1st - The dark lense. Created by Halflings using their nature magic. Think about it, can create psionicly fassioned temporary creatures (useful when describing/designing/testing a new life shaped creation), it grants the ability to use any psionic power (provided the user knows enough about it), and, it amplifies energy. Normally used by wizards to multiply their powers ten fold, "yet" when used by clirics, such as Rkard, it amplified much more. Now, the dark lense does gain some power from the sun, and it also amplified Rkard's power incredibly so, possibly due to that. Now, imagine you are a halfling nature master, and either also an elemental cleric, or associated with some.. wouldn't the dark lense help you considerably?? especially as in 2e halflings had level limits? If you weren't able to cast the highest level priest spells, wouldn't you want to boost what you did have? Also, who created the rebirth races? The halflings.. who is likely to have given "every" stinking race unlimited level advancements in psionics?? The halflings ;) So, ok, halflings created the dark lense. Cool stuff.
2nd - Ok, it's the blue age, there are nature master's and nature benders, those who respect and those who abuse life.. It's decided that perhaps psionics would be a great way to neutralise things.. Let the peoples learn wisdom through self discovery (the central means to power through psionics). And you have a plan for later on after wisdom has prevailed.
Ok though, you still have those nature benders running around.. they don't like the way things are, all these new races, halflings on the back burner.. etc. So, they create Rajaat.. and they do something to him that makes him skip steps.. they grant him the powers of one of the most potent races, the pyreen.. access to all elemental magics, and enhanced psionics (due to his high intellect) then.. they grant him an innate capacity for wizardly magic, previously unknown.. the ability to manipulate life directly, rather than shaping the blocks of life, you shape the energy directly.. Granting him sorcery (wizardry being developed by him also through study). They also twist rajaat's features and mind, so that by instinct he despises himself, and the other new rebirth races.. a natural predator for them. I personally believe magic might possibly have been a capability the nature masters wanted to reserve until later on.. (the only reson I think they had it intended at all, is simply because the races are capable of doing it, rather, the rebirth races, some of them, are capable, it was built in to them.)
Ok, that's enough for my first posting.. what do you think? Any other ideas out there?? Any thoughts of other life shaped items that may be in existence?? perhaps lesser versions of the dark lense? perhaps life shaped creations that will amplify psionics greatly? Perhaps life shaped items that will enslave a creature while granting psionic powers?? :-)
Here everyone can toss in ideas they have about those mysterious blue age halflings.. I myself have thought up some intriguing ideas about them.. I don't have any real proof of course, but some of it seems to make sense, at least to me. I'd be interested in feed back and other ideas also.
1st - The dark lense. Created by Halflings using their nature magic. Think about it, can create psionicly fassioned temporary creatures (useful when describing/designing/testing a new life shaped creation), it grants the ability to use any psionic power (provided the user knows enough about it), and, it amplifies energy. Normally used by wizards to multiply their powers ten fold, "yet" when used by clirics, such as Rkard, it amplified much more. Now, the dark lense does gain some power from the sun, and it also amplified Rkard's power incredibly so, possibly due to that. Now, imagine you are a halfling nature master, and either also an elemental cleric, or associated with some.. wouldn't the dark lense help you considerably?? especially as in 2e halflings had level limits? If you weren't able to cast the highest level priest spells, wouldn't you want to boost what you did have? Also, who created the rebirth races? The halflings.. who is likely to have given "every" stinking race unlimited level advancements in psionics?? The halflings ;) So, ok, halflings created the dark lense. Cool stuff.
2nd - Ok, it's the blue age, there are nature master's and nature benders, those who respect and those who abuse life.. It's decided that perhaps psionics would be a great way to neutralise things.. Let the peoples learn wisdom through self discovery (the central means to power through psionics). And you have a plan for later on after wisdom has prevailed.
Ok though, you still have those nature benders running around.. they don't like the way things are, all these new races, halflings on the back burner.. etc. So, they create Rajaat.. and they do something to him that makes him skip steps.. they grant him the powers of one of the most potent races, the pyreen.. access to all elemental magics, and enhanced psionics (due to his high intellect) then.. they grant him an innate capacity for wizardly magic, previously unknown.. the ability to manipulate life directly, rather than shaping the blocks of life, you shape the energy directly.. Granting him sorcery (wizardry being developed by him also through study). They also twist rajaat's features and mind, so that by instinct he despises himself, and the other new rebirth races.. a natural predator for them. I personally believe magic might possibly have been a capability the nature masters wanted to reserve until later on.. (the only reson I think they had it intended at all, is simply because the races are capable of doing it, rather, the rebirth races, some of them, are capable, it was built in to them.)
Ok, that's enough for my first posting.. what do you think? Any other ideas out there?? Any thoughts of other life shaped items that may be in existence?? perhaps lesser versions of the dark lense? perhaps life shaped creations that will amplify psionics greatly? Perhaps life shaped items that will enslave a creature while granting psionic powers?? :-)
Well Sorry if I'm busting your bubble but if I remember my DS history. Psionics didn't exist before the mid green age. Building block manipulation (life-shaping) has nothing to do with magic nor psionics. See it as DNA of every life form witch as any amount of moisture. The Rhulisti Life-shapers were the surgians of theyr time. MASTER
Well Sorry if I'm busting your bubble but if I remember my DS history. Psionics didn't exist before the mid green age. Building block manipulation (life-shaping) has nothing to do with magic nor psionics. See it as DNA of every life form witch as any amount of moisture. The Rhulisti Life-shapers were the surgians of theyr time. MASTER
Oh indeed I am familiar with that, I know the Rhulisti had no psionic powers, what I suggest, is that their life shaping abilities were on par with the capabilities of characters today. Consider the creation of the Dark lense as equivalent to a permanent 10th level spell, or creation of a magic item with 10th level magics.. What I'm saying is, that though they lacked the powers themselves, they understood that potential. The Rhulisti lacked psionic powers, however, all the rebirth races have that potential to the extreem. I say the rhulisti used the dark lense to emulate psionic powers, as you'll recall, with enough knowledge of a psionic power, the dark lense allows the use of that power, plus, it provides the energy to power it.
I'm suggesting that the Rhulisti were far greater at genetic manipulation than we think. And that some of them were truely nature masters, capable of grand and unthinkable heights of creation! (I'm tempted to say the psionitrix is also a creation of theirs, as is the water hammer, but that doesn't quite fit in my book, I'll leave those to green age creations..)
Oh, I guess just the Zic-Chil are the benders, regular kreen would probably be heavily modified bugs used by them.
That's similar to my vote, too. Instead of magic or psionics, they had mastered genetic manipulation. One of my theories was that the kreen were actually the nature benders of old (bad Rhulisti). So even the kreen were once halflings. They were banished to the crimson savannah by the nature masters, never to escape again...
Oh, I guess just the Zic-Chil are the benders, regular kreen would probably be heavily modified bugs used by them.
I don't know who the Zic-Chil are, but that is an interesting idea, perhaps maybe the Thor Kreen are ancient halflings reshaped? After all, they never wanna talk about where they came from, perhaps as punishment for their crimes they were life shaped and used as slaves?? Perhaps there were regular thri-kreen and the Thor kreen were a variation from those halfling criminals. :-)
hope that clarifies things a little.
well.... from what i remember, the tohr kreen and thri kreen are NOT descended directly from halflings... all rebirth races can activate certain lifeshape doors... like in the ruins in "mysteries of the ancients" module that came with the expanded and revised darksun setting. The kreen couldn't open the doors, but the rest of the pc races could. Also, there were primative thri kreen running around in the blue age according to the source material.
hope that clarifies things a little.
That's what I'm saying, what better curse to inflict upon your criminals as punishment, (especially in a water world) than to make them into an insect race incapable of dealing with life shaped items, then banish them for misusing that very same power.. Thus, you're turned into a beast of their day, for your behavior, until you learn to respect life
and there you have it. And the idea of thor kreen not being descended from halflings, I know, that's just my spin on it to make things interesting..I don't know about kreen being halflings, but I wouldn't think it would be out of the question to think that kreen were life shaped by the halflings from "normal" bugs over many generations.
I started a similar thread a long time ago about kreen being life shaped creations of the Rhulisti. Be it that they were created from scratch or shaped from the "primitive kreen" of the Blue Age. Unfortunately the whole thread was lost when WotC changed over their message boards format. Which was to bad, a lot of good ideas were in that thread.
Some people speculate that the zik-chil are descendants of the life-benders, if not THE life-benders themselves.
Pika.
I also like the theory that the Zik-Chil were the leaders in a rebellion against the life-benders and that they lead the kreen to freedom against the halflings of the Blue Age.
I like to think that the Zik-Chil were one of the life-benders first creation who they later taught the art of life-shaping (or bending) to.
I also like the theory that the Zik-Chil were the leaders in a rebellion against the life-benders and that they lead the kreen to freedom against the halflings of the Blue Age.
I can live with that :-) That's a good idea :-)
Anyone here ever thought of life shaped items made by nature benders?? Perhaps grafts with a more sinister bent to them? Like, slave crowns or parasitic rather than symbiotic life forms??
I started a similar thread a long time ago about kreen being life shaped creations of the Rhulisti. Be it that they were created from scratch or shaped from the "primitive kreen" of the Blue Age. Unfortunately the whole thread was lost when WotC changed over their message boards format. Which was to bad, a lot of good ideas were in that thread.
Maybe that's where I got my thought from....
I can live with that :-) That's a good idea :-)
Thanks :D
I also feel with this theory that it lends credit to that the Psionitrix may have been a Blue Age creation used to subjugate the kreen to the halflings will. It would help explain the effect it had on them in Dragon's Crown.
The Kreen lived already in the blue age, along with the halflings. They were not intelligent then, but had wings and were able to fly. The Zik-Chil are the "priests of change" of the kreen empire (the de facto rulers). They are no true kreen though. [Source: Thri-Kreen of Athas]
Some people speculate that the zik-chil are descendants of the life-benders, if not THE life-benders themselves.
Pika.
While that certainly fits, I don't think I personally will use that history in my campaign. I prefer the idea of the Kreen being created as slaves / servants of the Ruhlisti.
It might also fit that they made the kreen too good, in that the kreen were the first race to develop psionics (hence the racial bias towards being a psychic warrior).
Thanks :D
I also feel with this theory that it lends credit to that the Psionitrix may have been a Blue Age creation used to subjugate the kreen to the halflings will. It would help explain the effect it had on them in Dragon's Crown.
I'm not familiar with that, can you give more detail??
I'm not familiar with that, can you give more detail??
In adventure Dragon's Crown the Psionitrix was used by the Order to suppress the use of psionics all across the Tyr region. A side effect was that it drove the kreen insane which caused them to fight one another in their madness.
While that certainly fits, I don't think I personally will use that history in my campaign. I prefer the idea of the Kreen being created as slaves / servants of the Ruhlisti.
It might also fit that they made the kreen too good, in that the kreen were the first race to develop psionics (hence the racial bias towards being a psychic warrior).
Of that I am sure: The Rhulisti would have nothing to do with slavery. They reveared life above all. Maybe even worship it in some non to priestly maner. It is said that they didn't worship any gods then (nor now) but they so willignly respected life in all its forms that it could have been some sort of "religious" respect because althought they could manipulate the very D.N.A. of life (building blocks) the Rhulisti new where to NOT cross the line. (nature benders being the exceptions of course) but all in all the majority of the halfling population did. So slavery....nope not even their worst ennemy of that age (the none-to-intelligent-flying-bugs-but darn-feerce-beasts)
Personnally, I dont think they created the kreens . Not without an accident anyway. Or, maybe that's why/when they,as a rule, decide that from then on, it would be forbiden to try to manipulate creatures that "Life" itself created.
Thousands of years later, the nature-benders would hide in the then/now vast population of kreens slowly taking control over them. Again....by manipuletion. What we call genetics.
althought they could manipulate the very D.N.A. of life (building blocks) the Rhulisti new where to NOT cross the line. (nature benders being the exceptions of course) but all in all the majority of the halfling population did. So slavery....nope not even their worst ennemy of that age (the none-to-intelligent-flying-bugs-but darn-feerce-beasts).
This could have been the very thing that caused the Rhulisti to war amoungst each other. The nature-benders could have put forward the idea/discovery of genetically manipulating the primitive kreen into "self aware tools" which would better the Rhulisti civilization. In turn, this may have caused the Rhulisti to split due this innovation and sparked the life-shaper/nature-bender civil war.
This adds some much needed depth to the Blue Age IMO.
Life-bending manipulation would present a very good explanation as to wy the Kreen would have lost their wings. Natural evolution wouldn't have caused this, as the Kreen are hunters and the ability to fly would only help them in their natural lifestyle. If one was trying to make slaves of a race, getting rid of the wings would assist infinitely in the attempt to keep them captive.
Good point
