +6
Personally I would have converted the old "immunity to psionics" differently, but that's one of those things that is open to interpretation.
"Gith as Characters" should include "Low-light vision" in the bullet list of what gith PCs get.
It's a bit of a nitpick, but animals with psi-like (or spell-like) abilities should really be magical beasts instead.
Xlorep started talking about the CR system and how WOTC mandated that the conversion be balanced. That has no bearing on what I'm talking about.
Contrary to what you may think, ability allocation does help determine CR.
The Intelligence for the average creature is right there near the top of the 2E descriptions. Why change it? That's what I don't get. If there's a compelling reason, tell me and I'll admit I'm an idiot and shut up.
The compelling reason is that 2e stats mean jack, period. They don't translate well at all with 3e stats. I learned this the hard way when I started converting these things. I know what I'm doing, whether you agree or not.
There are plenty of examples, look them up. I don't have my 2e books anymore so I am not going to point them out to you, but elf was one example of that, even if it wasn't as much as a discrepency as I thought.
Apparently you are just not getting it, and that's fine, but I'm not wasting any more time arguing about this. If there was a problem with the giants it would have been brought up.
If I see more people complain about this, then and only then will I reconsider and bring it up to the bureau. At this point though it seems to be the minority whinning at the majority unless you can prove me wrong otherwise.
Way to go, Nyt!
Way to go, Nyt!
Yeah Nyt, you sure showed those 2E stats what you're made of!
Yeah Nyt, you sure showed those 2E stats what you're made of!
Necessary, evil, bloody headache...
The Slig has wrong damage listed for its bite. The damage for Attack and Full Attack seem to be switched.
Spell Resistance (Ex): A jozhal has spell resistance equal to its class levels + 5.
I think class levels is the wrong expression; HDs or character levels seem to be right.
I hope I made sense.
I am updating Whispers of the Storm at the moment and because of that I had a look at the jhakar.
Btw, watch your "mad sense" and "strenght". :D
Mastyrial, Black (yes, the other one I had to look at because of WotS)
Special Attacks: should add "psi-like abilities"
Combat, first paragraph: is co-ordination indented?
Psi-like abilities: couldn't an augmented mindlink (manifester level 8th) affect up to 6 targets instead of just 4? I am not sure about this, I read myself into the whole 3.5 psi-stuff just recently.
This should be about it.
So I suggest to increase the targets to 8 or to mention the "unwilling or not" thing.
I would also remove the reference to a bulldog in the flavour description. It leads to things like the infamous Lion King.
In the same vein, mentions of "wild dog", "hound" and "dog" should be removed from the Ruve, since there are no dogs on Athas, only rasclinns.
For example, rasclinns are refered to as "dog-like", which is appropriate, although not in the description in italic, since that one is meant to be read to the players: you can't mention that its like a "wild dog" or that its "dog-like" in that paragraph.
In the same vein, mentions of "wild dog", "hound" and "dog" should be removed from the Ruve, since there are no dogs on Athas, only rasclinns.
Before anyone jumps in to disagree with you, I agree that there are no dogs on Athas.
For example, rasclinns are refered to as "dog-like", which is appropriate, although not in the description in italic, since that one is meant to be read to the players: you can't mention that its like a "wild dog" or that its "dog-like" in that paragraph.
Still, describing something as a dog is a good way for players to visualize it. How else are we going to communicate what this is?
Before anyone jumps in to disagree with you, I agree that there are no dogs on Athas.
Still, describing something as a dog is a good way for players to visualize it. How else are we going to communicate what this is?
True enough. Part of the fun I have in my games is misdirecting people with descriptions. Descibing the creature as it is, using terms that the players understand, but, they don't necessarily fully grasp what the creature is, because they want to use the definitions of things according to what they know from Real Life or other Fantasy settings. A good example of this is..... a Bard.
Before anyone jumps in to disagree with you, I agree that there are no dogs on Athas.
I just happen to be one of those that disagree, heh.
:D
High characters are most often wizards or psions, with some complementing their natural combat potency with levels as fighters. When advancing as a wizard, however,...
High drik characters are most often wizards or psions, with some complementing their natural combat potency with levels as fighters. When advancing as a wizard, however,....
.Thanks, guys. We'll get these in the next ToA release (although I am guessing that we will be waiting until we have accompanying images before that happens).
Also on the Braxat, I think the damage bonus to its secondary gore attack is +10, when it should be +5 (+10 Str bonus, halved for secondary attack).
Yes, correct
. It should be +5.The Braxat is also missing the Treasure line in the stat block. Sorry about all the posts on this one monster - I'm only looking at what I need for my game, so I'm only noticing things in pieces.
So... are we getting some answeres here? My feral halflings are hungry... and have spoken well about some Kamelion's taste...
The braxat should have standard treasure. We'll be incorporating all of these fixes into the next version of ToA, but won't get busy with that until TotDL is completed, so keep your hungry little hobbits to yourself in the meantime, if you can manage it (and if not, I can recommend a white wine sauce with garlic mushrooms - I go particularly well with that :P)
:D.
The braxat should have standard treasure. We'll be incorporating all of these fixes into the next version of ToA, but won't get busy with that until TotDL is completed ...
When TotDL ?
:D.
We'll be incorporating all of these fixes into the next version of ToA, but won't get busy with that until TotDL is completed.
Waiting for TotDL
... 
Any others fixes could be mentioned here... it would be a xmas
.When TotDL ?
Soon...ish. We've all been more busy than usual with real-world stuff but are more or less finished with the conversions over to 3.5 and associated amendments. We'll be starting the internal reviewing shortly.
Any others fixes could be mentioned here... it would be a xmas
Bah humbug! You'll just have to trawl through the threads and pick them out yourself I'm afraid - we can't really spare the time to compile them until TotDL is stowed away. Thanks for the support - sorry I can't be more Xmatic.
(PS - This smilie:
is just plain wierd. Who comes up with these eyesores?)(PS - This smilie
OMG!
Someome finally did one!
(PS - This smilie:
Weird??.. It's cute!
Calm down my feral halflings.. you should put your best hopes on lunching some guys busy with the Epic Rules... They should taste better, specially with "white wine sauce with garlic mushrooms"..
Psi-Like Abilities: 3/day—attraction (+7 bonus, DC 16*), brain lock (all targets, DC 14*), ego whip (2d4 Charisma damage, DC 16*), empty mind (+5 bonus*), psionic dominate (DC 18). Manifester level 7th. The save DCs are Charisma-based.
*Includes augmentation for the belgoi’s manifester level.
Edit: Oh, and may I ask why a ssurran's favorite class cleric or druid is? Cleric or fighter/barbarian would seem more appropriate IMO.
I just took a look at the 2nd ed. ssurrans and noticed, that they had as a special defense to half fire based damage. ToA's write up on the other hand only provides heat tolerance, which doesn't apply on fire based damage. Is it intentioned, or why did you reduce the defense? IMHO, it wouln't do any harm if ssurrans had some kind of resitance to fire.
No, it wouldn't make a huge difference if they had straight-up fire resistance. My original ssurran conversion had fire resistance 10 (iirc), but it was decided during development to scale that back to heat tolerance in order to avoid stepping on the toes of the dray fire resistance ability. So it was largely a flavour decision and you can easily give the ssurran fire resistance if you wish (they have this ability instead of heat tolerance in my home games, for example).
Edit: Oh, and may I ask why a ssurran's favorite class cleric or druid is? Cleric or fighter/barbarian would seem more appropriate IMO.
Yes, that's an equally viable choice. Again, this was a purely flavour decision arising out of my conception of the ssurran as spiritual savages, living at peace with their bestial nature. (My undeveloped work on the Scorched Plateau adds further detail to the idea of ssurran druid sects dedicated to the Spirits of the Land). If you prefer for the ssurran favoured class to be something else, I'd say that would work fine. It's all derived from how you see the flavour of the race at the end of the day
.No, it wouldn't make a huge difference if they had straight-up fire resistance. My original ssurran conversion had fire resistance 10 (iirc), but it was decided during development to scale that back to heat tolerance in order to avoid stepping on the toes of the dray fire resistance ability. So it was largely a flavour decision and you can easily give the ssurran fire resistance if you wish (they have this ability instead of heat tolerance in my home games, for example).
Yes, that's an equally viable choice. Again, this was a purely flavour decision arising out of my conception of the ssurran as spiritual savages, living at peace with their bestial nature. (My undeveloped work on the Scorched Plateau adds further detail to the idea of ssurran druid sects dedicated to the Spirits of the Land). If you prefer for the ssurran favoured class to be something else, I'd say that would work fine. It's all derived from how you see the flavour of the race at the end of the day
Will the ssurran as it is now be kept in the next release, or will there be some changes. I'm asking, because I'm planing to make a races of for ssurrans and nikaals, and would like to stay to the official races. It would be great, if the resistance to fire 10 would make it for the next write up, because I have some problems to make racial classes, as the existing abilities are pretty few and weak. You mentioned an undeveloped work that contains some information about ssurrans. Would you mind to send me what you've got so far? I'd like to see, what others think about ssurrans and maybe I could use (with your permission) some of your ideas to make my write up complete and consistent with what you did (or are going to do).
Will the ssurran as it is now be kept in the next release, or will there be some changes. I'm asking, because I'm planing to make a races of for ssurrans and nikaals, and would like to stay to the official races. It would be great, if the resistance to fire 10 would make it for the next write up, because I have some problems to make racial classes, as the existing abilities are pretty few and weak.
Personally I have no problems with beefing up the ssurran resistance for the next release, but we'd need to get a consensus from the rest of the Bureau and Overcouncil/Senate. I'll raise it for discussion.
You mentioned an undeveloped work that contains some information about ssurrans. Would you mind to send me what you've got so far? I'd like to see, what others think about ssurrans and maybe I could use (with your permission) some of your ideas to make my write up complete and consistent with what you did (or are going to do).
When I say "undeveloped" I really do mean that it got no fiurther than brief notes on how I was going to further flesh out the ssurrans. Right after starting work on it, I joined athas.org and haven't had the time (or inclination) to revisit it. Here are the relevant notes from the section on the ssurrans. Each of the sections below was intended to be further fleshed out, hence the sparse wording.
Ssurran Notes
Roaming the wastes of the Scorched Plateau, the reptilian Ssurran have made a name for themselves as traders, hunters and scouts that is unparalleled amongst the folk of the region. Even the elven tribes of the northern lands cannot go where the Ssurran travel – into the burning heart of the Plateau at Lava Gorge itself.
Some Ssurran worship the elements, especially Magma, Fire and Sun. Others are Druids, following Spirits of the Land, but they do not call them by these names.
To the more primordial Ssurran, the Spirits are their gods, the lords of the living world, and they refer to them as such. There are a number of Ssurran druid orders, each dedicated to a separate group of Spirits. While each group of Spirits is geographically based, they can extend their blessings to their followers no matter where those followers are.
Ssurran druids can buy a feat that gives them access to a single domain in addition to their druid spells (like the Eberron Initiate feats). This domain can be an elemental domain linked to the Spirits followed or one of a small number of special Ssurran domains. These special Ssurran domains are not available to Ssurran elemental clerics as they are only granted by the Spirits of the Land.
Ssurran druids can also take a prestige class linked to their respective Spirits. These are 5-level classes that further cater to the requirements of each cult.
Ssurran cults include:
Magma freaks – control and commune with elemental magma
Flame Caller – summon and control magma and fire elementals
Life Callers – summon and control the creatures of the Scorched Plateau
Magic Cult – follow Spirits that are infused with energies of Magehome
Godshold Cult – follow lost gods of the Green Age
Ssurran tribes include the following:
Rockblood Tribe – in service to monstrous magma elementals at Lava Gorge.
Sandclaw Tribe - wandering traders and expert scavengers .
Dunestorm Tribe - wandering traders and ambush raiders.
Deepthunder Tribe - living in geothermal caverns, preserving oldest tales and legends.
Earthstar Tribe - dwelling around Magehome, with attendant secrets and abilities.
Dustdrinker Tribe - roaming near shores of Sea of Silt.
I also did a PHB-style writeup on the ssurran. I think that there's a thread on this somewhere, back in the mists of time. To save on the hunting, here are the relevant sections, minus the game stats (which are in ToA):
Ssurran Characters
The Ssurran are reptilian humanoids, whose appearance is similar to that of heavy-set lizard men. They roam Athas, living their lives as traders, raiders, hunters and scavengers. While some Ssurran are markedly more primitive than others, they have spread throughout the Tablelands. Those that dwell in the region of Lava Gorge, on the Scorched Plateau, have benefited from the seclusion and attendant safety that has allowed their tribes flourish, and they often join into great Ssurran nations that sweep across the Plateau.
Personality: While they are viewed as brutal savages or leery scavengers by many other races of the Tablelands – and even hunted as beasts by some – the Ssurran boast a complex culture that is quite visible in the way they live their lives. For the Ssurran, the conceit that places “civilised” races above the beasts does not exist. To the Ssurran we are all beasts and we all must all do what we can to survive. Those who have land, have safety. Those who have safety can prosper. Those who prosper can create better tools. Those with the best tools can claim the best land…
Intertwined with this simple philosophy is a rich body of religious belief and legend. Thanks to this body of common tribal knowledge, the Ssurran display great practicality. Life is a struggle and each Ssurran must learn the skills needed to endure. Ssurran are no-nonsense, individualistic survivors – traits that make them valued as scouts and guides amongst their fellow races.
Despite their individualism, Ssurran are most comfortable when surrounded by their allies. When outnumbered or threatened, they are cautious, even cowardly. They will seek to flee or bargain their way out of most overmatched contests, only fighting if cornered. When forced to fight, however, they are savage, rending and biting until an opening to flee presents itself.
Physical: Ssurran range from 4 to 6 feet in height, weighing anything from 180 to 225 pounds. They are reptilian, even crocodilian in appearance, with pronounced toothy snouts, scales and a long tail. A Ssurran’s mouth seems perpetually curved in a slight, sly smile. The Ssurran tail is not prehensile and is used for balance, posture and communication.
A Ssurran’s claws are extremely sharp, hardened from long years of tramping across rugged lava flows and the blasted terrain of the Scorched Plateau. They also have a snapping bite, but use of this is considered threatening behaviour in Ssurran society. A Ssurran who bites means business.
Ssurran hide is thick and heavy and protects the creatures from the heat of the athasian sun. Their natural resistance to heat even allows the Ssurran to thrive in the immediate surrounds of Lava Gorge.
Relations: The Ssurran are seen as savages, raiders or poor traders by most other species. For their part, the Ssurran view most civilised races as pretentious fools, lost in their tools and forgetful of their kinship with the beasts of the wilderness.
The Ssurran dominate those whom they can and will seek to forge cordial relationships with those they cannot. If threatened, Ssurran tend to leave, only to return later and strike from ambush, usually with gruesome results.
Ssurran are carnivores and will eat anything that they think will taste good and fill their bellies. The less civilised among them will eat intelligent life and have a particular fondness for halfling flesh, claiming it is soft, sweet and ever so spicy. These Ssurran mark their food, either with claw marks or urine, and have been known to do this to foes they slay in battle, only to return and eat them later.
Alignment: Ssurran tend towards the chaotic or the neutral. The elder the Ssurran is, the more she tends toward lawful alignments, as the ties of tribe and family grow stronger.
Lands: The Ssurran are a nomadic people, who live as hunter-gatherers when they are not raiding or trading. Each tribe claims an area as its own, and roams throughout that area during the year, herding its kwilit and fortress beetles with it as it moves. Through their amassed practical lore, the Ssurran know how to preserve their ecosystem and will move on before the land itself begins to suffer.
Because of their natural resistance to heat and fire, the Ssurran favour terrain that other races find uncomfortable, or even deadly. The craters of volcanoes, shores of lava seas and the hearts of blazing wastes are all sanctuaries for these creatures, and they have learned to make the most of such environments. Ssurran who dwell in these locations tend to have a greater degree of sophistication than their brethren do elsewhere and will go to great lengths to defend their homes.
Religion: The more sophisticated amongst the Ssurran have adopted worship of the elements and para-elements, along with most of the rest of Athas. They favour Magma and Sun, with Fire also being popular. Clerics of the Earth element are also welcome amongst the wandering tribes.
Those Ssurran of a more ancient heritage believe in ancient gods that they claim watch over them. The Ssurran’s oldest legends hold that their progenitors were hatched from the World Egg, which they equate with Athas herself. They baked for aeons within the egg, until they were ready to hatch. The Egg cracked and the first Ssurran came forth. They found a baked and burned world waiting for them and, slipping across the surface between the sand and the shadows, they began to make a new home for themselves in the world their gods had prepared.
Are the Ssurran really subterranean in origin, as their tales claim? Beginnings amidst geothermal wellsprings might explain their unusual resistance to heat. Furthermore, they have no record of the Cleansing Wars and if their stories are to be believed, they did not emerge from the world below until the devastation of those conflicts were complete.
Psionics: The Ssurran have a fair understanding of psionics, but would appear to have only recently begun to explore the Will and the Way. Metacreation and Clairsentience are favoured, due to their direct applications in exploration and survival, and Telepathy is common amongst scouts and traders, for ease of communication with strangers and with each other.
Magic: As with psionics, the Ssurran seem still to be discovering magic as a species. They are quite aware of the difference between preservers and defilers, and do not treat the latter kindly. Defilers are forced off Ssurran lands and only attacked if victory seems certain and retribution unlikely.
Language: The Ssurran language is an elegant one, composed of sibilant tones, counterpoised with basso rumblings from the chest cavity. Tail posture and attitude add depth and texture, resulting in a language that is quite impossible for creatures without tails to learn properly.
Ssurran have difficulty themselves pronouncing other languages and their voices often have a hissing, polytonal quality that is not unpleasant to the ear.
Male Names: Chavesh’ess, Ithoriss, Ssuss’ess, Thuuuss, Uss’ule’ess, Zath’ess
Female Names: Ashess’uess, Iieth, Isth’uess, Ithissa, Ula’nis’uess, Uthiss’uess
Adventurers: Ssurran adventurers tend to be from more civilised tribes, for no other reason than these Ssurran have an easier time relating to the other races and hence tend to be more successful. More primitive Ssurran do take up the adventuring life, but theirs is a hard road, and they have many preconceptions about their kind to overcome.
Ssurran adventurers soon become aware of the bestial reputation that their species has and treat it with varying degrees of wry acceptance. They know that supposedly more civilised races are beasts as much as they are – they just have better tools. Out in the wild, however, the Ssurran is in his element, and other adventurers soon find themselves grateful for the presence of their perpetually smiling scaled companion.
Role-playing Suggestions: You are a child of the earth, born from its bosom and released to roam across its surface, making what you will of what you find. You have no conceits about your station in life – you deserve only that which you can earn yourself. Your tribe will care for you as you care for it, but your life is your own and no-one will care for you when the water is gone. You are a beast – nothing more, nothing less – but this is a meaningless distinction, as all creatures are beasts beneath the sun. You have a somewhat callous attitude to personal rights. That which cannot be earned and kept should not be given freely.
Keep an eye open for opportunity at all times and be aware of any hidden dangers that may threaten you when you are weak. Be sure to have an escape route planned at all times, or be sure that you can devise – or buy – one at short notice, if needed. The resourceful Ssurran is the long-lived Ssurran.
That's about the size of my ssurran notes. Feel free to use, abuse or refuse any of this as you see fit
.That's about the size of my ssurran notes. Feel free to use, abuse or refuse any of this as you see fit
Thank you! Although, I didn't take a look at it yet (I'm just on my way to be away for the next 5 days), but I'm sure there will be something that I can use. Maybe even some of these sentece as they are, so I don't have to translate my thoughts on my own (or at least I could steal some vucabulars :D).