The World of Cheos

Long ago I created Cheos, a world for a Dungeons and Dragons game. It's a different take on the typical fantasy world. The mythical cratures are all half animal, half human. The monsters are all genetic nightmares. There is magic and science in this world. I decided to put it online here for help building it into a real, breathing, dynamic world. I got the idea from the World of Korio blog for my teacher's anthology class. Here's the deal. It is a shared world. Anybody can create within the guidelines I will post there. But I am the final arbiter of what is "real" on Cheos. Anybody can use the stuff from the world for thier games. I intend to write stories based on Cheos. If you post an idea on the blog, then you are accepting that it is OK for me to use it in a book. So if you are willing to help, let's create a world.

Here is the concept of the World of Cheos.

Millinea ago, there was a great war between wizard kings that destroyed the world. These wizards and thier minions created warriors by blending humans with animals. There were thousands of types of of these "blendings" but only a few have survived. The war devestated humanity, barely 20,000 true humans were left. Some of the blended races survived and eventually thrived. The rest could not sustain thier populations and died off. Thousands of years passed before the world healed itself from the destruction of the war. Now there are new civilizations and new wonders. All D&D realms have humans. In other D&D worlds humans are the most prolific of the races. That is not the case here. Since all the races are descended from humans they breed and die at the same rate (unless war, disease and famine take thier toll). The other races are all specific human-animal hybrids. There are Elves, Dwarves, Trolls, Ogres, Orcs, Goblins, Kobolds, Gnomes, Merfolk and Pixies. I am open to other races, but these are what I started with.

Thursday, October 19, 2006

The Dwarves of Cheos


The Dwarves of Cheos are the only race that was not changed by magic. They were genetically modified through science as a direct weapon against magic users. They are magical nulls in nature. As such, Dwarves cannot be mages, but they can be clerics. God granted magic is different from worldly magic. They are immune to direct effect magics like charms. Indirect affect magics or projectile magics still can affect them.



They are not blends of human and one animal, but have traits of many animals. The genetic bonding process and natural evolution have led to their small, densely muscled stature. They have muscles that are twice as dense as a normal human. They have a thick coating of very course hair. They have pronounced facial hair with several long whiskers like cats. They have incredible eyesight. They can see very far away with absolute clarity like a bird of prey and they can see in the darkest of night. It takes very little light for them to see, but there must be some light. They have keen senses of smell and can track like a dog.



PC Dwarves get a +1 to strength and constitution. They take a -1 to dexterity and charisma. They get a bonus +2 bonus on all save throws against indirect magic. Even if they do not save, they get a 30% damage reduction.



Dwarves are scientists. They are dedicated to learning chemistry, metallurgy, mechanics, engineering and physics, but not so much about the natural sciences like biology and botany.



Dwarves are keen builders. They have intimate knowledge of structural engineering and metallurgy. Their stonework is beyond compare. They are often hired as designers and workers on other races structures.



Dwarven arms and armor fetch a high price. Dwarven blacksmiths are the best in the world. Dwarven armor is treated in the game like magical armor. Dwarven made weapons are not magical, but can have bonuses to hit and damage as if they were.





A few quick notes about Dwarves:





  • Dwarves get a -10% penalty on move silently.
  • Dwarves consider magic an anathema.
  • Dwarves are patriarchal and have kings.
  • Dwarves are boisterous among themselves and good friends, but
    dour among others.
  • Dwarven brews are potent and valuable.
  • Dwarven gold and silversmiths are treated like royalty.
  • Dwarves get a +3 save vs poison.
  • Dwarves are intellectuals.
  • Dwarves love to eat and are excellent cooks. Many kings have
    Dwarven chefs.
  • Wrestling, axe throwing and the hammer toss are the Dwarven
    pastimes.
  • Dwarves love games of strategy like chess.
  • Dwarves do not give their trust easily, but are the most
    steadfast of allies.
  • Dwarves are allied with Ogres.




This is the dwarven long axe, the preferred weapon of the Dwarven Hunter

There is a class of fighter called a Dwarven Hunter. The Dwarven Hunters are trained to hunt down and kill magic users. They are used to control rogue mages that are threatening the realms. They get +1 to hit with melee weapons and +2 to hit with ranged weapons against mages. Dwarven Hunters hunt in packs of six or more.





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1 comment:

Brian said...

Yo my friend.

You've got some great ideas and methods here. Keep up the work and document everything. Don't want someone coming in and using your ideas in a new product.

11/01/2006 6:57 PM

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