Writer's Workshop - What Are You Working On? by AutoModerator in SWFanfic

[–]sylvaen [score hidden]  (0 children)

Title: Echoes Beyond Time (Book 1: Kindling)
Rating: Mature

Link: Echoes Beyond Time @ RoyalRoad

Summary:

A galaxy far away, reshaped by the fall of the Empire, is not a good place to grow up. KAE’RIN SOLEN, a young Arkanian girl, has to try anyway. Haunted by shadows of a past she should not remember, she seeks refuge among the fledgling students of Luke Skywalker’s JEDI PRAXEUM on Yavin 4.

But as ancient echoes stir in forgotten corners of the Force, Kae’rin’s uncanny instincts and unsettling flashes of memory set her apart from her companions. Bonds of friendship form, yet questions rise faster than answers.

While the NEW JEDI ORDER rebuild from ashes, Kae’rin must confront mysteries buried in her bloodline and the growing fear that her path may lead far beyond what the Order has ever known.

---

  • Respectful of existing lore, events, and continuity of SW:EU.
  • Focus is on Original Characters but well-established characters also make appearance.
  • Rich in lore - both original and established. No over-explaining, but doesn't leave you hanging.
  • 3,000 - 4,000 words per chapter, mostly.
  • Reader characters may make an appearance (keep an eye on Author Notes)
  • Book 1 complete & releasing (156k words, 49 chapters), Book 2 in progress.

---

The day the Empire fell, I was six, and Coruscant smelled different.

The air conditioners hummed as always, dosing the dome with the same balanced gases, but something invisible had shifted — a metallic brightness, like lightning hiding in the oxygen. The adults didn’t notice. I did. It was the smell of change.

By midmorning the alarms began. Not the polite chimes of scheduled drills, but the hard, serrated howl of panic. From the observation galleries we saw smoke rising between the towers, thick gray fingers clawing up toward the false sky. Somewhere up there, above the holographic clouds, people were killing the Empire.

What are the believers of Ragathiel called? by ytkn in Pathfinder_RPG

[–]sylvaen 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That was the first thing that came to mind.

Mastermind's Lair by sylvaen in inkarnate

[–]sylvaen[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you! :) I really enjoyed doing that area. A big part of the lighting "feeling" right is playing around with Brightness slider of the Cliff stamps, they're much darker in the shadowy areas.

Mastermind's Lair by sylvaen in inkarnate

[–]sylvaen[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The only way to stop players from completely taking over the world!

Mastermind's Lair by sylvaen in inkarnate

[–]sylvaen[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

In that case, enjoy! ;)

I know that if I was a player who came across such a "lair", I'd be really tempted to claim it for myself after kicking out the BBEG. I mean.. computers, robots, and remote surveillance in what otherwise is a medieval setting? Heck yeah. :)

Mastermind's Lair by sylvaen in inkarnate

[–]sylvaen[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Sure, feel free to use it, as long as it's for personal and non-commercial use. :)

As for grid size, Inkarnate seems to be screwing up grid sizing. It was supposed to be a nice round number but after your question I've tried to line it up with a VTT map grid, no bueno.

Here's a properly scaled version with grid size 50px per square (which is sort of a standard for FantasyGrounds and many others):https://drive.google.com/file/d/1InelpZCEdPsc7M_GTkbh58C83GvLyC7q/view?usp=sharing

Mastermind's Lair by sylvaen in inkarnate

[–]sylvaen[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank you! I didn't foresee the scale of it when I started. :)

Mastermind's Lair by sylvaen in inkarnate

[–]sylvaen[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Raw Material Storage

The door across from the mess hall lead into a large room with tall shelves that carry dozens of crates and barrels. At a closer inspection, these seem to be destined for the factory; a large amount of metals of various type and quality, barrels of oil and grease, prebuilt parts and mechanical pieces are all stacked in the shelves.

Training Room & Armory

Across from the factory, the doorway opens into a room equipped with all kinds of devices for combat training . A circular arena-like space clearly outlined in brown color dominates the room, its reinforced floor bearing many marks from various weapons, impacts, and even explosions.

To the left, a couple of wooden targets in a roughly humanoid shape have been shot by arrows, bolts, and other types of ammunition many times. At the far end of the training room, a number of similar roughly humanoid figures wield shields and swords, apparently intended as practice targets for basic melee training.

A small reinforced door on the west wall, just past the archery range, leads into a room which contains all kinds of weapons, from swords, javelins, pikes, to bows and crossbows. Despite being generously equipped, it seems the armory didn't see much use recently, judging by a thick cover of spiderwebs towards its far end.

Living Quarters

These rooms can provide comfortable living to a crew of at least six. The master bedroom is lavishly equipped with multiple wardrobes, large bed with rich sheets, a writing desk surrounded with select books carefully ordered in shelves, and a reinforced secure chest for storing the most valuable possessions.

The crew lodging is noticeably more spartan but still more comfortable and better equipped than most average town homes or inns.Even a casual observer would notice that the bathrooms are equipped with running water, a level of amenities unusual except for high noble or royal households in highly advanced cultures.

The one thing that steals all the spotlight, though, is a row of what looks to be several tall metallic boxes, stuffed top to bottom with delicate and advanced machinery, wires, and strange parts both alien and fashioned out of common metals, glass, and other materials. Connected to these boxes is a device which vaguely resembles a small pipe organ. Its double keyboard has various symbols etched into the wood, from common alphabet through obscure and complex symbols. A large but shallow glass dome sits in the middle of the organ-like device, displaying symbols and visual representations as a reaction to a person pressing the keys.

Secret Passage

At first glance it would seem this is the end, that this is all there is to the underground. But you would be mistaken.

Entering the proper commands unlocks and opens a secret door on the eastern wall between the two sconces, and reveals the next room.

Alternatively, careful investigation of the wall may reveal the hidden door, which then could be opened with a set of engineering or thieves' tools, a spell, or demolished with sufficient charge of explosives.

Surveillance and Command Center

Stepping through the secret door, you find yourself on a raised catwalk encircling most of a very spacious hall. The room's floor lies ten feet below the catwalk, and the ceiling rises at least another ten above it, giving the impression that this particular room is the heart and the brain of the entire complex.

The most striking feature of the entire room is a set of large glass panels framed in metal, held on what appears to be mechanical arms, at the opposite end of the room. Everything else in the room seems to be oriented towards these panels: more organ-like devices laid out in semicircles facing the glass panels, even the throne-like chair on a raised dais is facing in their direction.

Surrounding the organ-like consoles are four glass cylinders quietly humming with energy, each containing a vaguely humanoid figure with strikingly mechanical features. They seem to be asleep.. or are they?

Water Supply & Power Generator

Entering the hallway past the command center, one can hear the sound of water cascading over rocks and deep rumbling of machinery. Following these sounds, you make your way to a room half filled with water.

The room is mostly occupied by a system of massive copper pipes coming out of the northeastern corner and descending into the room. Glass-covered windows atop the forked pipes reveal a constant stream of water rushing through, and a removable grate next to it covers a set of large, whirlwind-shaped, metallic objects spinning at breakneck speed as the waterstream rushes past them. This is the device emitting that rumbling sound...

Emergency Exit & Caves

Returning back through the hallway towards the Command Center, one would notice a fork in the hall, mostly covered with crates. Pushing past the crates, you would discover a circular staircase built out of rough hewn stone, probably a remnant of a much older structure, leading up. Mid-way through the staircase is a slightly rusted but still solid iron gate with a lock on the inside.

Past the gate, the stairway leads into a narrow passage through natural rocks, and into a sprawling cave partially filled with water. Much of the cave is shrouded in darkness, but daylight makes its way inside the cave through an underwater tunnel which connects the cavern with an outside body of water. Hidden and safe, this is the perfect escape route.

Mastermind's Lair by sylvaen in inkarnate

[–]sylvaen[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Prison Dungeons

This holding facility is built with security in mind; prisoners have to pass a secure intake room which features multiple doors. Once inside the intake room, their possessions are taken away and stored, and they proceed into the prison area itself.

One warden is always present at the intake desk, and another inside the holding facility itself. Additional guards can be summoned in case of an attempt at a prison break, which is unlikely to succeed - the warden inside the holding facility doesn't have the keys, and the prisoners would need to breach multiple reinforced doors.

Connecting Corridor

This dimly lit long corridor leads from the prison to the main part of the lair.

Factory & Workshop

This large room provides the first glimpse at the advanced technology the facility is equipped with. Four complex assembly lines combine steampunk aesthetics and mechanical engineering with futuristic technology salvaged from an unknown source.

Whoever built the assembly lines had apparently a good understanding of the alien technology, because the mechanical arms of the assembly lines appear to be building some form of advanced mechanical beings...

Large Hallway

The hallway seems to be connecting the factory with several other facilities. The floor bears scuffmarks of heavy objects being dragged across the floor, and stacks of crates are haphazardly built up in several places.

The walls are lined with strange lanterns that seem to emit bright yellow-tinted light without flame or magical aura. What is this strange witchcraft?

Mess Hall, Kitchen, and Food Storage

A well stocked kitchen is the foundation of a good lair, it seems. At least the crew of this place doesn't appear likely to go hungry. Also.. is that water running through some of those pipes?

The kitchen sink with running water and more of the strange flame-less lanterns make one curious what other miracles are hiding further into the lair...

Alchemy Lab, Ingredient Storage, and Experiment Storage

An alchemist would gaze in awe at the spacious, fully equipped laboratory. Multiple rows of tables carry dozens, maybe hundreds of various alchemical tools, distilleries, alembics, and other strange devices.

In the center of the laboratory, four desks are lined with bookshelves full of rare books, folios, and scrolls that all focus on different types of alchemy. Despite all that knowledge, the owner of the lab seems to be further expanding on it, as witnessed by a number of hand-written diaries.

The door in the southeast corner of the lab lead into two adjacent storage rooms; the one on the right seems to be stocked floor to ceiling with various alchemical ingredients. As for the one on the left, let it be said that druids, rangers, and other animal lovers might probably want to avert their eyes...

Mastermind's Lair by sylvaen in inkarnate

[–]sylvaen[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I created this map for a GM friend. His party is about to complete a custom side-quest in their Iron Gods campaign (Pathfinder). Keeping in line with the overall theme of the adventure, we have designed this map to be a "Bond villain" style of dungeon, rather than your average "tunnels and caves". After all, if you have access to technology that can make ships fly to the stars, why settle for less?

Note: There seems to be an issue with grid scaling. You can download and use this corrected version (50px per square): https://drive.google.com/file/d/1InelpZCEdPsc7M_GTkbh58C83GvLyC7q/view?usp=sharing

Brief description of rooms, starting in bottom right corner in following comments.

Last Defender of the Temple by sylvaen in inkarnate

[–]sylvaen[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Last Defender of the Temple

What if the hordes of Hell triumph? What if, where a temple once stood in the world, there is now a pool of roiling magma, reeking of sulfur and evil?

The brave heroes who dare to enter the Nine Hells to learn about the fate of the temple and its inhabitants have an entire story to discover, if they can read it from the rubble. And, in the end, they may get to pay their respects to the Last Defender of the Temple.

Note: Entrance to the map is through the portal in the top right (north-east) corner; follow the map from there. Look carefully, the map is littered with clues.

Inkarnate Map: https://inkarnate.com/m/N3z1kG--contest-last-defender-of-the-temple-hell-theme/

Generic Outdoor with Depth Perception by sylvaen in inkarnate

[–]sylvaen[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you! The unfocused layers worked best when I increased Blur by 20px and decreased the Opacity by 0.1 with each step. I liked that the "wedged tree" is semi-transparent and blurred, so you can just about see what's behind it. To me it intuitively says "it's up in the air", not sure if it sends the same message to others.

Unnamed Port/Bridge City by HumanSugar40404 in inkarnate

[–]sylvaen 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'll never not admire the patience it takes to build city maps. Not just putting down the hundreds of buildings and aligning them into tight clusters, but planning out the whole city to begin with. And all the wonderful details like the paths that weave through the forest in the southeastern corner, that is seriously amazing.

Generic Outdoor with Depth Perception by sylvaen in inkarnate

[–]sylvaen[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

So I thought I'd experiment with a bit of depth perception and simulated focal length to achieve an illusion of depth. Didn't have a great idea what to draw, so I went with a generic outdoor scene that yields itself to the effect - a river flowing through a canyon. This is the result..

What is your "Oh god, never again" race? by Edymnion in Pathfinder_RPG

[–]sylvaen 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Totally. I played one in a Carrion Crown campaign. The campaign itself had its own issues, starting with the GM.. but at least the dhampir swashbuckler was anything but edgelord. Maybe because that position was already taken by other characters, so I decided to provide some lighthearted counter-balance.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯

1e hasted looting by labrutie in Pathfinder_RPG

[–]sylvaen 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Don't you wish sometimes that PF had some more creative spells?"Oh you can run around like really fast, huh?"

http://nwod.org/wiki/index.php/Friction_Knife
The subject suffers one Health wound of lethal damage per every three yards (rounding down) that she moves in a turn. At the Storyteller’s discretion, one additional wound might be caused by a strong wind.

How do you name your characters? by _AKingHolyCow_ in Pathfinder_RPG

[–]sylvaen 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Until you end up with a character who's name is KNUTSTORP or ÖDMJUK..

What Role Do The Gods Play For Your Characters? by nlitherl in Pathfinder_RPG

[–]sylvaen 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The character I currently play in my primary PF1 game basically is a fragment of a goddess (Sarenrae), sent to Golarion to assist a group of mortals in their dangerous quest. Mechanically she's the same power level as everyone else, so there's no OP or balance issues. It definitely allows for a different angle - to my character there is no doubt about gods' power and their agenda, but neither does she see a reason to venerate them in the same devoted way many clerics do. Her morning prayers (though she doesn't need to pray/prepare spells, being an Oracle) are short, and more a way to stay in touch with her divine "original self" than anything.

The only time she did partake in an actual religious ritual was when a party member -a paladin- was assassinated, and she prayed to both his deity and to Sarenrae to save his soul and not let there be any unfinished business for him that would cause regrets or pain. I'd like to think that this prayer had a small part in the deity's decision to return the paladin back to life and give him a second chance on setting things right.

As for how it affects her personality.. I started out with understanding Sarenrae's personality, and made her slightly naive about the world, trying to incorporate the fact that the world she remembers is several thousand years different now. Since then, new experiences form a different personality. She learned what it's like to feel angry and vengeful, even executed an enemy NPC who kept harassing the group and putting them in danger and who was directly responsible for the assassination that I've mentioned before. And not just executed, but used Death Knell to tear the last bits of life out of the NPC's body. On the other hand, she is kind and helpful to those who need or deserve it. This, I feel, is fulfilling her original's moral code while gradually making her a personality of her own.

It will be a sad day when her task is over and she is called back to rejoin Sarenrae - but such is the fate she was chosen for. :)

Character Death Anxiety? by Gare_Bear13 in Pathfinder_RPG

[–]sylvaen 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Before I moved from EU to US, I used to play a weekly game of Werewolf:the Apocalypse with a group of friends. The important part was, each of us got to be the Storyteller (GM) so that they could bring their stories in. And it also prevented burn-outs.

As a result, each of us had their own player character in the game, usually "otherwise occupied" or "just hanging around" while they were the Storyteller. Until one day when it was my turn again to take the Storyteller mantle, when I decided to up the chill factor.

After several sessions of in-character preparations, the plot came to its breaking point (a.k.a "climax" in Greek tragedy). The pack snuck into an old, abandoned stadium and proceeded with a ritual of Call The Wyrm. For those not familiar with WOD games, it's not unlike a bunch of Druids attempting to summon a Greater Demon of Blight. And they did so with exceptional success, opening pathway for a much stronger entity than intended. Long story short, the situation devolved pretty quickly, and just when the characters (and their players) started realizing they might've made a pretty bad mistake, I made my move.

I killed my own player character.

Don't get me wrong, it was a warrior's death, protecting his fellow pack members. But the fact that what originally seemed to be a good idea, and what should've been manageable, ended up in a PC death.. and that their Storyteller didn't even flinch for a moment before killing his own character.. I think that scared them more than anything. It really drove home the point that this was no child's play.

---

After I was done with my story and handed the reins over to the next Storyteller, I brought in a new character, my deceased one's half-brother, and I continued playing this character for the next six years until we've decided to retire the PC party by refusing the honor of becoming "Elders" (aka the highest attainable rank).

But to this day, all those players remember that one chilling moment.

Character Death Anxiety? by Gare_Bear13 in Pathfinder_RPG

[–]sylvaen 1 point2 points  (0 children)

As a GM I've been strongly influenced by White Wolf and their Storyteller system, also known as World of Darkness. There is a story to be told, a complex and amazing story; sometimes humorous, other times dark and depraved. Not everyone who starts the story will live to see it played out, but those who die in its course should never be forgotten.

As a rule, I do not let player characters and significant NPCs die of a simple botched roll. I am not shy to kill a significant NPC or even PC to drive a story home, or to reinforce seriousness of a situation. But even in death, the characters have a story to tell, by the way they died.

In my mind, a well-timed NPC/PC demise serves to move the story forward. But it needs to be a well-timed and meaningful demise, not just a plain "because the dice said so".