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Carrionette

2021-06-26T23:18:49Z

2603:8001:3500:CB:4472:F681:74BD:838A:

[[Image:Jumping carrionette.jpg|thumb|right|"There are... no strings on ''me''"]]
In [[D&D]]'s [[Ravenloft]] setting, a Carrionette is a doll-like golem capable of soul transference - aka ''possession'' - by stabbing a living host with a specially prepared needle. They are native to the domain of [[Demiplane of Dread|Odiare]], having been crafted by Giuseppe at the behest of Maligno, the realm's [[Darklord]]. Carrionettes are one of the few kinds of monster to be found within Odiare.

In 3rd edition, as well as appearing in the official 3.0 (Denizens of Darkness) and 3.5 (Denizens of Dread) Ravenloft [[Monster Manual]]s, Carrionettes also appeared in the article [[Creature Catalog]] IV in [[Dragon Magazine]] #339.

==Gallery==
<gallery>
Carrionette MC Ravenloft.jpg
Carrionette 2e.png
Carrionette Dragon 339.png
</gallery>

[[Category:Dungeons & Dragons]] [[Category:Dungeons & Dragons Monsters]][[Category:Monsters]][[Category:Ravenloft]]

Carrionette

2021-06-26T23:16:47Z

2603:8001:3500:CB:4472:F681:74BD:838A:

[[Image:Jumping carrionette.jpg|thumb|right|"There are... no strings... on ''me''"]]
In [[D&D]]'s [[Ravenloft]] setting, a Carrionette is a doll-like golem capable of soul transference - aka ''possession'' - by stabbing a living host with a specially prepared needle. They are native to the domain of [[Demiplane of Dread|Odiare]], having been crafted by Giuseppe at the behest of Maligno, the realm's [[Darklord]]. Carrionettes are one of the few kinds of monster to be found within Odiare.

In 3rd edition, as well as appearing in the official 3.0 (Denizens of Darkness) and 3.5 (Denizens of Dread) Ravenloft [[Monster Manual]]s, Carrionettes also appeared in the article [[Creature Catalog]] IV in [[Dragon Magazine]] #339.

==Gallery==
<gallery>
Carrionette MC Ravenloft.jpg
Carrionette 2e.png
Carrionette Dragon 339.png
</gallery>

[[Category:Dungeons & Dragons]] [[Category:Dungeons & Dragons Monsters]][[Category:Monsters]][[Category:Ravenloft]]

Relentless Killer

2021-06-26T23:15:22Z

2603:8001:3500:CB:4472:F681:74BD:838A: Created page with "{{dnd-stub}} {{Topquote|I met him, 15 years ago; I was told there was nothing left; no reason, no conscience, no understanding in even the most rudimentary sense of life or de..."

{{dnd-stub}}
{{Topquote|I met him, 15 years ago; I was told there was nothing left; no reason, no conscience, no understanding in even the most rudimentary sense of life or death, of good or evil, right or wrong. I met this... six-year-old child with this blank, pale, emotionless face, and... the blackest eyes - the Devil's eyes. I spent eight years trying to reach him, and then another seven trying to keep him locked up, because I realized that what was living behind that boy's eyes was purely and simply... evil.|Dr. Loomis on Michael Myers}}

In D&D 5e, the Relentless Killer is a monster from [[Van Richten's Guide#Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft|Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft]] clearly meant to fill in the role of the classic slasher-movie villain. Coming into being when someone makes a pact with fiendish powers, usually for the sake of revenge, relentless killers exist only to indulge their endless bloodlust. They currently come in two varieties: the Relentless Slasher, and the Relentless Juggernaut. Relentless slashers strike from the shadows and disappear just as quickly, usually focused on a specific person or type of individual, which they pursue with a single-minded obsession (and yes, you ''can'' use this as a proxy for actual cannibal Shia Labeouf). Relentless juggernauts forgo the subterfuge in favor of going balls in, tanking hits, and using anything in the surrounding environment as a weapon, so if you're thinking Jason Voorhees, that's a good start.

[[Category:Dungeons & Dragons]] [[Category:Dungeons & Dragons Monsters]][[Category:Monsters]][[Category:Ravenloft]]

Erlking

2021-06-26T18:08:05Z

2603:8001:3500:CB:4472:F681:74BD:838A:

'''Erlkings''', also known as '''Forest Goblins''', are a species of [[Goblinoid]] presented as a playable race for [[Advanced Dungeons & Dragons]] in the article "Dark Ages" in [[Dragon Magazine]] #257. As its name suggests, this article presents suggestions on how to run AD&D campaigns set in Dark Ages Britain.

As their moniker suggests, these goblinoids dwell in deep forests and mostly interact with other races through banditry, seeking to lure travelers into ambushes and traps to scavenge desired goods from their corpses. In terms of build, they are close to [[hobgoblin]]s, standing around 5 1/2 feet tall on average, with forest green skin (oft mottled with earth brown), deep golden eyes that glow in the dark, with bestial features framed by coarse black hair and dominated by hairless snouts lined with rotting teeth. So, you know, kind of like old-school [[orc]]s.

Despite having a culture that mostly sustains itself through banditry, not all erlkings are evil. Some have the courage to defy their superstitions and leave the safety of the forest, exposing them to the perception of the gods whom they believe cursed them into the twisted creatures they are now. Others are possessed of a compassionate streak that induces them to protect the people their tribesmen would typically waylay.

::Ability Score Minimum/Maximum: Strength 5/18, Dexterity 10/18, Constitution 8/18, Intelligence 3/17, Wisdom 3/18, Charisma 3/14
::Ability Score Adjustments: +2 Dexterity, +1 Constitution, -2 Charisma, -1 Intelligence
::Class & Level Limits: [[Fighter]] 12, [[Ranger]] 5, [[Thief]] 15
:::Multiclass Options: Fighter/Thief
:::Thieving Skill Adjustments: Find/Remove Traps +10%, Move Silently +5%, Hide in Shadows +10%, Read Languages -10%
::Natural Armor Class: 10
::Infravision 60 feet
::When in forest environments, an erlking can Hide in Shadows and Move Silently as if they were a Ranger of equal level.
::Opponents suffer a -2 penalty to their surprise roll against erlkings in forest environments.
::Nonweapon Proficiencies: Direction Sense, Hunting, Set Snares, Survival (Temperate and Subarctic Forests), Weather Sense

[[Category: Dungeons & Dragons Races]]
[[Category: Goblin]]

Weird Wars

2021-06-26T06:23:56Z

2603:8001:3500:CB:4472:F681:74BD:838A:

'''Weird Wars''' is a [[Setting Aesthetics|setting genre]] based on taking a real life historical war - World War 2 is a particular favorite - and making it "weird" by adding in super-technology, magic, or both. Note that this is distinct from fantasy or sci-fi war settings like [[Warhammer Fantasy Battles]] and [[Warhammer 40,000]]; the emphasis is on taking real wars from our world and making them fantastical, rather than just fighting wars in fantastical settings. This makes Weird Wars a more "rooted" genre compared to others like [[steampunk]] and its derivatives.

For those wondering just why World War 2 is a favorite for this setting, there's a couple of reasons. Firstly, the real-life experimentation in creating "wonder weapons" by the [[Nazi]]s is an obvious inspiration to examine what would happen if you gave them access to full-blown [[dieselpunk]] technology. Secondly, the Nazis infamous interest in the occult makes giving them black magic another obvious thought experiment. There's a reason TVTropes has both "Stupid Jetpack Hitler" ([[Dieselpunk]] Nazis) and "Ghostapo" (Occult Nazis) as separate tropes. Thirdly, they're fucking NAZIS! You could not '''build''' a better human-shaped target to shoot lighting guns at guilt-free than them. Finally, it's all down to those pesky comicbooks; superheroes first debuted during WW2, and whilst there were some horror comics that had monsters taking part in the war, it's probably the fact that so many superheroes were depicted making their first debuts on the battlefields that really gave this genre a kickstart.

==/tg/ Relevance==
Aside from the actual game-lines ''named'' "Weird Wars", this is a setting genre applied to several different tabletop games, both roleplaying and war:

* [[GURPS]] has World War II sourcebooks, so of course it's got one devoted to adding fantastical elements to WW2. Appropriately enough, it's called "Gurps: Weird War II".
** Likewise, the GURPS: Technomancer line includes a sourcebook called "Funny New Guys", which postulates that with the creation of the magic-restoring Hellstorm in 1945, the Vietnam War was fought with [[wizard]]s and [[dragon]]s. Several other famous wars were also affected by the return of magic.
* [[Call of Cthulhu]] has both the classic ''Achtung Cthulhu!'', the obligatory Lovecraftian WW2 book, and in more recent years a mini-line called ''Wold War Cthulhu'', which focus on the great conflicts of the 20th century and how these interacted with the Cthulhu Mythos - currently, there's only ''The Darkest Hour'' (WW2) and ''Cold War'', set during the height of the Cold War in the 1970s, but there are plans for WW1 and a fictitious WW3 sourcebook in that line as well.
* [[Deathworld]] is [[/tg/ gets shit done|a /tg/-made weird wars setting]] that covers WW2, but also an alternate history up to 2011.
* [[Gear Krieg]] is an RPG and wargame set in WW2 where every major side in the conflict has access to armies of mecha and other [[dieselpunk]] wonders.
* [[Secrets of the Third Reich]] is a wargame set in an alternate WW2, where magic and super-science have kept the conflict going until 1949.
* [[Spirit of the Century]], a Pulp setting for the [[Fate]] system, doesn't ''directly'' focus on this, but does discuss considerably the impact of Centurions (basically pulp-era super-heroes) on the First World War, and even provides rules for playing as the first generation Centurions during that conflict.
* [[DUST Tactics]] is a wargame with the standard Weird World War 2 package - mecha, powered armor, Nazi zombies, etcetera.
* [[Godlike]] is a Weird Wars superhero RPG taking place during WW2, with an expansion pack - ''Brave New World'' - detailing the Cold War.
* [[Deadlands]] doesn't directly focus on it very much, but the American Civil War is still raging with the aid of [[steampunk]] new weaponry, despite the various magical, demonic and undead horrors feeding on the soldiers from both sides. The ''Noir'' subsetting also mentions how World War 1 went, and ''Hell on Earth'' likewise discusses the Second and Third World Wars.
* [[Wolfenstein]] slowly develops into a Weird War setting as the games develop, as part of its ever-growing [[dieselpunk]] aesthetics.
* Konflikt-47 is a Weird Wars supplement for [[Bolt Action]] that adds [[dieselpunk]] vehicles along with Nazi zombies, vampires, werewolves, and werebears.
* "Rasputin Must Die!", part 5 of the [[Pathfinder]] [[Adventure Path]] [[Reign of Winter]], sees a typical party of Pathfinder adventurers travel from [[Golarion]] to Russia, 1918, courtesy of the Dancing Hut of [[Baba Yaga]], where they fight hypnotised Russian soldiers, [[nosferatu]] chaplains, Cossack [[dullahan]]s, tanks animated by undead brains, sapient clouds of zombie-raising poison gas, [[daemon]]s born from the souls of people killed in trench warfare, and Grigori Rasputin himself.

==Weird Wars D20==
Pinnacle Games, the makers of [[Deadlands]], eventually bought into the D20 [[OGL]] enough to make Deadlands D20. But that wasn't enough for them; they wanted more. So, they decided to create an entirely new "weird history" setting, because, after all, it had worked so well with Deadlands. ''Weird War II'' was the fruits of their labor.

Released as the corebook "Blood on the Rhine" in 2001, it portrayed a world in which the Nazi atrocities had actually awoken ancient, magical forces, allowing magic to slowly seep back into the world. Player, of course, were Allied soldiers confronting the Nazis, the Italians and the Japanese, who had all become aware of the magic and were harnessing it. Literal German [[werewolf|Wehrwolves]], zombies, apes with Nazi brains, oni, ghost tanks and other monstrosities, all with nothing but grit, guns, and maybe a small assortment of useful magical spells.

Weird Wars II was quite productive; in addition to the corebook, there was a dedicated bestiary ("Horrors of Weird War Two"), sourcebooks for Africa & Egypt ("Afrika Korpse"), the Pacific Theatre ("Land of the Rising Dead"), and the Russian Front ("Hell Freezes Over"), a sourcebook specifically for aerial campaigns ("Dead From Above"), and an adventure splat ("Hell in the Hedgerows").

==Savage Worlds: Weird Wars==
When Pinnacle rebranded themselves as [[Savage Worlds]], Weird War 2 went with them. And Savage Worlds decided to really exploit them. Aside from reprinting Weird War II, they also created three new lines of Weird Wars: Weird War 1, Tour of Darkness (Vietnam War) and Weird Wars Rome (Roman conquests). They even tied them together by using the same basic background info that they first created for Weird War II back in their days as Pinnacle; magic, especially black magic, gets stronger and more vibrant when humanity is experiencing active strife and conflict. So, when humans go to war, monsters wake up and start causing nuisances.

[[Category: Gamer Slang]]
[[Category: Setting Aesthetics]]

Setting Aesthetics

2021-06-26T06:21:06Z

2603:8001:3500:CB:4472:F681:74BD:838A: /* Sci-Fi */

[[File:Yvgg0vixpa341.png|thumb|right|520px|How it works. And if you're thinking there's only like five original settings in the world, you're absolutely right.]]

Worldbuilding can be hard. If you're creating a story that isn't already set on Earth at some point in history, you'll have to come up with a lot of different things on your own. And not just the names of places and what transpired, or what kind of culture each different people has, but also the more subtle parts of a setting that include tone and visual aesthetics.

That's why a lot of fictional worlds tend to cling to a particular '''setting aesthetic''', an amalgamation of different ideas that can loosely be thought of as "setting genres". These aesthetics aren't set in stone, as the edges of one aesthetic frequently blend into another. Writers do generally tend to stick (primarily) to one type of aesthetic, because all aesthetics are just amalgams of individual characteristics, and the popular ones tend to be the most coherent or compelling. Remember that when talking about genre, terms can be applied across all media: literature, movies, games, etc.

==Fantasy==
*'''[[High Fantasy]]''' - The default type of setting for most fantasy settings. Magic is commonplace, as is anything we normally associate with fairy tales and mythology. High Fantasy tends to be a bit more upbeat, as many civilizations tend to exist quite comfortably (apart from the odd dragon or zombie attack). Big focus on cosmological conflicts, namely Good vs. Evil.

Examples: [[Lord of the Rings]], [[Dungeons and Dragons]], [[Age of Sigmar]] for a particularly High Fantasy, [[the Stormlight Archive]]

*'''[[Low Fantasy]]''' - The dark and gritty counterpart to High Fantasy. Not necessarily Grimdark, although life does tend to be harsher. The biggest exemplar of Low Fantasy is [[Conan the Barbarian]]; magic is uncommon but very powerful, political strife is more commonplace, and violence is the norm.

Examples: [[Conan the Barbarian]], [[Game of Thrones]], [[Mistborn]]

*'''[[Heroic Fantasy]]''' - Intermediary point between High & Low Fantasy; High Fantasy backdrops and upbeat take on the world, but Low Fantasy-esque focus on [[Your Dudes]]. Grittier and more grimdark examples do exist - Warhammer Fantasy Battles and Roleplay are technically Heroic Fantasy.

Examples: [[Dungeons & Dragons]], [[Exalted]]

*'''[[Sword & Sorcery]]''' - The pulp magazine version of [[Heroic Fantasy]], traditionally leaning more towards the Low end of the scale and incorporating some level of [[Science Fantasy]] elements in it.

*'''[[Dungeonpunk]]''' - [[Heroic Fantasy]] with Punk stylings and [[magitek]], usually of the "industrialized magic" variety.

Examples: [[Eberron]], [[Planescape]], [[Iron Kingdoms]]

*'''[[Gaslamp Fantasy]]''' - Victorian-themed (or at least painted) world with magic in it, the fantasy analogue to [[steampunk]].

Examples: [[Masque of the Red Death]], [[Castle Falkenstein]], [[Unhallowed Metropolis]]

*'''[[Dark Fantasy]]''' - Grimdark or Horror take on your standard fantasy world.

Examples: [[Warhammer Fantasy]]

*'''Modern Fantasy''' - An alternate take on [[Urban Fantasy]], where you have a fantasy world that's developed magic and/or technology until it's reached a semblance of the modern world. Or at least a historical/futuristic analogue to our world.

Examples: [[Arcanum]] (fantasy analogue to Victorian England), [[Shadowrun]] (fantasy world gone [[cyberpunk]])

*'''Weird Western''' - Either a Western version of [[Urban Fantasy]], or a fantasy world that has Western themes.

Examples: [[Deadlands]], [[Horizons]]: [[Spellslinger]]

==Sci-Fi==
*'''[[Cyberpunk]]''' - The original "-punk" genre, and the creator of the concept of naming aesthetics by ending in "punk". If you've ever seen The Matrix, that's pretty much Cyberpunk in a nutshell, although Blade Runner is probably a more classic example. Dystopian urban environments and highly advanced technology is commonplace, as are dark and brooding heroes wearing black trench coats and sporting unconventional haircuts, and megacorporations which have more power than any government. '''''High tech, low life.'''''
** Some modern Cyberpunk is called "post-Cyberpunk" and is not quite as pessimistic, though still pretty grim compared to other settings. In post-Cyberpunk, augmentation and technology is seen as a powerful tool that can be used to control or liberate people, and is used globally in political and economical powerstruggl- Wait, where have I seen this before?

Examples: The Matrix, [[Cyberpunk 2020]], Blade Runner, Shadowrun. Post-cyberpunk examples: Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, most modern shooters with robots and augmentations.

*'''[[Steampunk]]''' - One of the first derivatives of Cyberpunk, at least in name only. In actuality, the aesthetic draws quite a bit from the works of Jules Verne, which taking place in Victorian times and features more advanced versions of the steam-powered technology of the day. These kinds of settings can swing between [[noblebright]] and dystopian, since the Victorian Era was a time of wondrous progress, ''and'' huge inequality.

Examples: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, [[Warmachine]]

*'''[[Clockpunk]]''' - Steampunk's older brother. Borrowing aesthetics from the Renaissance Era, the Baroque Era, the Ming Dynasty, or the Song Dynasty, Clockpunk focuses on complex mechanisms made from wood or traditional metals, and is generally powered by water wheels, wind mills, draft animals, or slowly falling weights. This aesthetic is typically found in genres that don't explicitly focus on it, such as Historical Fiction works. Expect plenty of overlap with historical themes of the time period.

Examples: [[Deadlands]], [[Dragonmech]], [[Mechanus]], [[Mage: The Ascension]], [[Unknown Armies]]

*'''[[Dieselpunk]]''' - A typically grittier aesthetic associated with Steampunk, but typically grittier, inspired by the era between the World Wars. Tyranny and warfare is commonplace, as are machines capable of deadly efficiency. Expect Noir cities, petrochemical engines, stamped and riveted metal, and the aesthetic synthesis between traditional rural lifestyles and mechanization. Typically features [[nazis]] in one way or another, sometimes as the winning side of WW2.

Examples: [[Command and Conquer|Command and Conquer: Red Alert]], Fullmetal Alchemist, Wolfenstein: The New Order, The Leviathan Series (partially)

*'''[[Decopunk]]''' - A [[noblebright]] version of dieselpunk. Art deco everywhere, hence the name. Not a particularly common aesthetic however.

Examples: Bioshock, especially before the fall of Rapture

*'''[[Atompunk]]''' - The name applied to anything inspired by the science fiction of the 1950s and early 1960s. Space exploration is the norm, and technology is mostly based on what was slowly beginning to emerge at the time that we would now take for granted (such as video chat, portable phones, robots capable of walking) or else has proven to be wildly impractical if not impossible (Jetpacks, flying cars, ray guns, robots capable of independent thought). Features a sub-genre named Raypunk or Raygun Gothic, which is similar in most ways but ditches references to nuclear power.

Examples: Buck Rogers, [[Fallout]], [[Star Trek]] The Original Series, too many 1950s movies to count

*'''[[Casette Futurism]]''' - An aesthetic based on the "futuristic" styles of the 70s and especially the 80s. This aesthetic also refers to the unique style of "futuristic-looking" devices made during that time. Expect CRT-screens, fake woodgrain, wedge-cars synthwave music, neon lights, hard-edged plastic shells on all technology, and ''of course'' VHS-tapes and cassettes.

Examples: Alien, Terminator, Stranger Things

*'''[[Biopunk]]''' - An aesthetic which revolves around use of biotechnology and DNA manipulation. Other than that core conceit, the actual look and feel of the aesthetic isn't set in stone. Some incarnations might look modern, some might look futuristic, some might look historical.

Examples: Bioshock, Resident Evil, The Island of Dr. Moreau, The Leviathan Series (partially)

*'''[[Nanopunk]]''' - An aesthetic focusing around the use of nanotechnology. This aesthetic is still evolving, but typically features organic-looking machines, synthetic meta-materials used create "impossible" things (vantablack clothing, mono-molecular edged blades, synthetic muscles), and transhumanist themes. Can often share many themes with Cyberpunk, but the use of nanotechnology is what sets it apart. While a Cyberpunk setting would have cyborgs with cybernetic implants, a Nanopunk setting would instead have people with nanomachines inside them. Sometimes portrayed as a next step from cyberpunk, where cybernetics are becoming obsolete due to advancements in nanotechnology.

Examples: Crysis, [[Metal Gear|Metal Gear Solid]] (1,2, 4 and ''especially'' [[Meme|Rising: Revengeance]]), Deus Ex (First two games only, rest are cyberpunk)

*'''[[Space Opera]]''' - The grand-daddy of Sci-Fi, Space Opera features a multitude of worlds, races and technology that play loose and fast with the science part for the sake of a wide, bright adventure in SPAAAAACE! Space Operas are filled with larger-than-life characters, space-nations loosely based on different earth societies and great, galaxy-saving adventures, though it can easily be zoomed in to a planet- or even a party-focused story if needed. Can be split into three sub-settings: Hard sci-fi which tries to be as scientifically accurate as possible, soft sci-fi where technology works by it's own in-universe rules and science fantasy, which features stuff which is supernatural even by the rules of it's own universe.

Examples: [[Star Wars]], [[Star Trek]], [[Warhammer 40000]], Mass Effect, [[Twilight Imperium]], [[Cosmic Encounter]]

*'''[[Solarpunk]]''' - The most [[noblebright]] punk of them all. An utopia for all environmentalists, this aesthetic features a world driven primarily through use of renewable energy and people live harmoniously with nature. Expect to see windmills, solar panels, individualized replacements for infrastructure (home-sized wastewater treatment, people sewing their own clothing, household battery walls, etc.), farming and large gardens, and ''lots of plants everywhere''. Settings using this aesthetic are frequently post-apocalyptic.

Examples: All the Good Futures from Sonic CD

*'''[[20 Minutes into the Future]]''' - An aesthetic that is definitely in the future, but not by much. Things are not too different from how they are today. For someone living in the 80s, the 2000's would be this aesthetic. This is a very hard-to-define aesthetic, because it keeps moving as time goes on. Most media written with this aesthetic are archetypical science fiction stories, speculating and warning about how present trends will extrapolate.

==History==
Want to make something in a real world setting? Here's some setting aesthetics from real world history.
Are you making a fictional world? Sometimes worldbuilding doesn't have to go into fantasy or sci-fi. Instead, you could also simply make a world inspired by real history. Some might find this pointless, believing that if they are making a story in a medieval setting for example but with no fantasy or sci-fi elements, why not simply set the story in the real medieval period rather than a fictional world? Well the answer to this is simple: Making a story in the real middle ages needs to be historically accurate and making it so requires lots of research into the period.
On top of this, making your own world also allows for you to come up with all the [[fluff]] yourself, something real world historical settings inherently do not allow for, even if you go for alternate history, you must still account for everything from before the point of divergence and are also limited to the geography of Earth.
So if you just want to tell tales of knightly heroism or clashes of empires without fantasy or sci-fi elements but also without feeling constrained by having to make it fit in with real history, making a fictional world based on these settings might be the thing for you.

*'''[[Stone Age]]'''
*'''[[Bronze Age]]'''
*'''[[Classical Period]]'''
*'''[[Dark Age]]'''
*'''[[High Middle Ages]]'''
*'''[[Renaissance]]'''
*'''[[Age of Enlightenment]]'''
*'''[[Industrial Revolution]]'''
*'''[[The World Wars]]'''
*'''[[The Cold War]]'''
*'''[[Post-Cold War]]'''

===[[Western]]===

:''See also the article [[Western]]''

One term that gets bandied a lot in discussions of Setting Aesthetics is "[[Western]]", which originally referred to stories that took place in the American West in the years between the American Civil War and World War I (although there is also the "Modern Western", which usually takes place sometime after World War II). The most important aspects of a "Western" aesthetic are roughly as follows:

* The single most distinguishing feature of a Western: Outposts of Law exist, but are far apart. While the region is somewhat lawless, this is a factor of the fact that places are distant from each other; the next town could be a week's ride away in some places, meaning reinforcements may be a very long time in coming, so the Sheriff or Rancher is more or less on his own if he can't get local support. The fact that this is actively changing is a frequent plot point of many actual historically-set-and-based Westerns.
** Yes, this means a lot of Westerns center around either [[Bandit]]ry or other outlawry, either as pro- or antagonists, and feature a certain degree of lawlessness.
* Next most important: Open ranges. Large areas where the nearest human being could be miles away. Sort of a consequence of the above, but worth mentioning on its own.
** This low population density leads to a certain degree of casual brutality and cruelty which is a frequent side-aspect of the aesthetic; with very few people to call a body out on their ugly behavior, such behavior is likely to grow into at least a minor problem of many people.
* Usually the next most important after those two: Guns, saloons, and horses. While it's possible to have a "Western" without much of one, you'll need a lot of the other two to cover for the absence.
** If you're doing a pseudo-Western, you may need substitutes for all three. For example, Samurai-themed works usually use swords in place of guns, and limit the availability of horses, but still have some degree of all three.
*** In Science Fiction or Modern Westerns, "Off-road vehicles" can be substituted for horses.
*** Trading outposts can be freely substituted for saloons in sufficiently unsettled regions, or churches in more Christian or poverty-themed works. What matters is that it's a gathering place that's also somewhat neutral ground, where violence more serious than a fistfight is frowned upon.
** Side note: Railroads and stagecoaches are (in historically-set Westerns) the only alternatives to horses (besides donkeys and mules), and both are very restricted in how far away from their paths they can go (stagecoaches are ''heavy'', so hills can act as major barriers), so horses, donkeys and mules are your main travel options if you need to get away from those paths.
* Occasional feature of Fantasy/Science Fiction "Westerns": Natives, along the line of American Indians.
** Historically-set Westerns have plenty of American Indians, historically. It's just that, by the 1960s, most writers decided it was a better idea to center around subjects that weren't so likely to be read as making their protagonists "the real bad guys". Thus, most post-1970 westerns center purely on White vs. White conflict, or have protagonists who are sympathetic with the Indians, with a smattering of works centered on Black characters (most notably ''Blazing Saddles''). (Historically speaking, there were plenty of black cowboys, but this was ignored by most writers and producers historically, and frequently still is in the present day.)

If the above is longer than anything else on this page, it's because the "Western" aesthetic gets glued onto a '''lot''' of stuff that's very different from its historical roots. To give one example, there's been a non-trivial amount of works set in (something based on) historical Japan that have a heavy Western aesthetic--to the point that some of the earliest examples (Kurosawa films) were directly remade into Westerns, with very few changes.

==Other==
*'''[[Science Fantasy]]''' - Science Fiction and Fantasy gleefully mashed up, so you can wind up with [[Awesome|elves with laser pistols, sword-wielding robots, and dragons flying between the stars]].

Examples: [[Dragonmech]], [[Dragonstar]], [[Spelljammer]], [[Numenera]], [[RIFTS]], [[Shadowrun]], [[Warhammer 40,000]], [[Starfinder]]. arguably [[Star Wars]].

*'''Lovecraftian''': A type of horror setting that is either directly based on or inspired by the works of [[H.P. Lovecraft]], especially the Cthulhu Mythos. The main concepts revolve around monsters and deities whose mere existence is so horrible that knowledge or direct perception of them drives people insane, and feature copious amounts of existential dread.

Example: [[Call of Cthulhu]], [[Delta Green]]

*'''[[Supers]]''' - AKA Superheroes, Capeshit. Superpowers and melodrama. Frequently mixed with another aesthetic (Urban Fantasy, Science Fantasy or Science Fiction, usually).

Example: DC and Marvel, [[Worm]]

*'''[[Cattlepunk]]''': Western setting with [[Steampunk]].

Example: [[The Dark Tower]], [[Deadlands]]

*'''Space Western''' - Western elements in a science fiction or [[Space Opera]] setting.

Examples: [[Firefly]], Borderlands, The Mandalorian, [[Star Trek]] was originally pitched as such but doesn't really fit the modern definition

*'''[[Magitek]]''' - Magic has either replaced technology or been assimilated into it. Clarkes third law turned on it's head.

Examples: [[Eberron]], [[Deadlands]], [[Rifts]], [[Iron Kingdoms]], [[Exalted]], [[Hollow World]]

*'''[[Urban Fantasy]]''' - Our world, but with magic and/or science fiction added to it. Considered by many the "easiest" sort of setting to get into by casuals & normies. Can be further seasoned with many other aesthetics. Despite the name, it really just means that it takes place in a post-Industrial-age world<ref>Although if you're more advanced than the current technology, you're either veering into [[Supers]] or [[Science Fantasy]]</ref> and doesn't have to take place in a city.

Examples: [[D20 Modern]], [[Mutants & Masterminds]], [[World of Darkness]], [[Dark Matter]]

*'''[[Weird Wars]]''' - [[Urban Fantasy]] meets war stories, when one of our world's wars gets magical and/or super-science added to it.

Examples: Pinnacle Games' lines of the same name, [[Wolfenstein]], [[Call of Cthulhu]], [[GURPS]]

*'''[[Isekai]]''' - Your dudes come from the real world, but have been sent to a fantasy (or, more rarely, sci-fi) land.

Examples: Sword Art Online, GATE, way too many anime from the 2010s

*'''[[Post-Apocalyptic]]''' - The world ended, and now it's time for adventure! Expect rusted metal, moral ambiguity, relatively high-tech, mutants and lots, ''lots'' of sand. Can effectively be divided into three sub-settings: in post-apocalypse, the apocalypse happened fairly recently and as such people are mostly just concerned with simple survival. In post-post-apocalypse, a lot of time has passed since the apocalypse and people have started to rebuild civilization, though it is definitely still a work in progress. In post-post-post-apocalypse, the apocalypse is a distant memory and the world has largely recovered from it.

Examples: [[Fallout]], Mad Max. Commonly combined with sci-fi, but also sometimes with [[Dark Souls|medieval stuff]].

*'''[[Alternate History]]''' - One event in history went differently than in our timeline and this change caused the events past that point to be wildly different from our timeline. What if Rome didn't collapse and survived to the 21st century? What if Nobunagas ambition was realized and after conquering Japan, he went on to successfuly conquer Korea and China? Germany winning WW2 is a particularly popular one. Alternate history can effectively work with anything from real world history, fantasy settings to sci-fi settings but it's usually based on real world history. Alternate history based on real world history does have a tendency to feature sci-fi elements however.

Examples: Command & Conquer: Red Alert, The Man in the High Castle, Wolfenstein The New Order

*'''[[Retro-futuristic]]''' - Setting that tries to imitate how people in the past saw the future. Many of the punk-genres fall under this. Often features technology that would have been futuristic at the time but now are either commonplace or outright outdated. A good example of this is a mobile communication device, something quite futuristic in the time of wired phones and payphones, which often in these types of settings is portrayed as quite cumbersome or of limited functionality, paling in comparison to smart-phones or even mobile phones from the 90s since they allowed for sending of text messages in addition to calls. There is also a type of retro-futurism known as [[TVTropes|Zeerust]] which refers to stuff that was actually made in the past and felt futuristic back then but now feels retro-futuristic.

Examples: Fallout, Alien, Star Trek: The Original Series (Zeerust)

==Footnotes==

[[Category:Gamer Slang]] [[Category: Setting Aesthetics]]

Dieselpunk

2021-06-26T05:58:20Z

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Dieselpunk is like [[Steampunk]], but instead of the Industrial Revolution, we got both World Wars and period between them. Moreover, Dieselpunk is used far less in popular media than its brass and goggles counterpart.

== Aesthetics ==
[[Image:388036822935be4de70abc5f07b6969e.jpg|500px|thumb|right]]
If steampunk is all about brass, steam, blimps and clockwork robots, then dieselpunk is steel, gas masks, dark smoke, oil stains, tanks and dreadnoughts (of the naval kind, ''and'' [[Dreadnought|the walking boxes kind]]).

Whereas Steampunk borrows the fashions and aesthetics of the Victorians, Dieselpunk's primary aesthetic is Art Deco. Anything not related to machines will be very ritzy and flashy, jazz will be the dominant form of music and futurism will be the dominant form of architecture. Expect a lot of pressed and stamped metal. Thin, gilded veneers concealing oily machines (both literally and allegorically). Decopunk describes a setting which has all the flashy and the futuristic aesthetics found in parts of Dieselpunk, but none of the grime and realism that characterises most Dieselpunk works.

The overall technology level hovers around 1935: we got machine guns, cars, piston planes (and jets, but they're bleeding-edge tech that isn't found outside the military or corporations), radios and black-and-white TV sets. Electronics are something of a gray area: they exist, but they can't be very advanced. You can expect radio, radars, alarms, simple encrypting/decrypting machines and so on, but no portable phones, detectors, transistors and computers (barring occasional [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ENIAC ENIAC]-styled vacuum tube monstrosities that take up ''at least'' an entire room). In a nutshell, if it looks like your grand-granddad would like it, that's steampunk, if it looks like it belongs to your grandpa, that's dieselpunk, and if it looks like your dad used it, that's early [[Fallout|Atompunk]], assuming you're about 40 (which you are, unless you're a newfag).

Also worth mentioning that there is a significant difference in mood: steampunk stories often lean on the romantical side of things, adventuring with the science of the future and all that. Dieselpunk, on the other hand, gets [[grimdark]]er with industrialized warfare, totalitarianism, and nihilism. Even without the shadow of "The Great War/s" looming over the setting, you have the social unrest of the Roaring 20's, the Great Depression, Gangland, and ruined continental Europe rebuilding in the background to temper your optimism. Steampunk is "The Time Machine" and "20,000 Leagues Under The Sea", Dieselpunk is "All Quiet On The Western Front" and "Catch-22".

== In Tabletop ==
[[Image:Martynas-latusinskas-cs-redesign-01.jpg|200px|thumb|right]]
Much like in popular media, Dieselpunk only has a few tabletop titles to its oil-smeared name.
* [[Crimson Skies]] is a board game from '98 which focused on 2-player aerial dog fighting with nice cardboard models and while it was decent, copies now are hard to find, unfortunately. The IP was since adapted into a video game, both in 2000 and 2003. Perhaps surprisingly, both titles are highly reviewed.
* Age of Steel is an RPG released in current year+3 which promises a [[D6]]-system mixed with Dieselpunk and the [[Cthulhu Mythos]]. However, the core rulebook is only a paltry 123-pages.
[[Image:Dust-Tactics-units.jpg|200px|thumb|right]]
* Scythe was released in 2016 and is an alternate retelling of the 1920s featuring deadly walkers and [[Slavery|serfdom]]. The strategy board game has garnered lots of awards and is getting several expansions as well as a digital release.
* Dust Tactics is a board game from 2010 featuring an alternate take on WW2 where alien tech made walkers, [[Awesome|minigun-wielding gorillas]], and tesla cannons possible. The game is for 2-4 players and has models representing American, [[Nazi|German]], and Soviet units. The game since tried to expand into a full [[wargame]], but it failed to grab an audience. The game has since been unlisted from [[FFG]]'s website.

== Examples ==
[[Image:48526b03d18004c9837a57d9be8e7b85.jpg|300px|thumb|right]]
* [[Imperium|Imperial technology]] (and, by extension, [[Chaos]] and [[Ork]] tech, since they like to loot their tech) is the embodiment of this. Rule of thumb: if it doesn't look like it came out of [[Force Weapons|Renai]][[Power Weapon|ssance]] Fair or [[Lasgun|cheap]] [[Titan|80'ies]] [[Plasma|sci]]-[[Melta|fi]] [[Adeptus Mechanicus|show]] ([[Power armor#Warhammer_40.2C000|or]] [[Imperial Knight|both]]), it's probably a Dieselpunk design. The [[Imperial Guard]] is literally runs on it, special mention goes to [[Death Korps of Krieg|Kriegers]], [[Armageddon Steel Legion|Armageddoners]], [[Mordian Iron Guard|Mordians]], [[Valhalla]]ns and the entirety of the [[Schola Progenium|Commissariat]].
* Generally, every [[Communism|Russian]] or Russian-equivalent faction in a sufficiently advanced setting is this; see [[Khador]], [[AT-43|Red Bloc]]; good vidya examples are Soviets from [[Command_and_Conquer#Red_Alert_series|Red Alert]] and China from [[Command_and_Conquer#Generals_series|C&C:Generals]].
** [[Nazi]]s and similarly themed factions tend to share this property whenever they're not too busy playing with occultism, eugenics, and Tesla weapons. Kinda understandable: would you [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Bertha_(howitzer) look] [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panzer_VIII_Maus at] [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landkreuzer_P._1500_Monster these] [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elefant penis] [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl-Ger%C3%A4t compensators].
* In /v/, examples are [[Fallout]] (albeit if you're inclined to split hairs, that's Atompunk (50'es to 70'es)), first two Bioshocks (Infinite is more steampunky), Dishonored and [[Wolfenstein]] (from "Return to" and onwards). Primorida also covers this aesthetic, though mixed with some very mother-of-pearl sculpting and hiding beneath the post-apocalyptic surface. The Hungarian shmup Sine Mora EX also deserves mention for its many stylish designs of planes, tanks, and warships. Although, it also has [[furries]] committing [[Exterminatus|genocide]]. Make of that what you will.
* Dieselpunk has also reared its head in Hollywood. The movies [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102803/?ref_=nv_sr_1 The Rocketeer] and [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0346156/?ref_=nv_sr_1 Sky Captain and the World Tomorrow] are both aesthetically accurate but suffered mediocre reviews.
* For [[weeaboo]]s goes the non-alchemy bits of Fullmetal Alchemist, half of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hayao_Miyazaki Miyazaki's] creative output, [[Avatar: The Last Airbender|Avatar's]] Fire Nation, most of The Legend of Korra, and the 2001 animated (pseudo-remake) Metropolis.
* A new RTS game called Iron Harvest. Literally a dieselpunk WW2, in a world where we made humanoid mechsuits instead of tanks. Based off of the 1920+ universe.

== Gallery ==
<gallery>
File:Rozalski 1.jpg
File:Rozalski 2.jpg
File:Rozalski 3.jpg
File:Rozalski 4.jpg
File:Aeade7f1296cb82235aea3499b2570c4 (1).jpg
File:D71caff3447d9088a429172778694c43.jpg
File:Luftflotte by remton.jpg
File:Hassan-tabrizi-untitled-artwork-9.jpg
File:0659723a582927b18d6802e2ee77b52a.jpg
File:Dream 893jbcx9e1f.jpg
</gallery>

[[Category: Gamer Slang]] [[Category: Setting Aesthetics]]

Steampunk

2021-06-26T05:58:00Z

2603:8001:3500:CB:4472:F681:74BD:838A:

{{NeedsImages}}
[[Image:Steampunk_Lincoln.jpg|thumb|300px|Steampunk is kind of like this.]]

'''Steampunk''' is a genre of literature, movies, and RPGs made popular by (among other things) William Gibson and Bruce Sterling's ''The Difference Engine''. It usually features the following:
* Gears
* Brass and iron
* Steam
* Airships
* More gears

Some steampunk runs the more realistic gamut, looking at things which were being developed in the 19th century and expanding on them, like steam-powered road vehicles and Babbage's Analytical Engine. Others go for the blatantly fantastic with steam-powered mechs, guns that shoot lightning, and colonies on Mars; this mirrors the works of Jules Verne and the high-flying boys' adventure novels published before the turn of the 20th century.

The typical setting has many of the trappings of Victorian England, such as top hats, monocles, and parasols. It may also be reminiscent of the American Old West. Basically, anything between 1840 and 1900 is fair game.

Steampunk works often depict things like a society with a thin facade of civility overlying the worship of science, which in turn is just a cover for the cold, ugly, and messy reality; or an aristocracy supported by technology maintained and operated by the poor. Sometimes Steampunk works are post-apocalyptic, incorporating period parody tropes used in settings like [[video games|Fallout]] but tuned to Victorian society and ideology, or edging into Industrial Gothic ideals of inevitable ecological disaster brought about by the Industrial Revolution or the horrors of industrial warfare.

Steampunk is closely related to [[Clockpunk]], as both make heavy uses of gears, levers and other such gubbinz and the two come from fairly closely linked time-periods. The difference is that Clockpunk rarely has anything explaining where the power for the clockwork comes from, whilst Steampunk makes use of, obviously, steam-powered engines, meaning there's a furnace somewhere burning ''something'' to boil water (or blood, or devil's ichor, or god's tears, or whatever) to create steam and generative motive force.

A closely related genre, only named in the 2000s with the [[Girl Genius]] webcomic, is '''Gaslamp Fantasy'''. Like Steampunk, this takes blatantly Victoriana-themed settings and throws something odd into the mix to make it different - with Steampunk, it's technology that we simply couldn't develop in real life due to pesky physics, whilst with Gaslamp Fantasy, it's magic. When Jack the Ripper is a doppelganger, when Queen Victoria is an undying [[lich]]-queen, when gunslingers duke it out with werewolves, then it's Gaslamp Fantasy. Of course, as [[magitek]] shows us, the two can and do often cross over.

[[Dieselpunk]], in comparison, uses WW1 to WW2 tier technology as its basis - diesel generators, vaccum-tube computers, and the like. [[Atompunk]] bases itself off of 1950s America's view of atomic energy and its limitless potential to solve the world's woes.
==History==
In the Beginning there was Mary Shelly with Frankenstein. Then there was Jules Verne and [[H. G. Wells]] and a few others in a time of Scientific Romance in which they put pen to paper and wrote of the wonders and horrors that science and industry might achieve. They imagined the dead reanimated by electricity, submarines navigating the oceans, cannons sending men to the moon, a world eight hundreds of thousands of years hence and intelligent beings from another world coming to the earth and told the world of them. Since these were writing and illustration was expensive, the fine details of aesthetic and functional mechanical design was not a high priority in their work. A few illustrators and really old timey movies were thrown in with various additions and occasionally you'd have a few things like Postcards. Never the less, a few of them stayed in print continuously.

Then came the Pulp Era starting in the 1920s. Beforehand, you had a few writers making a few books here and there. Afterward you have a lot of regular sci-fi writers with an expanded audience as well as artists giving form to words, usually in an Art Deco style (itself a futurist artistic movement). Thus the first wave of Sci-Fi art was born. Sci-Fi movies would follow in the footsteps of the pulps as much as they could, given the shoestring budget they operated on. Gradually the Art Deco influence would give way to Modernism as the design of choice after WWII and going into the fifties and sixties in various permutations. Compare pulp magazine Spaceships from the 1940s with the original Starship Enterprise, then compare the Starship Enterprise with the Millenium Falcon. In short, what people saw as the aesthetics of the future evolved.

Then came two movies based on Old Victorian sci-fi Novels Disney's ''20,000 Leagues Under the Sea'' (1954) and MGM's ''The Time Machine'' (1960). Where others would update the basic story to modern times these film kept the period piece settings along with mechanisms which were designed with Victorian sensibilities, which helped them stand among the crowd of sci-fi movies which were being churned out at the time. From there the basic idea would be used here and there by a variety of guys from the 1960s to 90s.

The name comes from an Alternate History book written by William Gibson (creator of Cyberpunk literature) about a world in which the Analytical Engine (a proposed programmable mechanical computer designed by Charlse Babbage in the 19th century) was built, leading to a computer Revolution in Victorian Era.

==Problems==
Like many things, Steampunk can be awesome if executed with care, attention to detail and the the nature of the technology and time frame that it is drawing upon. Alas, much of modern Steampunk work gets a lot of well-deserved hate for being only skin-deep, as lamented in the semi-viral music video, [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFCuE5rHbPA&feature=kp|"Just Glue Some Gears On It (And Call It Steampunk)"]. Some fa/tg/uys have declared that we should dub this debris of the steampunk genre "cog fop" and move on to [[Dieselpunk]], though there are risks of the process happening again to dieselpunk as well should it go mainstream.

This likely happened as Steampunk was formed from the top down, rather than the bottom up. Science Fiction (in general terms) started in the 19th century, as people began to see how science and technology were beginning to reshape the world and asked themselves "what would happen if someone found a way of using electricity to rebuild and reanimate the dead" or "what if someone invented a ship that could sail around the world underwater" or "what if we could fly to the moon", with their various spins based around their experiences and beliefs. Modern Fantasy has its origin with [[Tolkien|people who studied folklore and history]] and used it to make their own mythologies and histories. Either way, both these ideas started with broad general concepts onto which various ideas were built. The aesthetic trappings generally associated with both (Laser pistols, spaceships, flying cars, robot buddies, cyborgs/dragons, dwarves, ancient named swords, recreations of the English Countryside/Feudal Japan/whatever) emerged naturally as people told those sorts of tales.

Steampunk, in contrast, emerged from a combination of some of that older sci-fi, but in particular the aesthetics thereof. Some people were interested in making use of Victorian/Wild West settings, but far more were interested in the surface details of old fashioned brass machinery with overtly mechanical gears and all that, as well as fashion which looks like someone ran through the costume department for a theater company that does a lot of Jane Austin and then fell into a pile of old clock parts.

This sort of stuff ''is'' important, especially in visual fiction, but as a general rule it's supposed to be there to build upon a central theme or otherwise contribute to the story. [[Star Trek]] would still be Star Trek if the Enterprise was an art-deco rocketship with everyone dressed as Chicago gangsters but the scripts, actors and direction was all the same (though it might be a bit wonky due to clashing themes), but it would not be Star Trek if you got all the aesthetic details down as they were in the show but it's episodes were about a bunch of [[Imperium of Man|imperialistic assholes]] who shoot innocent aliens for the Emperor. So much of steampunk ends up being just generic adventures in a setting with some psuedo-Victorian backdrops. There is nothing ''wrong'' with that, but it's running entirely on novelty and novelty (for most people at least) has a limited shelf life.

==Steampunk and /tg/==
[[Image:IronKingdomsCityArtwork.jpg|right|600px|thumb]]
Some RPG settings that may be considered steampunk include the following:
* [[Eberron]] (although it describes itself as "[[Dungeonpunk]]" and is based on industrialized magic rather than steam)
* [[Dragonmech]]
* [http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/dd40.html Sorcery & Steam]
* [[Inland_Empire|Inland Empire]]
* [[Echelon]]
* [[Airship Pirates]]
* [[Iron Kingdoms]]
* Some elements of the [[Pathfinder Roleplaying Game]] setting, notably the Mana Wastes
* Many units and vehicles in the [[Adeptus Mechanicus]] have a steampunk vibe, which is odd considering they used more advanced tech than the broader Imperium

At least three steampunk-inspired tabletop skirmish games exist:
* [[Malifaux]]
* [[Dystopian Wars]]
* [[Warmachine]]

==Gaslamp Fantasy and /tg/==
Because Steampunk's not the only game in town for mystical Victorian-ish settings.
* [[Masque of the Red Death]] is ''the'' Gaslamp Fantasy setting for [[Dungeons & Dragons]], being set in the late 1800s of our world but with real magic and monsters hiding behind the shadows of everything.
* The domain of Paridon in [[Ravenloft]] is pure Gaslamp Fantasy, being a mock-up of Victorian London with standard D&D races (plus [[Caliban]]s) but secretly controlled by doppelgangers, complete with a Jack the Ripper expy who shows up every seven years to murder people in order to fuel a blood magic ritual for the lord of the doppelgangers.
* [[Deadlands]] is a Gaslamp Fantasy/Steampunk hybrid, being set in the Wild West in a world where poker players are [[warlock]]s, mad scientists build hyper-tech fueled by burning the crystalized souls of the damned, and things go bump in the night until a band of desperadoes with itchy trigger fingers decide to bump back.
* [[Castle Falkenstein]]
* [[Call of Cthulhu]] has the "Cthulhu by Gaslight" expansion, which lets you add the Cthulhu Mythos to the Victorian Era.
* The Sons of Ether from [[Mage: The Ascension]] have this as their entire theme, since although it can overlap visually with Steampunk, their "[[magitek]]" is really nothing but pure magic wearing a skin of pseudo-Victorian technology.
* [[Unhallowed Metropolis]]
* [[Rippers]], a game about playing monster hunters in the Victorian Era.
* The plane of [[Ravnica]] in [[Magic: The Gathering]] has some Gaslamp Fantasy regions. [[Kaladesh]] twists the aesthetic toward "India-without-colonial-Britain," with some interesting results.
* [[Broken Gears]] is a post-apocalyptic setting in a world that was roughly "steampunk with animistic [[magitek]]", after a devil-possessed Difference Engine caused a world-shattering war.
* [[Victoriana RPG]] is all about this, although with aspects of Steampunk as well.

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Ray Blunderbuss.jpg
</gallery>
[[Category: Gamer Slang]] [[Category: Setting Aesthetics]]

Ice Age

2021-06-26T05:45:15Z

2603:8001:3500:CB:4472:F681:74BD:838A:

'''Ice Age''' as a term can refer to a few things:
*A time when the 1/3 of the Earth was covered in a constant winter, hence an Ice Age. The fact that 1/2 of the ground was covered in deserts does not lead to it being called Desert Age mostly because those lands weren't Europe or North America, and thus are irrelevant (fun fact: we're technically ''still in'' that Ice Age, it's just that all of human history has taken place during what's called an "Interglacial;" things will freeze over again in a couple thousand years regardless of how much pollution America's Oil Companies Shit out).
*A series of mediocre movies by Blue Sky Studios (a bunch of Dreamworks wannabes working for Fox) about a bunch of prehistoric creatures going on adventures. Probably the best thing the company has done, which isn't saying much.
*A two player board game where you control a bunch of humans trying to kill all the mastodons, not for food but for good old extinction. [[Humanity Fuck Yeah|Fun fun fun]].

Though most often when [[/tg/]] uses it, it's to refer to the [[Magic: The Gathering]] block and first set in it, detailing the Ice Age caused by [[Urza|this dumbass]] after he unleashed the Golgothian Sylex to ultra-kill his Phyrexian-possessed brother, both their armies and "win" the Brothers' War. At the end of the first set the [[Planeswalker]] [[Freyalise]] casted the World Spell to thaw Dominaria, which looked like a good idea but ultimately caused bad shit to happen so people had to form Alliances (the second set) to defend themselves. Finally, [[Fail|ten YEARS]] after the release of the set (and a [[retcon]] of the spectacularly shitty [[Homelands]] as the third set in the block) they released Coldsnap, which details what exactly happened during the end of the Ice Age.

Ice Age is known for adding a couple of new mechanics but the most famous one is that of Snow Lands: Lands who give both regular [[mana]] and snow mana, which was required for certain spells and abilities. It is also the only full set/block so far that has had major [[Viking]] themes in its art and flavor, which is absolutely perplexing when you consider what the rest of fantasy is like. Also famous for being an all-around terrible set, though not as horrible as the notorious Homelands expansion. Its redeeming qualities are the introduction of the so-called "pain" lands (that offer two types of colored mana but at a cost of 1 hp on top of colorless mana) like Karplusan Forest, which were and still are widely used. And, of course, one of the if not the most bonkers black card ever - Necropotence. [http://gatherer.wizards.com/Handlers/Image.ashx?multiverseid=2478&type=card]
{{Template:MTG-Settings}}

==Notable Cards==
===Brainstorm===
Good drawing.

===Fyndhorn Elves===
A functional reprint of a green staple card. Since it has a different name, you can have 4 of both in your deck.

===Illusions of Grandeur===
Part of the famous Trix combo when paired with Donate

===Necropotence===
Massive draw engine.

===Pyroclasm===
Great for wiping the board of weak creatures.

===Tinder Wall===
It's mana acceleration ''and'' a wall in common.

Path of Enlightenment

2021-06-26T03:39:18Z

2603:8001:3500:CB:4472:F681:74BD:838A: /* Paths of Enlightenment */

{{stub}}
The '''Paths of Enlightenment''', sometimes derogatorily called the ''Paths of [[Edgy|Edgelightenment]]'', are the variant codes of morality in [[Vampire: The Masquerade]] meant to replace Humanity.

==Yeah, But Why Though?==
To understand why paths of enlightenment exist, a player has to realistically consider what it takes to maintain humanity for an immortal who lives in a near constant shadow war that can go hot whenever their demigod ancestors does it for the lulz. A vampire has to invest in emotional connections, avoid hubris, avoid asshole vampires that look on your life as either [[Diablerie|a means of promotion or a tasty snack]], and keep their beast in check.
 That last one is key.

The beast, being a primal id made from a curse from G-D on one of his grandkids, is always trying to make a vampire take the low road, and taking the low road feeds the beast. To describe how difficult this is in the world of darkness imagine a catholic priest who just graduated seminary…with a sex addiction, a penchant for cocaine, a violent temper, and a whole lotta repressed feelings, working in Las Vegas’ busiest brothel/mafia hangout at a 24-hour confession booth. I’m not saying that vows are gonna be broken, but the poor fuck’s chances of keeping them are close to nil, because the beast is that insidious. Some Vampires think maintaining humanity is just a vicious spiral that ends with death or losing all control, and for the majority they're probably right.

So, how the fuck do you stay sane when Humanity isn't long-term viable? How do you keep your beast in check?

They came up with the paths of enlightenment, a process of literally building a new moral framework from the ground up, where the morals are less naïve to the realities of the Jyhad and Unlife.

===Paths of Enlightenment===
; Path of the Beast
: “Act natural, predators are natural. Lions don’t need money, bears don’t need condos, humans aren’t animals!”
; Path of [[Vampire:_The_Masquerade#Assamite|Blood]]
: “I’m a vigilante because my Progenitor came up with Vampire Criminal Law, if a vampire goes out of line it’s my duty to end their unlife…or if my elders got paid to do it.”
;Path of Bones
: “Death is cool, let’s study death…like *really* study death, I have so many corpses to autopsy!”
;Path of Caine
: “Caine was the first and best vampire, so I’ll model my life after a homicidal farmer cursed by god and totally fight with people for ancient tomes that might tell me more about my sempai.”
;Path of Cathari
: “We’re animate corpses in a world created by the demiurge, everything’s already evil and damned why not enjoy it a bit?”
;Path of [[Satanic_Panic|Evil Revelations]]
: “Okay, first there was the pentagram. And then this awesome dude with horns gave me this cool power and it only cost my soul. Yes master, virgin sacrifice at midnight, in a playboy bunny outfit, I am glad to be your lickspittle master”
;Path of Honourable Accord
: “I’m like a [[Alignment#Lawful_Neutral|paladin]] except I can’t break my word or I’ll go insane, but if I do an atrocity because the hierarchy I'm in demands it I'm all good. Oh, you dishonoured My Lord. I hope you didn’t like your head attached to your body.”
;Path of Lilith
: “Lilith was a generation before Caine and totally got a raw deal, so we’re going to implement a Gynocentric BDSM culture and tell you the REAL reason why the penis is evil: Caine!.”
;Path of [[Tzimisce|Metamorphasis]]
: “<strike>Eugenics</strike>Evolve motherfuckers! We gotta evolve until we’re no longer vampires and maybe something better…or a Shoggoth.”
;Path of Night
: “Only the Evilest DARKEST EVIL is good enough for me to spread EVIL and make things horrible for everyone. Did I ever tell you about the time I was totally cool and not cringy?!?”
;Path of [[Vampire:_The_Masquerade#Ravnos|Paradox]]
: “We can make illusions! So who the fuck knows what is real? Also, if you’re enlightened enough, you can warp reality*”
;Path of Power and the Inner Voice
: “Nietzsche! Nietzsche! Nietzsche! Nietzsche! I stay sane by being the most Ubermench ever. What’s your favorite Ayn Rand paragraph?”
;Path of [[Vampire:_The_Masquerade#Followers_of_Set|Typhon]]
: “Worship Set! We have Blackjack, Hookers, Blow, Blood, and when you’re tired of that we have this mystery cult thing that won’t totally backfire on us.”

(*Power to warp reality not a guarantee. Adopting the Path of Paradox may cause: Insanity, mockery, people pointing and laughing, getting shot on sight, getting left for the sun, getting figments of your imagination to plan your demise, and acne.) 

==What the Creators Intended==
Vampires have to be monsters to exist, and realistically it’s very fucking hard not to adapt to circumstance. Paths were a way to codify what happens when Vampires find some stability that doesn’t involve being the kind of faggot who weeps tears of blood over the hunter that just tried to torch you and the apartment building your haven’s in. Where a lot of paths are looser in the realms of: killing, stealing, property damage, torture, etc., what is put in it’s place is something that is stricter in the hierarchy of sins.
 A Path of Beast Vamp isn’t going to be bothered by accidentally killing someone during feeding, such things happen to prey after all. However cold blooded murder is still a problem, according to the path it isn’t natural.
And that’s the key thing: ACCORDING TO THE PATH.
 Rather than the loosey goosey moral greys of humanity the Paths have far more specific prohibitions, some that are even harder to avoid. Like not frenzying, something that is likely to occur in any tense situation, and there are disciplines that can induce it. Or Path of Power and the Inner Voice and it's level 1 Sin "Turning Down an Oppourtunity for Power," I can easily see how a good ST can exploit this. Paths don't just let PCs do what they want, you are literally trading which sins drive you nuts.
 Furthermore, paths are meant to be built from the ground up. and your XP had better go to boosting your path every so often because unless your ST is merciful you’re starting much much lower on your path of enlightenment than the folks still on humanity, and you might have to buy up brand new virtues from scratch. (Remember how you got a free dot of each virtue? If you switch Concience with Conviction or Self-Control with Instinct that free dot is gone and you’re just a little bit easier to fuck over by the ST…unless you spend your freebies boosting those virtues instead of disciplines or backgrounds...not fucking likely.)
 On the other hand. If you can keep players to their hierarchy of sins with the same zeal that a [[Rules_lawyer|Rules Lawyer]] cares about circumstance bonuses, some really facinating RP can happen and you might actually see something cool.

==The Path of What I Was Going To Do Anyway==
The path of [[That Guy]], who just wants an excuse to be an edgy asshole. The name comes from the Revised Edition, where this name was given alongside a warning about the potential for players to abuse paths to avoid moral questions.

[[Category:World of Darkness]]
[[Category:Vampire: The Masquerade]]
[[Category:Game Mechanics]]

Ben-Hadar

2021-06-26T03:03:52Z

2603:8001:3500:CB:4472:F681:74BD:838A: /* 3rd Edition */

[[File:Ben-Hadar 2e.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Ben-Hadar in 2e.]]
[[File:Ben-Hadar 3e.jpg|200px|thumb|left|Ben-Hadar in 3e, facing a kraken.]]
'''Ben-Hadar''', Prince of Good Water Creatures and Good Elemental Water, is one of the four Princes of Elemental Good, a band of benevolent [[Archomental]]s introduced in [[Dungeons & Dragons]] to counter the machinations of the older, more iconic Princes of Elemental Evil: [[Cryonax]], [[Imix]], [[Ogremoch]], [[Olhydra]] and [[Yan-C-Bin]].

Unfortunately, the Princes of Elemental Good have never really had the traction of their more malevolent counterparts, in one part because DMs rarely have as much use for goodly monsters as they do for malign ones (evil parties are, after all, the rarity in D&D) and in another part because they really exemplify the complaints many D&D fans make of [[Planescape]] relying a little too heavily on grid-filling. Then again, that's a pretty dumb reason, since 1) its never stopped the metallic dragons from always turning up alongside the chromatics, 2) dragons and archomentals both make for decent quest givers anyway, and 3) complaining about grid-filling in D&D doesn't make much sense when grid-filling is build into the very lore and metaphysical structure of the Great Wheel.

==2nd Edition==
Ruling over the goodly denizens of the Elemental Plane of Water from a hidden palace in the Coral Reef of Ssesurgass, the Neutral Good Ben-Hadar has the dubious honor of being one of the biggest assholes to still claim the title of "Elemental Prince of Good". Described an arrogant, selfish boor, Ben-Hadar clings to the title of Good only in that he fights evil at every turn and promotes the general welfare of those under him.

In fact, Ben-Hadar has relatively little to do with his malicious counterpart [[Olhydra]] - his bitterest enmities seem to be with [[Chan]] and [[Zaaman Rul]], his fellow Archomentals of Good!

Ben-Hadar featured alongside his fellow [[Archomentals]] in the [[Planescape]] Monstrous Compendium Appendix 3.

This archomental takes the form of a tall humanoid figure made entirely of water, with huge, long-clawed hands. This grants him particular resilience against bladed weapons.

==3rd Edition==
''A rush of pure, blue-green water coalesces into a humanoid shape taller than three men. Its eyes sparkle lke sunlight shining on ocean waves. Instead of hands, this creature has a set of watery claws resembling those of a gigantic crustacean.''

When he was updated to 3rd edition in [[Dragon Magazine]] #353, Ben-Hadar became a very different character. This Ben-Hadar is described as a deeply emotional, intuitive being with a personality akin to a tropical storm: boisterous, loud and aggressive on the outside, but calm, peaceful and serene on the inside. He's still arrogant, and rather gruff, but he truly cares about his followers and would sacrifice his own life to protect them and his plane. Although easily bored, disappointed and dejected, he's equally easy to fill with love and happiness.

Of the three elder Good Archomentals, Ben-Hadar is the most scarred by what happened during the War of Law and Chaos; having already been sympathetic with [[Chan]]'s horror at learning the Lawful forces were working with the forces of [[Lawful Evil]], when Bristia Pel was murdered by Chilimba and Ehkahk, it was the last straw - Ben-Hadar turned on the vaati in disillusioned fury and fought on the side of Chaos for the rest of the war. This incident taught him that evil comes from all sides, and convinced him that he can trust no-one but himself. Ben-Hadar believes that seeking out evil to destroy is a fool's enterprise, and that even evil creatures can sometimes be used for good purposes. As such, he keeps his affairs private and doesn't go picking fights - but anyone who picks one with him, well, they'll regret it. This is evidently why he's considered [[Neutral Good]].

As in his 2e lore, 3e Ben-Hadar has no particular enmity for [[Olhydra]], and the two Archomentals mostly ignore each other. However, his rivalry with [[Chan]] and [[Zaaman Rul]] has been quietly dropped.

Ben-Hadar rules from a fortified palace of living coral called Ssesurgass, where he is served by and watches over Colossal coral [[golem]]s, water [[elemental]]s, water [[mephit]]s, [[Elemental Weird|water weirds]], [[triton]]s, [[darfellan]], ocean [[giant]]s and aquatic [[elves]].

He is rumored to be an ally or even occasional lover of Queen Morwel of the [[Eladrin]], and a gargantuan [[sisiutl]] known as Triusis zealously guards a portal linking Ssesurgass to Queen Morwel's personal demiplane. He also stays on good terms with [[Deep Sashelas]], [[Eadro]] and [[Persan]], as well as the Water Lion. His oddest friendship is with the [[Slaad]] Lord Rennbuu, Lord of Colors, who often visits Ssesurgass to play with the massive coral reefs.

Ben-Hadar's major roles on the Plane of Water include policing the vortices to River Styx and the River Oceanus, keeping a watchful eye on Charon that he will live up to their ancient pledge of mutual non-interference, ensuring the [[genie|marids]] of the Citadel of Ten Thousand Pearls stay in line, and opposing [[Sekolah]] and [[Panzuriel]]. He is often harassed by Bwimb II, daughter of the Archomental of Ooze Bwimb, and it's possible that the nauseating slop elemental has a perverse crush on her watery counterpart.

Ben-Hadar's titles include Squallbringer and The Valorous Tempest. His holy symbol is a blue-green wave in a golden circle.

==4th Edition==
Reverting back to original 2nd edition lore, the 4e version of Ben-Hadar - known as the Valorous Tide, the Prince of the Emerald Tide, and the Coral Lord - is once-more an arrogant, self-absorbed figure who care little for the world beyond his home in the Coral Reef of Ssegurgass. Spending most of his time brooding on his throne, Ben-Hadar of the [[World Axis]] has abandoned his rivalry with [[Olhydra]], and is turn despised by both [[Chan]] and [[Zaaman Rul]]. He is still considered the Prince of Good Water Creatures, so he is presumably still Good and not Unaligned, much as how he was Neutral Good in the previous two editions despite being a dick.

{{D&D-Archomentals}}

Ben-Hadar

2021-06-26T03:01:35Z

2603:8001:3500:CB:4472:F681:74BD:838A: /* 2nd Edition */

[[File:Ben-Hadar 2e.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Ben-Hadar in 2e.]]
[[File:Ben-Hadar 3e.jpg|200px|thumb|left|Ben-Hadar in 3e, facing a kraken.]]
'''Ben-Hadar''', Prince of Good Water Creatures and Good Elemental Water, is one of the four Princes of Elemental Good, a band of benevolent [[Archomental]]s introduced in [[Dungeons & Dragons]] to counter the machinations of the older, more iconic Princes of Elemental Evil: [[Cryonax]], [[Imix]], [[Ogremoch]], [[Olhydra]] and [[Yan-C-Bin]].

Unfortunately, the Princes of Elemental Good have never really had the traction of their more malevolent counterparts, in one part because DMs rarely have as much use for goodly monsters as they do for malign ones (evil parties are, after all, the rarity in D&D) and in another part because they really exemplify the complaints many D&D fans make of [[Planescape]] relying a little too heavily on grid-filling. Then again, that's a pretty dumb reason, since 1) its never stopped the metallic dragons from always turning up alongside the chromatics, 2) dragons and archomentals both make for decent quest givers anyway, and 3) complaining about grid-filling in D&D doesn't make much sense when grid-filling is build into the very lore and metaphysical structure of the Great Wheel.

==2nd Edition==
Ruling over the goodly denizens of the Elemental Plane of Water from a hidden palace in the Coral Reef of Ssesurgass, the Neutral Good Ben-Hadar has the dubious honor of being one of the biggest assholes to still claim the title of "Elemental Prince of Good". Described an arrogant, selfish boor, Ben-Hadar clings to the title of Good only in that he fights evil at every turn and promotes the general welfare of those under him.

In fact, Ben-Hadar has relatively little to do with his malicious counterpart [[Olhydra]] - his bitterest enmities seem to be with [[Chan]] and [[Zaaman Rul]], his fellow Archomentals of Good!

Ben-Hadar featured alongside his fellow [[Archomentals]] in the [[Planescape]] Monstrous Compendium Appendix 3.

This archomental takes the form of a tall humanoid figure made entirely of water, with huge, long-clawed hands. This grants him particular resilience against bladed weapons.

==3rd Edition==
''A rush of pure, blue-green water coalesces into a humanoid shape taller than three men. Its eyes sparkle lke sunlight shining on ocean waves. Instead of hands, this creature has a set of watery claws resembling those of a gigantic crustacean.''

When he was updated to 3rd edition in [[Dragon Magazine]] #353, Ben-Hadar became a very different character. This Ben-Hadar is described as a deeply emotional, intuitive being with a personality akin to a tropical storm: boisterous, loud and aggressive on the outside, but calm, peaceful and serene on the inside. He's still arrogant, and rather gruff, but he truly cares about his followers and would sacrifice his own life to protect them and his plane. Although easily bored, disappointed and dejected, he's equally easy to fill with love and happiness.

Of the three elder Good Archomentals, Ben-Hadar is the most scarred by what happened during the War of Law and Chaos; having already been sympathetic with [[Chan]]'s horror at learning the Lawful forces were working with the forces of [[Lawful Evil]], when Bristia Pel was murdered by Chilimba and Ehkahk, it was the last straw - Ben-Hadar turned on the vaati in disillusioned fury and fought on the side of Chaos for the rest of the war. This incident taught him that evil comes from all sides, and convinced him that he can trust no-one but himself. Ben-Hadar believes that seeking out evil to destroy is is a fool's enterprise, and that even evil creatures can sometimes be used for good purposes. As such, he keeps his affairs private and doesn't go picking fights - but anyone who picks one with him, well, they'll regret it. This is evidently why he's considered [[Neutral Good]].

As in his 2e lore, 3e Ben-Hadar has no particular enmity for [[Olhydra]], and the two Archomentals mostly ignore each other. However, his rivalry with [[Chan]] and [[Zaaman Rul]] has been quietly dropped.

Ben-Hadar rules from a fortified palace of living coral called Ssesurgass, where he is served by and watches over Colossal coral [[golem]]s, water [[elemental]]s, water [[mephit]]s, [[Elemental Weird|water weirds]], [[triton]]s, [[darfellan]], ocean [[giant]]s and aquatic [[elves]].

He is rumored to be an ally or even occasional lover of Queen Morwel of the [[Eladrin]], and a gargantuan [[sisiutl]] known as Triusis zealously guards a portal linking Ssesurgass to Queen Morwel's personal demiplane. He also stays on good terms with [[Deep Sashelas]], [[Eadro]] and [[Persan]], as well as the Water Lion. His oddest friendship is with the [[Slaad]] Lord Rennbuu, Lord of Colors, who often visits Ssesurgass to play with the massive coral reefs.

Ben-Hadar's major roles on the Plane of Water include policing the vortices to River Styx and the River Oceanus, keeping a watchful eye on Charon that he will live up to their ancient pledge of mutual non-interference, ensuring the [[genie|marids]] of the Citadel of Ten Thousand Pearls stay in line, and opposing [[Sekolah]] and [[Panzuriel]]. He is often harassed by Bwimb II, daughter of the Archomental of Ooze Bwimb, and it's possible that the nauseating slop elemental has a perverse crush on her watery counterpart.

Ben-Hadar's titles include Squallbringer and The Valorous Tempest. His holy symbol is a blue-green wave in a golden circle.

==4th Edition==
Reverting back to original 2nd edition lore, the 4e version of Ben-Hadar - known as the Valorous Tide, the Prince of the Emerald Tide, and the Coral Lord - is once-more an arrogant, self-absorbed figure who care little for the world beyond his home in the Coral Reef of Ssegurgass. Spending most of his time brooding on his throne, Ben-Hadar of the [[World Axis]] has abandoned his rivalry with [[Olhydra]], and is turn despised by both [[Chan]] and [[Zaaman Rul]]. He is still considered the Prince of Good Water Creatures, so he is presumably still Good and not Unaligned, much as how he was Neutral Good in the previous two editions despite being a dick.

{{D&D-Archomentals}}

Zaaman Rul

2021-06-26T03:00:09Z

2603:8001:3500:CB:4472:F681:74BD:838A: /* 4th Edition */

[[File:Zaaman Rul 3e.jpg|300px|thumb|right|''This tall humanoid has red skin that burns and pulses like hot coals. His hair is long and black, and in his coal-black eyes a touch of kindness shines through.'']]
'''Zaaman Rul''', Prince of Good Fire Creatures and Good Elemental Fire, is one of the four Princes of Elemental Good, a band of benevolent [[Archomental]]s introduced in [[Dungeons & Dragons]] to counter the machinations of the older, more iconic Princes of Elemental Evil: [[Cryonax]], [[Imix]], [[Ogremoch]], [[Olhydra]] and [[Yan-C-Bin]].

Unfortunately, the Princes of Elemental Good have never really had the traction of their more malevolent counterparts, in one part because DMs rarely have as much use for goodly monsters as they do for malign ones (evil parties are, after all, the rarity in D&D) and in another part because they really exemplify the complaints many D&D fans make of [[Planescape]] relying a little too heavily on grid-filling. Then again, that's a pretty dumb reason, since 1)it's never stopped the metallic dragons from always turning up alongside the chromatics, 2) dragons and archomentals both make for decent questgivers anyway, and 3)complaining about grid-filling in D&D doesn't make much sense when grid-filling is build into the very lore and metaphysical structure of the Great Wheel.

==2nd Edition==
First appearing in the 3rd Monstrous Compendium Appendix for [[Planescape]] alongside the other [[Archomental]]s, Zaaman Rule is the Neutral Good Archomental of Fire. Sadly, there's not a lot to really say about him, because none of the archomentals had a lot of lore to them.

Appearing as a 10ft tall, red-skinned humanoid with long black hair and black eyes, Zaaman Rul is reputed to be the bastard son of [[Imix]], from which he derives his power. If this is true, then there's no love lost between the two. Zaaman Rul despises his counterpart and yearns to defeat him.

However, he's not exactly in a good position to do so. Long ago, Zaaman Rul led a great army of fiery monsters to battle Imix's fotress on the Plain of Burnt Dreams, but he grossly underestimated Imix's true power. Zaaman Rul's forces were routed soundly, being either scattered, destroyed or converted. This has only emphasized Zaaman rul's status as the weakest of the archomentals, but whilst he will never overestimate his own prowess again, he won't give up, either.

Now, Zaaman Rul is in hiding, licking his wounds and waiting for an opportunity to strike a successful blow against Imix.

==3rd Edition==
Like his fellow goodly [[Archomental]]s [[Ben-Hadar]], [[Chan]] and [[Sunnis]], Zaaman Rul transitioned to 3rd edition in an article in [[Dragon Magazine]] #353. Here, whilst the core details of 2e were preserved, he gained some new details.

In 3e, Zaaman Rul is still the Neutral Good Archomental of Fire - his titles include the Flame of Purity and Resilient Ember, whilst his holy symbols are a longsword made of fire or a bright orange Z. However, he is not the first being to hold that title; that honor belongs to his mother, Bristia Pel, who was betrayed and then murdered by Chilimba of Magma and Ehkakh of Smoke during the great War of Law and Chaos.

Unlike his 2e lore, 3e states that Zaaman Rul was actually mortally wounded on that fateful day he dueled Imix and lost on the Plain of Burnt Dreams. As he lay dying, a [[phoenix]] swooped down from the sky and healed him; this majestic creature restored Zaaman Rul's inspiration and hope, and remains one of his most steadfast allies. Indeed, its legion of descendants - [[phoelarch]]s and [[phoera]]s - form the backbone of Zaaman Rul's rebuilt forces.

More determined than ever to defeat Imix, Zaaman Rul began looking for new allies. His first allegiance was with Amaimon, King of the [[Azer]]s, bonding over their mutual hatred for the Imix-worshipping, azer-enslaving [[genie|Efreeti]]. Azers built the Hidden Heart, a secret fortress of basalt and fryrite (an utterly fireproof metal that forms near pools of cerulean magma, the hottest thing on the Plane of Fire) surrounded behind a moat of sanctified flames that burns even fireproof creatures of evil.

But, Zaaman Rul is well aware that there are too few goodly creatures native to the Plane of Fire to rely on, and so he has begun seeking allegiances across the planes. An alliance with the powerful brass dragon Ronothere has given him ties with the Court of Stars, from which he has recruited [[Aasimon|monadic deva]]s, [[asura]]s and [[Eladrin|firre eladrin]]. The [[Archon]] lord Raziel is one of Zaaman Rul's stronger allies as well. And he has no shame about approaching beings on the [[Prime Material Plane]], either; fire [[genasi]], sun [[giant]]s, [[Elemental Weird|fire weirds]], any being that can survive on the Plane of Fire but who has a benevolent heart is welcome in his forces.

This is the first article to provide us with a better glimpse of Zaaman Rul's personality; he is courageous and dedicated to opposing evil, although his inexperience can lead to moments of naivety, as well as being thoughtful and diplomatic. However, he has little patience for those who lack tact, honesty and etiquette. As much a doer as a talker, Zaaman Rul's enthusiasm shines through anything he does.

This article also states that whilst Imix is his great nemesis, Zaaman Rul also struggles against the [[Arch-Devil]] Mephistopheles and the Archomental of Ash, Gazra the Shifting Emperor.

==4th Edition==
Zaaman Rul is mentioned in the 4e sourcebook "Heroes of the [[Elemental Chaos]]", in roughly the same amount of detail as he received way back in AD&D and with virtually identical lore.

{{D&D-Archomentals}}

Zaaman Rul

2021-06-26T02:58:49Z

2603:8001:3500:CB:4472:F681:74BD:838A: /* 3rd Edition */

Eclipse

2021-06-26T02:52:16Z

2603:8001:3500:CB:4472:F681:74BD:838A:

{{stub}}
== Eclipse ==

An eclipse is where the sun-thing vanishes behind something else. This is normally very terrifying, unless it means more warp stone. Or Morrslieb was is blocking the sun-thing, then this is a great-fantastic event.

Sunnis

2021-06-26T01:59:19Z

2603:8001:3500:CB:4472:F681:74BD:838A: /* 2nd Edition */

[[File:Sunnis 3e.png|thumb|right|300px|''This stony humanoid stands as tall as any two humans, with a [[musclegirl|muscular yet feminine frame]]. Intense blue eyes of scintillating sapphire shine with compassion from her chiseled features.'']]
'''Sunnis''', Princess of Good Earth Creatures and Good Elemental Earth, is one of the four Princes of Elemental Good, a band of benevolent [[Archomental]]s introduced in [[Dungeons & Dragons]] to counter the machinations of the older, more iconic Princes of Elemental Evil: [[Cryonax]], [[Imix]], [[Ogremoch]], [[Olhydra]] and [[Yan-C-Bin]].

Unfortunately, the Princes of Elemental Good have never really had the traction of their more malevolent counterparts, in one part because DMs rarely have as much use for goodly monsters as they do for malign ones (evil parties are, after all, the rarity in D&D) and in another part because they really exemplify the complaints many D&D fans make of [[Planescape]] relying a little too heavily on grid-filling. Then again, that's a pretty dumb reason, since 1)it's never stopped the metallic dragons from always turning up alongside the chromatics, 2) dragons and archomentals both make for decent questgivers anyway, and 3)complaining about grid-filling in D&D doesn't make much sense when grid-filling is build into the very lore and metaphysical structure of the Great Wheel.

==2nd Edition==
[[Monstergirl|With the form of a tall, muscular woman whose features were chiseled out of stone,]] the Neutral Good Archomental of Earth, Sunnis, is a true power to be respected on her plane.

Though she lacks the interest in power possessed by her hated enemy [[Ogremoch]], she still possesses a fortress to call her own in the Sandfall - a cavern underneath a perpetually falling column of sand, which drains away into a seemingly bottomless pit not far from her stronghold.

Of all the Goodly Archomentals, Sunnis is the one who is most bitterly opposed to her planar neighbor. There are rumors she seeks to lay a trap for Ogremoch and imprison him in that pit, but such a tale is regarded as far-fetched.

Sunnis starred alongside her fellow [[Archomental]]s in the [[Planescape]] Monstrous Compendium Appendix 3.

==3rd Edition==
As with [[Chan]], Sunnis' lore in 3e is mostly an expansion of her lore from 2e.

This gentle archomental leads an existence of quiet contemplation, doting over her many servants and followers as cherished children. Whilst she spends much of her time in the Sandfall, a fortress built within a large cavern shaped like the bottom half of an hourglass, with a great column of sand endlessly falling into the chamber only to drain away in a bottomless pit, she works hard to oppose the ministrations of evil. She is renowned for both her inner and her outer beauty, and has attracted many suitors, but remains stoic to all their advances.

Of all the goodly archomentals, Sunnis may have the largest array of followers. Aside from the expected [[elemental]]s and their variants, including [[oread]]s and earth [[mephit]]s, her subjects include [[dwarves]], [[gnomes]], [[gulgar]]s, earth [[genasi]], [[stonechild]]ren, and hammer [[archon]]s. She also has strong alliances with the deities of the [[Morndinsamman|dwarven]] and [[Gnome#Gnomish_Religion|gnomish]] pantheons, as well as [[Skoreaus Stonebones]], the patron god of the [[Stone Giant|stone]] [[giant]]s.

She needs the help. Sunnis tirelessly battles against the [[genie|dao]], viewing them as brutal and heartless taskmasters who are undeserving of the wealth they so callously spend lives to acquire. She battles rival archomentals in Crystalle, of the Plane of Mineral, and Alu Kahn Sang, the Wind of Destruction, from Dust. The [[Demon Prince]]s [[Ugudenk]] and [[Zuggtmoy]] are both ancient enemies of hers, as is the [[Arch-Devil]] Dispater.

But her truest hate is reserved for her rival, [[Ogremoch]]. The Plane of Earth shall know no peace until one or the other is destroyed. Even during the ancient War of Chaos and Law, in which Sunnis alone amongst her compatriots of the Goodly Archomentals fought on the side of Law throughout the entire war, the two opposed each other. It was Sunnis who prevented Ogremoch from interfering in a crucial battle, allowing the [[Rod of Seven Parts]] to be used to defeat [[Miska the Wolf-Spider]].

Stories also claim that Sunnis once did battle against the [[Tarrasque]], and that it was her use of a powerful artifact called the Sands of Slumber that forced the beast into its present cycle of prolonged dormancy.

Known as the True Stone and as Lode Mother, Sunnis' symbol is an hourglass with sand trickling into the bottom bulb.

Sunnis featured alongside her fellow Goodly Archomentals in [[Dragon Magazine]] #353.

==4th Edition==
Mentioned alongside all of the iconic [[Archomental]]s in 4e's Heroes of the [[Elemental Chaos]], the Sunnis of the [[World Axis]] is essentialy a compilation of her best traits from past editions. She is still a beautiful, powerfully built woman of living stone who is loved for her compassion and gentleness towards her followers, and who works tirelessly to fight the forces of evil - most notably, her hated rival Ogremoch.

{{D&D-Archomentals}}

Sun Wukong

2021-06-26T01:50:48Z

2603:8001:3500:CB:4472:F681:74BD:838A:

'''Sun Wukong''', the '''Monkey King''', is a crazy powerful character from the historical Chinese novel [[Mythology#Xiyou Ji (Journey To The West)|''Journey to the West'']]. His history and array of powers is so outlandish that he easily outshines the regular buddhist monk who is supposed to be the main character of the story.

==Backstory==
Sun Wukong was born from a stone egg, which was contained within an ancient rock that had been created by [[PROMOTIONS|the coupling of Heaven and Earth]]; the meteor struck a mountain inhabited by wild monkeys. (Yes, this is the basis for Goku's origin, so [[/co/|Superman fanboys]] claiming originality can eat shit.) Despite his categorically extraterrestrial origin, he emerged from the magical egg looking much like the locals, save for being made of rock. After leading his tribe to the well-hidden source of a stream, Sun Wukong took the title of "Handsome Monkey King". From there he would proceed to travel the world and establish further influence and power, making several alliances after collecting powerful weapons and armour like your average JRPG protagonist. This included his trademark staff, phoenix-feather cap, gold chain-mail shirt and cloud-walking boots.

At some point, the Chinese equivalent of Hell came calling for his soul; rather than accept death and reincarnation, Wukong decided to [[Settra the Imperishable|wipe the names of him and any monkey he knew from the Book of Life and Death.]] This pissed off the gods - in particular troubling Yama (also known as Enma), the other Kings of Hell and the Dragon Kings - due to the inherent blasphemy and the sheer clerical hell that would result. When the [[The God-Emperor of Mankind|Jade Emperor]] got wind of this, he figured the solution was to kick Sun Wukong upstairs to Heaven, thinking that a place amongst the gods would keep him in line. Unfortunately, he tried to pull one over on the Monkey King - Wukong was indeed admitted to heaven, but as protector of the Cloud Horses, I.E. [[Lulz|a fucking stable boy]]. The Monkey King's reaction was [[RAGE|measured and reasonable]]: he sets the horses loose, fucks off back to his mountain and declares himself "The Great Sage, Heaven's Equal (齊天大聖)". Unable to arrest the sneaky bastard, Jade Emps thought to pacify him again, this time appointing him guardian of a heavenly peach garden. While a much higher position than before, it conveniently excludes him from being invited to a royal banquet for all the ''important'' gods. [[Derp|Apparently Jade Emps thought the same trick would work twice.]]

Deciding to step his rebellion game up a notch, he drinks the Jade Emperor's royal wine, along with chowing down on longevity pills and the garden's peaches - which he likely was doing anyway, since each peach on their own would grant immortality. Thoroughly stocked up on extra lives, the Monkey King then proceeded to '''''solo the entire Army of Heaven''''' - 100,000 celestial warriors, all 28 constellations, and the four Heavenly Kings - all without breaking a sweat. He even matched the strength of Erlang Shen, a pretty cool guy who is the Jade Emp's nephew, has a [[Archaon|truth-seeing 3rd eye on his forehead]] and was the best of Heaven's generals; even when Sun Wukong was captured, it was only through the combined efforts of Tao and Buddhist forces, including several of the greatest deities, and finally Guanyin, a Bodhisattva (an incredibly powerful god-like entity that guides others towards enlightenment, and the only one who could actually subdue and control him).

...And then what? They certainly couldn't execute the Monkey King for obvious reasons, and trying to distil him into an elixir for recreating the longevity pills [[FAIL|just made him '''stronger''' and gave him even more fucking superpowers]]. Enter Buddha, as in '''THE''' [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gautama_Buddha| Buddha], who appeals to his pride by claiming that he can't escape the Buddha's palm. Sun Wukong accepted, being the smug motherfucker he is, and leaps almost effortlessly to an area with five pillars, where he leaves his mark by writing his title on them (and in some versions by ''peeing'' on them as well). Leaping back, he finds himself back in the Buddha's palm, where it turns out he'd never left - [[Just As Planned|the pillars he'd marked were Buddha's ''fingers.'']] Having one-upped the ultimate trickster, Buddha then turns his hand into a mountain and traps him under it, sealing him with a special talisman before he can lift it off (yeah, he can bench press mountains, get on his fucking level).

Then the monk Xuanzang came along, prompting the Monkey King to bargain for his freedom - as it happens, Guanyin (the Bodhisattva who had helped captured him previously) is searching for disciples to act as his bodyguard, and allows him to join. Buddha ensures his compliance with an unremovable headband that he tricks Sun Wukong into wearing, which tightens painfully when the monk chants a certain sutra. (That's 2-0 for Buddha!) Guanyin decided it wasn't fair for Buddha to COMPLETELY own his shit, and gave Wukong three super-special 'emergency' hairs. He then sets off with the monk, and the rest is history.

==Is He a Mary Sue?==
Wukong is quite a [[Mary Sue]] at first glance, with a superpower suite to match (Flight, immortality, disguise-piercing super sight, a steel-hard body, transformation mastery, [[What|being able to turn strands of hair into anything up to and including ''perfect clones of himself...'']] DBZ ''wishes'' it could be that bullshit.). He's also very much the Only Sane Man™ on this Journey to the West, who winds up spending most of his time saving the rest of the party from their naivety and/or idiocy, and proves to be an archetypical, cunning-if-occasionally-childish trickster through and through. In contrast, Xuanzang is rather unworldly, Zhu Baije is an idiot, Sha Wujing is what effectively amounts to a non-entity, and the horse is essentially just a horse. '''HOWEVER''' among the several things that temper this potential Suedom are theme of "There's always a bigger fish" (in Wukong's case, the Buddha), and "Even a guy this awesome is caught in the teeth of the gears of karma and desire" in his backstory, and the book in general.

==Pathfinder==
{{Infobox Deity
|Name = Sun Wukong
|Symbol = [[File:Sun Wukong symbol.jpg|200px]] <center>Monkey Statue</center>
|Aliases = The Monkey King
|Alignment = Chaotic Neutral
|Divine Rank = God
|Pantheon = [[Golarion#Tian Xia|Tian Xia]]
|Portfolio = Drunkenness, Nature, Trickery
|Domains = Animal, Chaos, Liberation, Travel, Trickery, Deception, Exploration, Freedom, Protean, Revolution, Thievery
|Home Plane = Prime Material
|Favoured Weapon = Quarterstaff
}}
His story is mostly unchanged, but very abridged. He is kind of Tian Xia's counterpart to [[Cayden Cailean]], being a god of drunkenness and hedonism. He wanders the Prime Material disguised as a human drunken martial artist: picking fights, seducing women, and drinking copious amounts of alcohol.

{{Pathfinder-Deities}}

Sun Wukong

2021-06-26T01:47:35Z

2603:8001:3500:CB:4472:F681:74BD:838A: /* Backstory */

'''Sun Wukong''', the '''Monkey King''', is a crazy powerful character from the historical Chinese novel [[Mythology#Xiyou Ji (Journey To The West)|''Journey to the West'']]. His history and array of powers is so outlandish that he easily outshines the regular buddhist monk who is supposed to be the main character of the story.

==Backstory==
Sun Wukong was born from a stone egg, which was contained within an ancient rock that had been created by [[PROMOTIONS|the coupling of Heaven and Earth]]; the meteor struck a mountain inhabited by wild monkeys. (Yes, this is the basis for Goku's origin, so [[/co/|Superman fanboys]] claiming originality can eat shit.) Despite his categorically extraterrestrial origin, he emerged from the magical egg looking much like the locals, save for being made of rock. After leading his tribe to the well-hidden source of a stream, Sun Wukong took the title of "Handsome Monkey King". From there he would proceed to travel the world and establish further influence and power, making several alliances after collecting powerful weapons and armour like your average JRPG protagonist. This included his trademark staff, phoenix-feather cap, gold chain-mail shirt and cloud-walking boots.

At some point, the Chinese equivalent of Hell came calling for his soul; rather than accept death and reincarnation, Wukong decided to [[Settra the Imperishable|wipe the names of him and any monkey he knew from the Book of Life and Death.]] This pissed off the gods - in particular troubling Yama (also known as Enma), the other Kings of Hell and the Dragon Kings - due to the inherent blasphemy and the sheer clerical hell that would result. When the [[The God-Emperor of Mankind|Jade Emperor]] got wind of this, he figured the solution was to kick Sun Wukong upstairs to Heaven, thinking that a place amongst the gods would keep him in line. Unfortunately, he tried to pull one over on the Monkey King - Wukong was indeed admitted to heaven, but as protector of the Cloud Horses, I.E. [[Lulz|a fucking stable boy]]. The Monkey King's reaction was [[RAGE|measured and reasonable]]: he sets the horses loose, fucks off back to his mountain and declares himself "The Great Sage, Heaven's Equal (齊天大聖)". Unable to arrest the sneaky bastard, Jade Emps thought to pacify him again, this time appointing him guardian of a heavenly peach garden. While a much higher position than before, it conveniently excludes him from being invited to a royal banquet for all the ''important'' gods. [[Derp|Apparently Jade Emps thought the same trick would work twice.]]

Deciding to step his rebellion game up a notch, he drinks the Jade Emperor's royal wine, along with chowing down on longevity pills and the garden's peaches - which he likely was doing anyway, since each peach on their own would grant immortality. Thoroughly stocked up on extra lives, the Monkey King then proceeded to '''''solo the entire Army of Heaven''''' - 100,000 celestial warriors, all 28 constellations, and the four Heavenly Kings - all without breaking a sweat. He even matched the strength of Erlang Shen, a pretty cool guy who is the Jade Emp's nephew, has a [[Archaon|truth-seeing 3rd eye on his forehead]] and was the best of Heaven's generals; even when Sun Wukong was captured, it was only through the combined efforts of Tao and Buddhist forces, including several of the greatest deities, and finally Guanyin, a Bodhisattva (an incredibly powerful god-like entity that guides others towards enlightenment, and the only one who could actually subdue and control him).

...And then what? They certainly couldn't execute the Monkey King for obvious reasons, and trying to distil him into an elixir for recreating the longevity pills [[FAIL|just made him '''stronger''' and gave him even more fucking superpowers]]. Enter Buddha, as in '''THE''' Buddha, who appeals to his pride by claiming that he can't escape the Buddha's palm. Sun Wukong accepted, being the smug motherfucker he is, and leaps almost effortlessly to an area with five pillars, where he leaves his mark by writing his title on them (and in some versions by ''peeing'' on them as well). Leaping back, he finds himself back in the Buddha's palm, where it turns out he'd never left - [[Just As Planned|the pillars he'd marked were Buddha's ''fingers.'']] Having one-upped the ultimate trickster, Buddha then turns his hand into a mountain and traps him under it, sealing him with a special talisman before he can lift it off (yeah, he can bench press mountains, get on his fucking level).

Then the monk Xuanzang came along, prompting the Monkey King to bargain for his freedom - as it happens, Guanyin (the Bodhisattva who had helped captured him previously) is searching for disciples to act as his bodyguard, and allows him to join. Buddha ensures his compliance with an unremovable headband that he tricks Sun Wukong into wearing, which tightens painfully when the monk chants a certain sutra. (That's 2-0 for Buddha!) Guanyin decided it wasn't fair for Buddha to COMPLETELY own his shit, and gave Wukong three super-special 'emergency' hairs. He then sets off with the monk, and the rest is history.

==Is He a Mary Sue?==
Wukong is quite a [[Mary Sue]] at first glance, with a superpower suite to match (Flight, immortality, disguise-piercing super sight, a steel-hard body, transformation mastery, [[What|being able to turn strands of hair into anything up to and including ''perfect clones of himself...'']] DBZ ''wishes'' it could be that bullshit.). He's also very much the Only Sane Man™ on this Journey to the West, who winds up spending most of his time saving the rest of the party from their naivety and/or idiocy, and proves to be an archetypical, cunning-if-occasionally-childish trickster through and through. In contrast, Xuanzang is rather unworldly, Zhu Baije is an idiot, Sha Wujing is what effectively amounts to a non-entity, and the horse is essentially just a horse. '''HOWEVER''' among the several things that temper this potential Suedom are theme of "There's always a bigger fish" (in Wukong's case, the Buddha), and "Even a guy this awesome is caught in the teeth of the gears of karma and desire" in his backstory, and the book in general.

==Pathfinder==
{{Infobox Deity
|Name = Sun Wukong
|Symbol = [[File:Sun Wukong symbol.jpg|200px]] <center>Monkey Statue</center>
|Aliases = The Monkey King
|Alignment = Chaotic Neutral
|Divine Rank = God
|Pantheon = [[Golarion#Tian Xia|Tian Xia]]
|Portfolio = Drunkenness, Nature, Trickery
|Domains = Animal, Chaos, Liberation, Travel, Trickery, Deception, Exploration, Freedom, Protean, Revolution, Thievery
|Home Plane = Prime Material
|Favoured Weapon = Quarterstaff
}}
His story is mostly unchanged, but very abridged. He is kind of Tian Xia's counterpart to [[Cayden Cailean]], being a god of drunkenness and hedonism. He wanders the Prime Material disguised as a human drunken martial artist: picking fights, seducing women, and drinking copious amounts of alcohol.

{{Pathfinder-Deities}}

Druid

2021-06-26T01:35:13Z

2603:8001:3500:CB:4472:F681:74BD:838A:

[[Image:Druids.jpg|thumb|right|350px|Druids are mysterious. Very much so.]]
{{Topquote|History shows again and again how nature points out the folly of man!|Blue Oyster Cult, Godzilla}}

{{Topquote|I am the queen of every hive. I am the fire on every hill. I am the shield over every head. I am the spear of battle. Who but I am both the tree and the lightning that strikes it?|The Butcher}}

Pre-christian Celtic priests often associated with nature and divination. And human sacrifice. Don't forget the human sacrifice. In modern times druidism has been revived under the new-age movements minus human sacrifice. In fantasy druids are often powerful magicians or [[cleric]] variants who get their powers from communing with nature, more like historical [[shaman]]s.

They are [[Mystery of the Druids|a mysterious bunch]]. No one knows who they are, or what they are doing.

==Druids in Real Life==
The Druids were the priestly class of the ancient Celts. It should be noted that we know incredibly little about the original, ancient Druids, their practices, beliefs or religion. This is because they refused to write anything down, instead relying on memorization, something that they were very good at [this was actually a rather common approach to record keeping for ancient cultures, the ancient Indians (as in actually from India) had the same mindset]. Most of the information we do have on Druids comes from the Romans, who the Druids were enemies of, and thus must be taken with a grain of salt. The Druids were not just the religious leaders of the Celts either; they also functioned as the advisors to tribal leaders, were poets and entertainers, and even acted as legal experts, judges and arbiters in disputes. Training to become a druid could take somewhere close to twenty years. It should be noted that the druids were not exactly 'nature worshipers'/animists the way they are depicted in most fantasy settings; they had sacred groves of oak-trees that they worshiped at, but they were pagan priests, not shamans; they worshiped a pantheon of various gods, not spirits of the natural world. Their Roman enemies had similar mindsets and even similar religious sites revering the gods in the natural world. The Druids died out in Continental Europe once the Romans conquered Gaul, and later would be wiped out in England as well, only surviving in Ireland and Scotland and a few parts of Wales. Once Ireland and Scotland converted to Christianity, they died out there as well (the tale of St Patrick driving all the snakes out of Ireland is actually thought by some to be poetic hyperbole of him converting all the druids, since there's no real evidence snakes ever lived on that island in the first place), with one exception; Bards. Basically, one of the original duties of the druids was reciting, composing and memorizing poetry, laws, stories, and history, as well as advising chieftains and kings. Bards were a subset of druids that specialized in exactly that while ignoring most of the religious or ceremonial stuff. When the regular druids died out, the bards remained, even after the coming of Christianity, albeit reduced in status to pure entertainers.

==Druids in D&D==
Druids have long been a staple class of [[D&D]] where they are known for their shapeshifting abilities, being able to turn into various animal forms, and being [[CoDzilla|hilariously broken in 3.5e]]. Using this ability might incur the [[Familiarity Question]], so make sure to run this by the [[DM]] prior to playing a Druid.

Druids although (then) always statted as Neutral-aligned usually ended up tracking with "the good guys" since, even if their official thing is all about "preserve nature", the fact that bad guys in D&D tend to messing around with necromancy or summoning fiends tends to make for at least "enemy of my enemy is my friend" alliances.

This has led several designers to Restore Teh Balance and propose druidical ''antagonists''. We mean, beyond making them werebeasts or undead [[banshee]]s or some shit like that, those don't count. Read on.

===Druids in BECMI===
The Druid first appeared in the Companion Set for [[Dungeons & Dragons]] BECMI; here, it was a kind of prototype prestige class, rather than a class in its own right. When a Neutral aligned [[Cleric]] reached 9th level, they could make a decision to either continue as a cleric or to devote themselves to the powers of nature, becoming a druid. This presented them with a bunch of new character restrictions, mandating that they live in the wilderness and forbidding them from using metal weapons or armor. In return, they could advance from their starting level of 10 to level 36, and gained access to new spells castable only by druids, in addition to casting all of the spells they had learned as common clerics.

[[Image:Pack Lord Druid.jpg|450px|thumb|right|Dressed in bits of dead animal? A live animal not mauling them? Must be a druid.]]

===Druids in AD&D===
Druids in AD&D are grouped under the "Priest" class, like the [[cleric]], though this is similar to the [[bard]], [[ranger]], and [[paladin]] in that it has some very restrictive prerequisites to even enter the class: You need a Wis score of at least 12 and a Cha score of at least 15, you need to be True Neutral (unless you were a 2e priest of the Earth Mother of the native american pantheon, in which case you had to be Neutral Good), and you need to be a [[human]] or a [[half-elf]] - because apparently, elves are too much of a race of tree-huggers to harness the magic of nature.

As is now tradition, these druids are banned from using metal armor and most traditional weapons. They also gain access to a few spheres of influence with direct relation to nature (All, Elemental, Healing, Plant, Weather) with a minor dip in the Divination sphere (though the ''Player's Option: Spells & Magic'' splat removed the druid's access in Divination for full access to the Sun Sphere). They also lost the ability to turn the undead, but gained quite a bit: the ability to talk to creatures, and resistance to charms by animals. They gained the now-trademark "Wild Shape" ability at level 7, but get to heal a bit of damage in exchange to being restricted to being only real-world creatures, meaning that you can't be a dinosaur or a dire creature or anything that'd be remotely cool (you might be wondering if actual characters in-universe would understand the distinction between animals a druid can change into and ones they can't. well, good for you).

The other grand thing the druid had was the big hierarchy. See, there are a fixed number of druids that can exist in the world, and after level 11 you become subject to these restrictions. The only way to level up is to either find a new region who needs a new druid to fill the vacancy or fighting a druid and taking their place in some sort of ritual combat. Apparently by level 15, you'll become the only druid of such a power level as you just replaced the previous druid of this level. Beyond this are a ton of new spell slots, normal shapeshifting, and the ability to enter and live in other elemental planes. This hierarchy also serves as the equivalent of the other classes just gaining a couple followers and their own new HQ, where as you have your secretive hippie order and your big imposing fortress is instead replaced with a natural grove.

[[Unearthed Arcana]] recognised the market for druid players who still wanted to hang out with a post-15th level party. This allowed such to start over on the Hierophant track, 16-23rd level.

Then came the 1990s and Second Edition. As with the other classes, there is indeed a [[Complete Book Series|Complete Druids' Handbook]] which, on top of explaining the hierarchy in further depth and providing kits, also has some special variant druids that were based on biomes and were separate from the kits. It also included a deeper look at the culture of the druids (considering that they are a secretive organization), herbology, and how they would fit into the bigger picture.

2e is when was introduced the When Good Druids Go Bad trope. [[Forgotten Realms]] has the Shadow Circle, which are militant anti-city druids who want to violently destroy all forms of civilization. [[Eberron]] has two: the Circle of the Ashbound believe (falsely) that arcane magic harms nature and that destroying magical items and users is good for nature - long story short, it involves their founder killing a [[lich]] who'd been screwing around with nature and then noticing nature bounced back ''really well'' afterward - and the Children of Winter, social darwinists who believe that [[A Song of Ice and Fire|"Winter is coming!"]] and launch eco-terrorist attacks on civilization to winnow out the weak and ensure only the strong will be left to keep everybody from dying out during the "winter phase" of Eberron's life-cycle.

===Druids in 3e & PF===
[[File:Lini.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Lini, the iconic Druid]]
3rd Edition Druids started out okay but then 3.5 unwisely introduced the feat Natural Spell. This let them be massively buffed bears who can summon more bears whose own stats have been buffed into the stratosphere out of their eyes while farting lightning, pissing acid, shitting explosive berries, and breathing fire that does irresistible damage. Hence, the [[CoDzilla|C.o.D.-Zilla]] [[meme]]. Truly macho, macho men - so why play a [[fighter]], unless you have a thing for brushing bear pelts.

3e went wild-boar hog wild on ''evil'' druids, also. Its [[Blighter]] was an anti-druid dedicated against nature, that even the misanthropes among the real druids had to oppose. Out in the d20 wild-west [[Scarred Lands]] has druids as servitors of the Titans, as opposed to clerical servants of the gods; in that setting ''most'' druids are evil, and against nature as well, leaving only Denev's druids to Save Da Erf. We might also mention [[Arcana Unearthed]]'s various classes serving The Green or The Dark despite not being ''called'' "Druid".

In [[Pathfinder]] Druids were easily most nerfed class by far. Shapeshifting only adds to your ability scores instead of replacing them, so you need to actually build for melee to be good at it. Animal companions now advance completely differently (and somewhat slower), no longer being an advanced animal but completely arbitrary collection of HD and special abilities where different types of animals just get a different set of natural attacks, movement and ability scores. This also closes an exploit where more powerful animals gave a penalty to effective druid level that could be negated by taking a feat that boosts your effective druid level up to your HD to get powerful ACs easily. With the release of Bestiary 2, Druids gained one new power they didn't have in 3rd edition: By wildshaping into a giant hippopotamus with a 4d8 bite attack, turning the normally terrible Vital Strike feats (which double or more your weapon damage at the cost of preventing full attacks and denying you multiple attacks that would get that and other bonuses multiple times) into something that does more damage than a direct hit from modern artillery.

===d20 Modern===
The Shaman class introduced in [[D20 Past]] is the Druid in all but name. It manages to be even crazier by keeping its many class features and gaining a bunch of bonus feats and new class features. In addition to the Druid's normal abilities, it gains potion brewing, the ability to take control of magical beasts as an evil Cleric controls undead and merge with its animal companion to form a single huge beatstick with crazy offense that can still cast spells.

Unlike d20 Modern's other casting classes, there's actually multiple routes to take after taking all 10 levels of Shaman. One could take levels of Ecclesiarch for more spells and the ability to command humans instead of just magical beasts. Alternatively, one could take levels of Wildlord to continue advancing their animal companion and gain a few more nature abilities.

===Druids in 4e===
4th edition seriously worked to fix the CoDZilla problem. Because of this, druids didn't appear until the second [[Player's Handbook]]. Here, they became a Primal Controller class, with the nebulous "old faith" and vague "[[cleric]] but not" status of earlier editions replaced with a coherent faith and a new set of pseudo-deities to worship; the [[Primal Spirits]].

These druids don't have the animal companion of editions past, and summoning as an option was changed up, with no powers along that lines until the subsequent Primal Power with a distinctive array of summons and conjurations. The biggest change is to their shapechanging; whilst Wild Shape remains their key feature, being an at-will power that lets them turn into any animal, the original use of it is gone - wild shape is mostly cosmetic. Instead, druid powers are split halfway between mystical effects like calling lightning bolts, teleporting and making trees eat your enemies, and special attacks for the druid's beastform with a variety of ways to maul face. This allows you to build your druid with a focus on either nature magic, being a shapeshifted killing machine, or a blend between the two. Nature's Balance, one of the class' features, even indicates such is necessary by letting you get three at-will powers instead of the typical two (four for the PHB human druid), with the caveat that you have at least one at-will for both humanoid and beast forms.

The druid has a pseudo-subclass mechanic in the form of Primal Aspect, similar to those of any other class. Depending on which Aspect your druid chose, you get a certain bonus when not wearing heavy armor and certain affiliated powers are more potent.
* '''Primal Guardian''' lets use Con to determine AC. This not only consolidates some stats for you, powers keyed to this aspect tend to be the closest to the default controller role with a lot of forced movement.
* '''Primal Predator''' added +1 speed to your wild shape. This was generally regarded as the offensive aspect, which tended to key more off Str and Dex than Con.
* '''Primal Wrath''' added +1 to attack with cold, fire, lightning, and thunder powers. For baffling reasons known only to the [[Seeker]], this Aspect had absolutely no feat support. It's as if WotC promptly forgot about it after publishing Heroes of the Elemental Chaos.
* '''Primal Swarm''' Aspect added a ridiculously fast-scaling damage reduction when in beast form, which made it arguably the strongest tank aspect for the druid.

The ''Essentials'' books also gave the Druid two variant classes that focused on different aspects of the Druid as a class. The [[Protector]] from ''Heroes of the Feywild'' was a more [[Wizard]]-like Druid, gaining cantrips in the form of Primal Attunement in exchange for losing Ritual Caster and exchanging Wildshape for "Primal Growth", an Encounter power that acted as difficult terrain and had other benefits based on the Druid Circle selected: Renewal (The Predator-equivalent) gave anyone who spent a Healing Surge near it extra HP while Shelter (The Protector Equivalent) made it not count as difficult terrain for allies. The other key aspect of this class was making all Dailies become Summon Nature's Ally powers, summoning different creatures depending on both level and Circle. ''Heroes of the Forgotten Lands'' gave the [[Sentinel (D&D)|Sentinel]], a more martial pet-centric Druid who followed the later Essentials classes of being almost mono-builds. The only major choice you get is the Acolyte of the Seasons feature, which determines a few bonuses as well as which pet you get: Spring (Wolf), Summer (Bear), and Wastes (Living Zephyr). You get an Encounter power called Combined Attack which lets you hit and then let your pet hit as well as taking the Cleric's Healing Word power.

===Druids in 5e===
In D&D 5th edition, buff spells had been changed and the Druid no longer gets an animal companion; however, this is quickly brushed aside when players realize that they can wildshape into a bear at 2nd level (as a bonus action) thanks to the Circle of the Moon. Druid subclasses are called Circles, and there are two in the player's handbook and 5 more in later material, plus a few in Unearthed Arcana.

* '''Circle of the Lands''' druids are the ones who focus on the 'traditional' druid as a protector of wild lands. These druids get extra spells depending on which type of land they choose- Arctic, Coast, Desert, Forest, Grassland, Mountain, Swamp, and Underdark. Their attunement to nature also allows them to regain spell slots on a short rest once per day (which no other druid can do), ignore difficult terrain, be immune to poison and disease, and eventually make it difficult for creatures of the natural world to attack them.
This subclass is often unfavorably compared to moon druids, but in fact the two subclasses serve very different roles (though the Moon druid is incredibly OP), as most druid circles do; the Land druid in particular is the well-rounded generalist caster and is good way to ease a player into the somewhat complex mechanics of playing a druid.

* '''Circle of the Moon''' druids are those who dream of the glory days of the [[CoDzilla]] and went for the subclass that focuses on the druid's most famous feature- Wild Shape. Moon Druid abilities are all focused on improving one's Wild Shape, although this time they at least have the sense to keep druids from casting spells in Wild Shape (at least until level 18).
This subclass serves the role of Tankius Maximus the Chonklord. Good tank. Great tank. Best tank. Trust us, we know our tanks, and none of them are better than this tank. Just look at the amount of meat they can slap on their bones every round at max level. Yuge.

* '''Circle of Dreams''' druids are connected to the Feywild and are best friends with good-aligned Fey, since they share the same goal of protecting the magic in nature. Druids of this circle have powers related to healing, shelter, and dreams, with a side of being able to travel like the Fey do.
This subclass serves the role of support healer.

* '''Circle of the Shepherd''' druids are conjuration-masters/pseudo-[[Shaman]]s. These druids protect and heal beasts and nature spirits, and can call upon them in turn for some help and neat bonuses.
This subclass serves the role of minion master.

* '''Circle of Spores''' followers are essentially [[Nurgle]] druids, who take power from the cycle of life, death, and decay. They're creepy but generally okay folks as long as you don't have a problem with mushrooms. They were first printed in the ''Guildmaster's Guide to Ravnica'' and associated with the green/black Golgari Swarm, but they can fit in any setting.
This subclass serves the role of a constant stream of damage, though at max level they become almost as brokenly hard to kill as moon druids.

* '''Circle of Stars''' druids are astrologers, who take their power from the sky instead of the land. Their wildshape can instead turn them into one of three constellations- the Archer (shoots magic arrows), the Chalice (buffs healing), and the Dragon (helps you maintain concentration and gives skill check bonuses), and they get a bunch of divination powers.
This subclass... is the arcana cleric of druids. It's sort of a grab-bag of abilities with no clear role in mind.

* '''Circle of Wildfire''' druids do ''not'', contrary to first appearances, just want to burninate all the things- they represent fire as part of the natural cycle. Forest fires may be dangerous, but they clear up the forest floor, kill pests, and even promote seed germination, and ''that'' is what these druids devote themselves to. As such, while these druids have standard fire spells, they're also good healers. Their main draw is that they can summon a Wildfire Spirit to burn foes or revive friends. Whether WotC intends to ever release water, air, and earth themed druids remains to be seen.
This subclass splits the difference between the dreams and spore druids in terms of role.

Unearthed Arcana adds the undead-fighting Circle of Twilight, and Exploring Eberron adds the Circle of the Forged, which focuses on creating and exploring the potential of the Warforged.

Broadly speaking, the Druid subclasses in 5e take one broken part of what the Druid used to be able to do (shapeshifting, spells, summoning) and give it back, thus ensuring that all the broken parts can't be assembled together in one character.

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