FA+
Shop
IBSFA Reference Guide
11 years ago
This version is out of date. I am porting over and rewriting the reference guide in Google docs.
Introduction:
IBSFA stands for Impracticable But Sexy Fantasy Armour. The core aspect of IBSFA started during a discussion during one of Noben's streams on the subject of how those silly armour designs (chainmail bikini anyone?) in typical fantasy media would work to a set of rules, like a D&D rule book. Since then IBSFA has developed into a RPG of it's own. I don't have quite the experience for pen and paper rule designing, but I hope to make IBSFA into a sort of mod for a typical pen and paper RPG. Making it into a stand alone rule set would be fantastic as well.
************************
IBSFA Primer
The Ancient World
Eons ago the world was a vastly different place. The people was one, unified species, civilization had conquered the wilds, and peace and prosperity ruled supreme. There was no difference between nobility and commoners, life expectancy measured in the hundreds of years, and all knew the full knowledge of the universe's laws.
The Chaos Engine
But all was not perfect with this seemly perfect world. A lone person desired a new world with new laws. In the Ancient World this ideal would be a harmless fantasy, yet this person came across a device that granted powers beyond the gods. This machine of unknown origin is called the Chaos Engine, a device capable of rewriting, history, making any wish and desire come true, and changing the very laws and nature of the universe. In the hands of this rogue god, the Ancient World was replaced with our new own world, a world where civilization is besieged by the untamed wilds, the people divided into numerous species vying to stay on top, power ruled through the sword, the arrow and magic.
The Ultimate Quest
With our history and the very laws of nature rewritten, there is only rumor and old tales to support the theory of the Ancient World and the Chaos Engine. Many dismiss this as fantasy, but at the very heart of every adventurer there is the desire to find a treasure that will grant unimaginable power and fortune. Perhaps one day, the ultimate treasure will be discovered. Again. And a new world born.
Basic Version: It's present day Earth. A perv with a love for RPGs and impracticable but sexy fantasy armour comes across the Chaos Engine - a device of unimaginable power - and rewrites the laws of the universe to follow RPG-like rules and remakes modern day Earth into a fantasy medieval world.
************************
Classes
Each class belongs to one of three sets of archetypes that define their primary statistic. Many classes are diverse in which party roles they can fill, although some are better at specific roles than others.
Fighter(Balls Of Steel)- Soldier, Cleric, Paladin, Gladiator, Archer, Lancer, Thug, Barbarian, Dragoon, Witch.
Mage(Sensibility)- Necromancer, Warlock, Wizard, Elementalist, Summoner, Druid, Priest, Transmutator, Mechanist, Seductress.
Rogue(Flexibility)- Thief, Assassin, Ranger, Monk, Scout, Duelist, Grenadier, Bard, Alchemist, Ninja, Sorcerer.
Class Descriptions:
Druid - IBSFA Druids are nature's sorcerers, promoting natural growth and wildness with love, flower power, and shooting lightening into other people's faces. Their class armour makes use of manipulated plant growth, animal bones and whatever crap they find lying around. Because they are naturally at one with nature and dirt, Druids suffer armour penalties if they equip armour that hasn't spent several months on the forest floor. Daily: Wallflower - enemies will not see caster as a threat for X turn(s), actions & spells can not provoke enemies, but caster can not move during the duration of the spell.
Necromancer - IBSFA Necromancers are wizard students that have rejected their former profession's taste for colour and embraced necromantic magics, the colour black, and skimpy leather dresses. They have also taken a liking to armour pieces made out of bone, which they feel gives them an air of authority over all matters concerning dead things. Each piece of bone armour gives Necromancers a bonus to their risen minions. Necromancers have a personal weapon made from (mostly) bone that they need to use in all of their necromantic spells. These items are as much as tools to Necromancers as they are weapons. Necromancers rely on their risen minions to keep enemies at bay so they can stand around looking dramatic. Their minions also make great pack mules, cannon fodder, and servants, as well as filling in open spots for their adventurer group's five aside football.
Barbarian - IBSFA Barbarians are the pure aspect users of the Balls of Steel statistic. Armoured in tattered hide, furs, odd leather pieces and ragged chain mail, Barbarians charge into front line battle with over sized two handed weapons and a mad glint in their eyes. Unlike other fighter classes, Barbarians rely on their Balls of Steel statistic to intimidate enemies into a defensive stance and hit for massive damage. Barbarians get their armour damage reduction from the armour stats of their greatest kill by wearing it's hide or fur.
Ninja - IBSFA Ninjas are a dedicated stealth 'em up class with the training to get from point A to point B via ceilings, ventilation shafts, windows and any other means that doesn't involve doorways. As a true rogue class, Ninjas have fantastic agility which gives them bonuses to acrobatic vertical and horizontal maneuvers. The downside to this is that they can only wear cloth fabrics which must be 95% black, and they must always wear a mask. Ninjas don't explain why they must wear that particular colour. Some attest that Ninja's choose the colour to represent their stealthy aspects, while others say that black makes them look badass.
Duelist - IBSFA Duelists are the physical embodiment of the swashbuckling, charming, daredevils of roguish lore. Despite their name and being of the rogue arch type, Duelists are great at engaging crowds of enemies, using the environment to their advantage and making witty retorts to their opponent's taunts. Duelists wear light cloth armour, typically wearing a jacket design that leaves their sword arm bare and unhindered by fabric to parry and strike as quickly as possible. Like other rogues, Duelists have great dodging ability, however they gain bonuses against multiple foes when near pieces of furniture, chandeliers, and wall hangings that they can use to evade, hamper, and disorient enemy attacks.
Grenadier - IBSFA Grenadiers navigate through monsters and obstacles with the power of explosions. Relying on their flexibility statistic, Grenadiers can literally run rings around opponents before dropping a bomb at their feet and legging it to the other side of the room. Like the saying goes, their are old Grenadiers and there are slow Grenadiers, but there are no old, slow Grenadiers. Grenadiers typically wear heavy leather jackets with metal plate padding. Since they rely so much on their maneuverability, Grenadiers will not wear any kind of armoured leggings, trousers or skirts. This gives them a bonus to their movement range. Grenadiers do wear reinforced boots though. The heavy boots gives a penalty to stealth checks, but it does allow Grenadiers to use an ability called the "bomb jump".
Cleric - IBSFA Clerics originate from the Priest class and act as front line support, healing and counseling for other Fighters and Rogues. Since they are usually in the thick of the fighting, Clerics need plenty of metallic armour, preferring the flexibility of chain mail in place of a Priest's fabric and a few small pieces of plate to enhance the overall style. Unlike other Fighters, Clerics can't wear over sized shoulder armour.
Priest - IBSFA Priests are the healing and support spine of many standard party configurations. Although Priests are commonly known for wearing plain robes and stiff habits, the level of extravagance varies between the religions and orders. The Priest (or Priestess) shown here belongs to the Many Boobed One, a faith prevalent in cities and urban communities, and thus the Order of the Many Boobed One prefers more fashionable, urban designs. IBSFA Priests do away with the traditional pointy shoulder pads for a stiff, ornamental array fixed upon the back of their neck and upper back. Priests also must wear any kind of veil or head covering that obscures the eyes. The more their vision is obscured, the better their magical powers are.
Gladiator - IBSFA Gladiators originate from pit fighters; slaves, mercenaries and criminals fighting for wealth or their lives in brutal arena combat. Gladiators are trained to use a wide range of weaponry, including exotic weaponry and farming implements like scythes and pitchforks. Their armour is second hand and often a jumble of ill-fitting parts and scraps. Unlike other fighters, Gladiators will often block and deflect attacks using solely one, heavily armour arm. Due to this their armour bonus relies directly on the statistics of the armour equipped on that one arm.
Wizard - IBSFA Wizards, not to be confused with the illiterate drops outs Wizzards, are the regal and learned practitioners of magic. Studying for many years at an established magic university, Wizards are the jack of all magic types, masters of none (although don't mention that last bit in front of a Wizard). The variety of knowledge they have learned over the years has a couple of side effects: gone is all sense of good fashion taste, and humbleness. Due to these traits, Wizards wear cloth armour but will suffer an armour penalty if it does not have at least two bright but different colours. They can equip metal armour, but only on the shoulders and it must be made of gold, silver or another precious and shiny metal. Also, the larger and more grand the shoulder armour is, the better the armour bonus is.
Elementalist - IBSFA Elementalists are essentially a specialist type of Wizard, although the two classes do not study in the same universities. Elementalists use spells from four element types: Fire, Air, Earth, and Water. Similar to Wizards, the class favors noble style clothing, yet unlike the former, Elementalists have a far better sense of colour coordination. However they do like their armour decorated with elemental symbols and designs. The colours of their armour directly effects the their spells - each piece of armour corresponding to the colour of the four elements provides a bonus to the spell power of that element. Fire range between red and yellow; the colours between brown and white are Earth; blue to green are Water; and purple to pink are Air colours. Metallic armour don't effect spell power, but coloured gems do.
Warlock - IBSFA Warlocks dabble in daemonic magic and summoning, typically dressed in skimpy clothing that leaves little to the imagination. Warlocks don't get any defensive bonuses from their armour, instead they rely on their daemonic minions to keep foes at bay while they provide long range nuking with daemonic fire. Warlocks dress skimpily to keep their minions happy - daemonic beings dislike being summoned to serve sensibly dressed masters and will certainly avoid entering into contracts with some old fart in a tweed suit.
Thug - IBSFA Thugs are similar to monk in focusing on hand to hand combat, however there the similarities end. Thugs rely on their brute strength to overcome their foes and use every dirty trick in the World's Dirtiest Fighting Tricks book. When punching doesn't work, they will try punching harder. If asked to use their head to to bypass a locked door, they will use their own head as a battering ram. One of their most feared techniques is the Groin Punt, a move outlawed in the Bandit's Convention On Mugging Guidelines as being too unfair. Thugs wear a combination of simple cloth, bandages and chains as armour. They don't get much of an armour rating from that, but they do have a natural resistance to crushing damage and they are very good at punching people through walls.
Transmutator - IBSFA Transmutators specialize in transmutation magic, the arcane version of shapeshifting. Transmutators can shapeshift specific parts or their whole body, taking on elemental and beastile abilities. Somewhat like the Barbarian, Transmutators armour rating and other abilities depends on the beast or elemental being they have transformed into. Often mistaken for the worse dressed mage by many (Wizards still hold the Fighter's Guild Award For Shitty Fashion Sense), Transmuators prefer to wear loose fitting robes as many of their shapeshifting abilities would often tear any other garment to shreds, and Transmutators learned quickly buying new gear after every encounter can get very expensive. The only consistent item Transmutators wear is a piece of clothing made from a miracle fabric known as Hulksmash. Sometimes the actual design of the Hulksmash garment can vary from leotard designs to y-fronts, but Transmutators love the fabric for it's superb stretchiness and extreme resistance to ripping and tearing. It is always purple though, no matter what dye is used in it's creation.
Assassin - IBSFA Assassins is the typical back stabbing class of the Rogue archtype. Dressed in black, or near black colours, (the Guild of Gentlemanly Assassins once wore white leather to cut down on costs, but they found out that blood stains where a bastard to shift on white) the Assassin wears tight, thin leather clothing that gives them a high degree of agility. Their dodge chance is enhanced further by the number of daggers and knives currently stashed on their person, so Assassins often wear lots of straps and buckles as their actual armour statistic is literally pants. Another thing to note, quality thin leather isn't in much demand among other adventuring classes, so Assassins tend to have to resort to buying from bondage and fetish shops, hence their gimp/dominatrix clothing style.
Mechanist - IBSFA Mechanists construct magic powered minions and weapons. The core principles behind the magic is nothing new, however the actual class is quite recent as clockwork mechanism are fairly new. As a mage class, Mechanists wear cloth armour and can build metal armour that although doesn't improve damage reduction, can give stat increases or new abilities. Mechanists are a diverse yet risky class. Typically they prefer to have a couple of spider-bot minions getting between them and the enemy, but they can also build and use powerful melee and ranged weapons. However they lack the weapon abilities of other classes, instead having to rely on the core damage statistic and ability of the weapon. The same goes for their mechanical minions, although they can improve their contraptions with upgrades and additional weapons. All Mechanists have a personal gadget called an Universal Screwdriver that they use to build and power their creations. This item is needed to power minions and weapons like saw axes and automatic crossbows, and is unusable by anyone else.
Scout - IBSFA Scouts are a ranged class belonging to the Rogue archetype and excel at stealth and ambushes. Often compared to the Archer, Scouts lack the melee skills and armour of the former and rely on distance and dodging to avoid attacks. Unlike other stealthy classes which rely on creeping through shadows and being very quiet, Scouts use the camouflage skill to hide in plain sight. The class armour comprises of an odd assortment of leather, cloth and scales of various materials and they can further enhance their camouflage skill in numerous environments by sticking elements of the chosen environment onto each piece of armour, like leaves and twigs for the outdoors, or bricks and chains for a dungeon.
************************
Monsters & Foes
The world of IBSFA is filled with many monsters, foes and scoundrels. As foes can range from an illiterate wizard to terrifying undead, enemies are categorized into four sections:
Civilized - thieves, bandits, any foe belonging to civilized races (standard player character races) and others creatures that have built grand cities.
Tribal - usually roaming nomads, tribal enemies can be found in civilized areas, as well as deep in the untamed wilds.
Beast - wild and domesticated animals.
Monster - aggressive and destructive creatures that are either enslaved to a master or is completely wild and unreasonable.
Enemies:
Wizzards - (Civilized) Bands of illiterate dropouts from Wizard universities, these failed mages have banded together to take their bitter revenge on authority and anyone competent in magic. Wizzards tend to accompany bandits or mercenaries with a dark reputation, as well as plot conspiracies against authority and magical institutions. Wizzards can be of any Fighter or Rogue archetype. They have a modifier in that they can also use spells from the Wizard class, however they have very low control over their magic power.
UBan - (Civilized) Short for the Union of Bandits, Uban was once known as the Guild of Thieves, a shadowy crime syndicate with tendrils in every major city. Since it's rebranding, Uban openly operates as security advisers, locksmiths and criminal rehabilitation services. In the shadows however they are rumoured to act as the middle men in connecting people with a plan with people with the skills.
Pirates - (Civilized) Fans of AAAARPGs and scurvy, Pirates are basically sea-bound bandits sailing across the oceans and raiding anything that takes their fancy. Pirates can be of any class except Ninjas.
Land Pirates - (Civilized) Traditional pirates who have taken a liking to acts of piracy and raids across land. Land Pirates differ from common bandits by using land ships - basically wheeled sailing ships. Land Pirates are limited to Plains and Deserts, and can not swim.
Ninjas - (Civilized) Mercenary clans. Despite their name, not all Ninjas are of the Ninja class. Sworn enemy to Pirates, although for some odd reason, not Land Pirates.
Gnolls - (Tribal) A tribal race of savages, Gnolls are a tall, physically strong race of anthropomorphic hyenas with racial influences of demonic influence. They have little interest in clothes and civilization, but do love shiny things and eating. Outside of their tribes they can often be found as mercenary grunts or exotic prostitutes - besides fighting for gold, they would quite happily bonk anything for gold.
Xezozex - (Civilized) An ancient race that once ruled a sprawling empire, now since collapsed into ruin. Known as Snake People to many who don't know how to properly pronounce Xezozex, the Xezozex are similar in appearance to Naga. Unlike the latter, the Xezozex have daemonic ancestry in their blood - horns and talons are common across their serpentine bodies. Regardless of gender, every Xezozex has to what appears to be breasts located on their chests. The race do not have nipples so it's a mystery to non Xezozex as to how or why they have large fat mounds on their chest. The Xezozex are fiercely territorial and often in a bad mood. They control one of the largest slave markets in the known world. They tend to keep to themselves are rarely ever chatty. Asking about their nipple-less tits is a one way ticket to a world of pain.
Dragolich - (Monster) Undead Lich version of a dragon. Not to be confused with a regular undead dragon, Dragoliches are powerful Dragons that have decided to extend their natural life span into undeath. Unlike humanoid Liches, the flesh takes a very long time to decay on a Dragolich. Skeletal Dragonliches are very, very old, and undoubtedly far more powerful than newly created Dragoliches. Dragoliches prefer to make lairs in ancient ruins and tombs. What they do with their time since they no longer need to hunt for food is up for debate. Many agree on brooding.
Stoned - (Monster) A magically constructed being created entirely from stone (of any type). Unlike other stone based species, their body can be as soft or as hard as their master's wishes, and they can be of any shape or size. They are usually used as personal servants and bodyguards for powerful mages living in remote locations and who don't want the risk of betrayal or complaints from normal beings. The Stoned do have a form of sentience although they can not make any sounds and will always obey their master's commands, even after they have long ago passed away. Damage to a Stoned body or head will not destroy it, and they can reattach separated body parts and even slowly reform from dust. To defeat a Stoned completely, their magical essence must be completely dispersed from their bodies which will cause them to turn into statues.
Lycanthrope - (Tribal) Also known as Werewolves, Weremen, and Lycans, the Lycanthrope is technically a disease than an actual species. Caught by bites and intimate contact with an infected, Werewolves physically and mentally transform into a primal, beast like creature. The effect is temporary and usually triggered by strong emotion and stress. In the beast form, the infected have increased strength, endurance, and agility, but their mind relies solely on animal instincts and they can be dangerous to family and friends. Lycanthropy can be cured within a few days of infection, but it must be treated immediately or it will become permanent. Despite this this many Werewolves can live normal lives with precautions and safeguards. Those known as "Wild Lycans" are people who prefer being in their beast form than their normal form. They live in remote areas and count as the majority of Werewolf attacks on people. Lycanthrope infection can be diagnosed with the Stick Test (throw a stick, if they fetch it, they are a Werewolf. If they instead look at you like your an idiot, they are not a Lycanthrope).
Drider - (Monster) A dangerous race of females with the appearance of hermaphrodites. Driders can have the torso of any intelligent being with the body of a giant spider below their hips. Driders consume blood and prefer to trap their prey using their sticky, silk webbing. Unlike other giant spiders their silk comes from a penis-like appendage just below their hips. Driders rarely venture into civilized cities, although their silk is a quality fabric prized by nobles and the rich. Driders can usually be found within forests and cavern networks where they like to ambush passing travelers.
Mermaid - (Tribal) A female race of aquatic nomads, Mermaids have a cruel desire to feast upon drowned creatures, especially sentient beings. Although perfectly capable of feeding upon fish and other aquatic species, Mermaids particularly like to lure in victims with their skillful use of illusion magic. Mermaids can survive for a short time out of water, however they have great difficulty crossing dry land.
Succubus/Incubus - (Civilized) A type of daemon that focuses on seduction and deception. Known collectively as Cubi, these demons act as spies and ambassadors for Daemon Legions and powerful Summoners. They are well versed in many forms of magic, including illusion magic which they use to hide their daemonic features. There are two types of Cubi - the normal sexy daemons, and the Corrupted. The latter where once beings of any race who have been turned into daemons by Cubi.
Invizor - (Civilized) One of the more obscure IBSFA monster is the Invizor, a silent, invisible, and formless creature that possess' adventurer's clothing and armour. Invizor possessed clothing appears as if the original owner is wearing them and are firm to the touch. Invizors are a mysterious species - religious researchers have confirmed they are not a type of ghost, and they appear to not have any sort of language, culture or presence when not inhabiting clothes. What is know is that Invizors seemly possess clothing for mischief and tends to flee if attacked.
Illithid - (Tribal) The Illithid, sometimes known as Mind Flayers or Ohgodtentaclemonster, are a male only, (vaguely) humanoid, subterranean race of psychics. They have tentacles in place of their arms and legs which gives them great agility moving over obstacles, although their gait is ungainly and even with the best of disguises, an Illithid walking down a street is very obvious. Illithid are telepathic and practically stone deaf, but they are natural spell casters and are known to be highly intelligent. They are also known not to be very wise, and have a high sex drive and many tales of travelers waylaid by molesting tentacle monsters are usually drunk Illithid holidaying on the surface.
Kraken - (Monster) The Kraken are a huge, squid like, female only species. From a distance the Kraken looks like a squid swallowing a humanoid. Some Kraken use this to their advantage to lure in naive prey. The torso part does not have any arms, instead the Kraken uses the tentacles at their "waist" to grapple and manipulate objects. Young Kraken are the size of an average human, but the older they get, the bigger they grow. The oldest Kraken are the size of a three mast sailing ship. Researchers don't know how the Kraken reproduce and no one has been brave enough to try asking one.
Cursed - (Monster) The cursed are people (humans, dwarves, elves, etc) who have been afflicted with one of the most terrible curses every created. The cursed are bound to an inner world sub realm and given a form of immortality. When they die, the cursed are resuscitated in the muds of the sub realm, clawing their way up to the surface. Nothing grows in this sub realm and there is no life other than the cursed. The cursed still experience hunger and thirst; they have two choices - either starve to death and be reborn to starve again, or kill and eat the other cursed to live.
Time runs quicker in this sub realm and just a month can be years in the Cursed Realm. Countless deaths of a cursed slowly mutates their bodies, turning them into monstrous creatures that could even make a Daemon pause. The cursed are prisoners to the sub realm and can only leave if summoned. If they die outside of the sub realm they will return to the Cursed Realm.
Wyvern - (Beast) Often mistaken for dragons on a crash diet, the Wyvern species are separate from the various dragon types. The Wyvern are easily identified by their thin, serpentine bodies and four wings. They do not have a breath attack and spend much of their life up in the air, only coming down to mate and nest in cliff sides, trees and tall buildings.
Lich King/Queen - (Monster) Lich Kings (and Queens) differ from the standard Lich by having a better title and usually a larger army. Where as most Liches are necromancers or wizards, Lich Kings are rulers of a kingdom or city state that has hired someone knowledgeable to transform them into a Lich. Lich Kings aren't necessarily evil tyrants, some choose to extend their lives and wisdom by becoming undead advisers to their descendants. Whatever the circumstances, Lich Kings don't hide away in crypts and secret lairs, but instead place themselves into the centre of politics and high society of their city or nation.
Naga - (Tribal) IBSFA Nagas are somewhat similar to the Yuan-Ti from a distance but up close the differences are easy to see. Nagas have humanoid heads, webbed hands, and fins. They are amphibious but most of their settlements are located deep underwater. Although they also have the mammary features of the Yuan-Ti, Nagas differ by having nipples.
Chimera - (Monster) The Chimera is a monstrous creature with the heads and limbs of several animals or monsters. The Chimera isn't a natural species but a magically created guardian or minion. Their bodies can differ greatly and some Chimera even have wings. Despite having three brains, the Chimera is dumber than a bag of rocks. They can be trained to perform simple tasks and guard duties, and can even learn the basics of language if the teacher has lots of patience, however they have little imagination and can only count up to the number of toes/fingers they have on their body.
Harpy - (Monster) The harpy is a terrifying flying monster known for it's people snatching raids on groups of travelers and villages. Although they are smaller than an average human, the harpy have powerful wings and vicious talons that can piece heavy armour. A couple of harpies can lift a fully armoured fighter clean off the ground. Harpies are a female only species and most raids are to find males to take back to their nests for breeding. Snatched males tend to live short lives as a harpy prisoner as once he has mated with all of the harpies, he is then used as food for their young.
Slime - (Beast) Of all the monsters in all of the multiple realms of the world, the slime monster must be the most pathetic of them all. Slimes are slow, weak, and far too cute to be threatening. Trainers the world over pit their newest students against slimes to teach them what end of the sword to hold. If it wasn't for their rapid reproduction by mitoses, the slime would have gone extinct long ago. Being an ooze type monster, the slime has a crude form of shape shifting that it uses to try to persuade attackers to leave it alive.
Basturds - (Monster) Basturds are somewhat like a hyena with ribbon like tentacles. They are aggressive carnivores with a talent for illusion and warp magic - a very rare form of magic that allows teleportation. The creatures aren't native to this world and are thought to be from an undiscovered sub realm - scholars devise that their mastery of warp magic is how they travel to and from our world and theirs. Despite their talent for complex magic, Basturds have not responded to attempts at diplomacy and do not appear to have any concept of civilization or self awareness.
Temptress Ooze - (Monster) Despite it's usual appearance as multiple figures, the Temptress Ooze is a singular being. The monster is an ooze type that entices prey to approach by shape shifting into a seductive form. Scholars believe the ooze has some form of telepathy that allows it to shape shift into the best form to capture it's prey. Although it may seem playful and seductive, the ooze is highly dangerous and attempts at taming it for obvious reasons have failed. Despite this, several private establishments keep Temptress Oozes' in glass enclosures for their patrons to safely "study".
Parasitic Armour - (Monster) Parasitic Armour is a type of shape shifting creature that wraps itself over a person's body. Technically a symbiont, Parasitic Armour requires a host body to survive and can provide benefits like damage resistance, increased agility and strength. However the monster is very unsightly and will resist attempts at separation from the host by using it's strength to control the host's limbs. The parasite can be so strong it can force the host to fight former allies.
Mummy - (Monster) Mummies are a type of undead that have a well preserved body even after being dead for thousands of years. They are used as guards for royal tombs and ancient temples. Although they do not have any armour, they can withstand great damage before being destroyed. The secret to their preserved bodies are their bandages. Without it Mummies would crumble into dust, and they are vulnerable to fire. However their bandages are very valuable, especially to the right buyer. There are rumours that with the correct ritual, mummy bandages can halt the age of time on a person's body.
Shade - (Monster) Shades are a rare, mysterious monster that can shift at will from a two dimensional shadow into a solid, third dimension form. Shades usually lurk in very dark areas - forests, caves, and abandoned buildings. Nothing much is known of Shades. Their shadow form is incredibly agile and fluid, allowing them to pass seamlessly through small holes and hide in people's shadows. They do have to shift into their solid form to attack and a Shade has difficulty crossing lit areas in their shadow form. There is no evidence of a Shade communicating but there are tales of dark cults that have somehow enslaved Shades as assassins.
Gargoyle - (Monster) Technically Gargoyles should be named as Grotesques, but everyone mistakenly called them Gargoyles so much it stuck. Gargoyles are a magically created creatures used as guards and servants by isolated mages. Gargoyles can be infused with magic gems that can give them elemental abilities like lightning bolts and flame breath. Due to their vulnerability to daylight freezing them in place, the use of Gargoyles have fallen in favor of the Stoned who do not share their vulnerability to daylight but do lack the magic abilities Gargoyles can be infused with. Despite many Gargoyles having wings, they can not fly.
Centaur - (Monster) Of all the player races in IBSFA, the Taur species is the one that is most effected by sexual afflictions (seasonal heat and such like). The name Centaur is used to describe Taurs that have been completely overtaken by their lust and have devolved into a primal being that seeks only sex, nourishment and sleep.
Gremlin - (Tribal) Gremlins are mischievous little shits with a natural affinity for transmutation and illusion magic. Physically they are quite weak and tend to avoid any kind of confrontation. They are however excellent saboteurs and have the uncanny knack to find and exploit the weakest point in contraptions and machinery. Despite their dubious reputation, Gremlins do occasionally find themselves in employment as servants and mechanics.
Tarrasque - (Monster) If you want to obliterate a party of adventurers, the Tarrasque is your monster. A huge creature created for an ancient war eons ago, the Tarrasque is a weapon of mass obliteration, possibly able to give a god a run for it's money. A Tarrasque has never been killed, instead they fall into an deep sleep while they slowly regenerate. It is this sleep which ancient, hidden orders use to keep them locked away, deep underground in the hope they will never wake to weak untold destruction. And yes, they have giant boobs. None know why a creature of destruction has need for them, and history texts tend to skirt around mentioning those features since cities being flattened by the world's largest teat or wiped out by floods of Tarrasque milk as too embarrassing to put down in writing.
Gorgon - (Civilized) The Gorgons are race of creatures similar in appearance to the Yuan-Ti. They are thought to be created by a curse or disease like that of a Werewolf that turns a person's lower body into a serpentine tail with a twisting mass of snakes in place of head hair. The Gorgon's head is cold and emotionless, while each of the head snakes takes after an emotion or personality. The snakes can talk and they tend never to shut up. Not much is known of the Gorgons or whatever makes a person turn into one as all afflicted flee to a hidden city ruled over by the God-Queen Medusa.
*********************
Locations, Nations and World History
Joon - The continent of Joon is largely a tropical jungle dominated by a huge crater. Within the crater was once the mountainous region of Oonda that became the home of the first surface elves known as the Night Elves. These Night Elves emerged from the network of caverns far below the mountains and built a wondrous mountain city that lasted for over a thousand years.
The Night Elf civilization was obliterated in a cataclysm known as the Shattering. The mountainous region within the crater suddenly broke apart and collapsed on itself, forming thin, jagged ridges and mountainous islands bisected by channels of molten magma.
Although nature recovered after the apocalyptic event, forming the Oonda jungles on the jagged remains of the mountains, the surviving ancestors of the Night Elves was fragmented. Those that stayed in the heights of the jungles became the Sky Elves, while a group settled down in the remains of the caverns to become the Rock Elves. Surviving nobles who did not want to live in the ruins traveled to foreign cities and nations with their servants to become the Highborne and Common Elves respectively.
The exact cause of the shattering is unknown, but there are many rumors. The most popular tale is of a Dwarven expedition sponsored by the Elves to harness the power of the thermal energies deep below Oonda.
Ubervale - A continent of dark forests and cloud crested mountains, Ubervale is a land of isolated towns and city states. Below Ubervale lies the Drow homeland of Undavall, an underground region of deep caves and twisting tunnels with a dark city of towers and walkways in the centre, suspended upon the roof of a huge cavern.
Known as Anmber to outsiders, the city is the birthplace of the Elven race. Once united as one people. the Elves society became divided long ago in a bloody civil war that resulted in a large group being exiled from the city. These people became the Night Elves of Joon, while the Elves that stayed in Anmber became known to outsiders as the Drow.
Jornmire - North of Ubervale and across the river of Tale is the region of Jornmire, a land similar to Ubervale but buried in snow all year round.
Deep within Jornmire is an area known as the Crystal Forest. Long ago a mysterious event flash freezed the area, turning the land and it's unaware inhabitants - wild animals and a village - into icy statues in an instant. None know of what caused the event and the area has a haunted reputation with tales of travelers being followed by the frozen victims who move in an instant as soon as they take their eyes off them.
Jaggered Mountains - A mountain range of razor sharp mountains and ridges that stretches from the edge of the Outer Seas and all the way south to the Innie Seas. The mountains border Ubervale to the west and Whales to the east. There is only one safe pass through the mountains, patrolled by the city of undead: Necropolis.
Whales, The Wildlands - East of the Jaggered Mountains is the region of Whales, a wild land of rolling hills, forests and plains dotted by walled towns and cities. In the west part of the region is the town of Nendenwoth, an otherwise unremarkable town that is a major trade route due to sitting on top of the labyrinth city of Unwoth.
In the far east of Whales is the mighty city of Enderwall.
Kingdoms of Old - A region south west of Ubervale that has been split up and ruled by various Kings and Queens for many centuries. Although the region is generally safer than the wild lands of Whales, the Kingdoms are susceptible to raiding bands of monsters sweeping down from Ubervale as well as petty wars between the various royal families of the region.
The most prosperous city among the Kingdoms of Old is city state called Horse. Established by a barbarian hero who provided safe haven for refugees fleeing from a brutal counter attack that was the result of a disastrous invasion of Ubervale, Horse is named after the Barbarian's most trusted companion. A horse he had named Horse.
Sub Realms
City Of Winter
City Of Summer
City Of Autumn
City Of Midnight
Daemonic Realm
Cursed Realm
General Lore
Origin of the Land Pirates
A few decades ago the seas south of the Kingdoms of Old where ruled by the dreaded Pirate King Red Burd (he had skipped writing lessons to learn sailing). Commanding a fleet of scurvy pirates from a mighty floating fortress of a Man o' War, Red Burd feared nothing. His reign on the seas came to an abrupt end when a huge hurricane descended on his ship, ripping it out from the seas and carrying it hundreds of miles inland.
Red Burd's ship, the Crimson Cock (his sense of humour was childish), survived largely intact, however Red Burd knowledge was that of sailing, fighting, whoring and taking what he wanted. He did not know how to lead a life on land, and his attempts at ambushing travelers repeatedly failed due to being stranded in wide, open plains. His boisterous pirates brethren could be seen and heard long before they could reach their targets, and chasing after mounted riders on foot was nothing like sailing on the seas.
Red Burd's crew was on the verge of mutiny until one of his most trusted lieutenants, an Elementalist specializing in air magic, had the bright idea of mounting a sail some wheels. After a few prototypes and a little magic help, Red Burd soon regained his power and reputation with a fleet of swift land yachts. His wind powered vehicles where such a success they where eventually adopted by the locals. Red Burd pasted away long ago, but his legacy lives on with family dynasty that commands the Land Pirates from the Crimson Cock citadel.
A Tale Of Two Porks
The island city of Old Pork rests in the middle of the river Tale, the natural border between Jornmire and Ubervale. The city started out as a pig farm. Situated on an island it was easily defended from raiders and it wasn't long before a tavern and inn was built and the settlement flourished with trade from travelers and ships.
The family of pig farmers who founded the settlement became rich and powerful as the town grew. Unfortunately they where largely a bunch of arseholes and where despised by many. When Old Pork became a proper city state, the family where tricked out of control of the city.
Although still rich and influential with the followers they still had, the family did not want to start a civil war. Instead they moved further downstream to where the river Tale meets the ocean. There they founded the city of New Pork. Although it wasn't as defensible as the island, it was closer for sea traders and it soon became a powerful rival to Old Pork.
There was no open warfare or raids, but the rivalry between the two cities was almost like a war. Merchants from each city undercut and back stabbed each other, poaching imports and exports, spies spreading rumours of debauchery and corruption, and saboteurs ruining crops and equipment. The rivalry lasted for almost a hundred years until it was suddenly brought to an abrupt end when a Tarrasque sat on New Pork and completely flattened it.
Introduction:
IBSFA stands for Impracticable But Sexy Fantasy Armour. The core aspect of IBSFA started during a discussion during one of Noben's streams on the subject of how those silly armour designs (chainmail bikini anyone?) in typical fantasy media would work to a set of rules, like a D&D rule book. Since then IBSFA has developed into a RPG of it's own. I don't have quite the experience for pen and paper rule designing, but I hope to make IBSFA into a sort of mod for a typical pen and paper RPG. Making it into a stand alone rule set would be fantastic as well.
************************
IBSFA Primer
The Ancient World
Eons ago the world was a vastly different place. The people was one, unified species, civilization had conquered the wilds, and peace and prosperity ruled supreme. There was no difference between nobility and commoners, life expectancy measured in the hundreds of years, and all knew the full knowledge of the universe's laws.
The Chaos Engine
But all was not perfect with this seemly perfect world. A lone person desired a new world with new laws. In the Ancient World this ideal would be a harmless fantasy, yet this person came across a device that granted powers beyond the gods. This machine of unknown origin is called the Chaos Engine, a device capable of rewriting, history, making any wish and desire come true, and changing the very laws and nature of the universe. In the hands of this rogue god, the Ancient World was replaced with our new own world, a world where civilization is besieged by the untamed wilds, the people divided into numerous species vying to stay on top, power ruled through the sword, the arrow and magic.
The Ultimate Quest
With our history and the very laws of nature rewritten, there is only rumor and old tales to support the theory of the Ancient World and the Chaos Engine. Many dismiss this as fantasy, but at the very heart of every adventurer there is the desire to find a treasure that will grant unimaginable power and fortune. Perhaps one day, the ultimate treasure will be discovered. Again. And a new world born.
Basic Version: It's present day Earth. A perv with a love for RPGs and impracticable but sexy fantasy armour comes across the Chaos Engine - a device of unimaginable power - and rewrites the laws of the universe to follow RPG-like rules and remakes modern day Earth into a fantasy medieval world.
************************
Classes
Each class belongs to one of three sets of archetypes that define their primary statistic. Many classes are diverse in which party roles they can fill, although some are better at specific roles than others.
Fighter(Balls Of Steel)- Soldier, Cleric, Paladin, Gladiator, Archer, Lancer, Thug, Barbarian, Dragoon, Witch.
Mage(Sensibility)- Necromancer, Warlock, Wizard, Elementalist, Summoner, Druid, Priest, Transmutator, Mechanist, Seductress.
Rogue(Flexibility)- Thief, Assassin, Ranger, Monk, Scout, Duelist, Grenadier, Bard, Alchemist, Ninja, Sorcerer.
Class Descriptions:
Druid - IBSFA Druids are nature's sorcerers, promoting natural growth and wildness with love, flower power, and shooting lightening into other people's faces. Their class armour makes use of manipulated plant growth, animal bones and whatever crap they find lying around. Because they are naturally at one with nature and dirt, Druids suffer armour penalties if they equip armour that hasn't spent several months on the forest floor. Daily: Wallflower - enemies will not see caster as a threat for X turn(s), actions & spells can not provoke enemies, but caster can not move during the duration of the spell.
Necromancer - IBSFA Necromancers are wizard students that have rejected their former profession's taste for colour and embraced necromantic magics, the colour black, and skimpy leather dresses. They have also taken a liking to armour pieces made out of bone, which they feel gives them an air of authority over all matters concerning dead things. Each piece of bone armour gives Necromancers a bonus to their risen minions. Necromancers have a personal weapon made from (mostly) bone that they need to use in all of their necromantic spells. These items are as much as tools to Necromancers as they are weapons. Necromancers rely on their risen minions to keep enemies at bay so they can stand around looking dramatic. Their minions also make great pack mules, cannon fodder, and servants, as well as filling in open spots for their adventurer group's five aside football.
Barbarian - IBSFA Barbarians are the pure aspect users of the Balls of Steel statistic. Armoured in tattered hide, furs, odd leather pieces and ragged chain mail, Barbarians charge into front line battle with over sized two handed weapons and a mad glint in their eyes. Unlike other fighter classes, Barbarians rely on their Balls of Steel statistic to intimidate enemies into a defensive stance and hit for massive damage. Barbarians get their armour damage reduction from the armour stats of their greatest kill by wearing it's hide or fur.
Ninja - IBSFA Ninjas are a dedicated stealth 'em up class with the training to get from point A to point B via ceilings, ventilation shafts, windows and any other means that doesn't involve doorways. As a true rogue class, Ninjas have fantastic agility which gives them bonuses to acrobatic vertical and horizontal maneuvers. The downside to this is that they can only wear cloth fabrics which must be 95% black, and they must always wear a mask. Ninjas don't explain why they must wear that particular colour. Some attest that Ninja's choose the colour to represent their stealthy aspects, while others say that black makes them look badass.
Duelist - IBSFA Duelists are the physical embodiment of the swashbuckling, charming, daredevils of roguish lore. Despite their name and being of the rogue arch type, Duelists are great at engaging crowds of enemies, using the environment to their advantage and making witty retorts to their opponent's taunts. Duelists wear light cloth armour, typically wearing a jacket design that leaves their sword arm bare and unhindered by fabric to parry and strike as quickly as possible. Like other rogues, Duelists have great dodging ability, however they gain bonuses against multiple foes when near pieces of furniture, chandeliers, and wall hangings that they can use to evade, hamper, and disorient enemy attacks.
Grenadier - IBSFA Grenadiers navigate through monsters and obstacles with the power of explosions. Relying on their flexibility statistic, Grenadiers can literally run rings around opponents before dropping a bomb at their feet and legging it to the other side of the room. Like the saying goes, their are old Grenadiers and there are slow Grenadiers, but there are no old, slow Grenadiers. Grenadiers typically wear heavy leather jackets with metal plate padding. Since they rely so much on their maneuverability, Grenadiers will not wear any kind of armoured leggings, trousers or skirts. This gives them a bonus to their movement range. Grenadiers do wear reinforced boots though. The heavy boots gives a penalty to stealth checks, but it does allow Grenadiers to use an ability called the "bomb jump".
Cleric - IBSFA Clerics originate from the Priest class and act as front line support, healing and counseling for other Fighters and Rogues. Since they are usually in the thick of the fighting, Clerics need plenty of metallic armour, preferring the flexibility of chain mail in place of a Priest's fabric and a few small pieces of plate to enhance the overall style. Unlike other Fighters, Clerics can't wear over sized shoulder armour.
Priest - IBSFA Priests are the healing and support spine of many standard party configurations. Although Priests are commonly known for wearing plain robes and stiff habits, the level of extravagance varies between the religions and orders. The Priest (or Priestess) shown here belongs to the Many Boobed One, a faith prevalent in cities and urban communities, and thus the Order of the Many Boobed One prefers more fashionable, urban designs. IBSFA Priests do away with the traditional pointy shoulder pads for a stiff, ornamental array fixed upon the back of their neck and upper back. Priests also must wear any kind of veil or head covering that obscures the eyes. The more their vision is obscured, the better their magical powers are.
Gladiator - IBSFA Gladiators originate from pit fighters; slaves, mercenaries and criminals fighting for wealth or their lives in brutal arena combat. Gladiators are trained to use a wide range of weaponry, including exotic weaponry and farming implements like scythes and pitchforks. Their armour is second hand and often a jumble of ill-fitting parts and scraps. Unlike other fighters, Gladiators will often block and deflect attacks using solely one, heavily armour arm. Due to this their armour bonus relies directly on the statistics of the armour equipped on that one arm.
Wizard - IBSFA Wizards, not to be confused with the illiterate drops outs Wizzards, are the regal and learned practitioners of magic. Studying for many years at an established magic university, Wizards are the jack of all magic types, masters of none (although don't mention that last bit in front of a Wizard). The variety of knowledge they have learned over the years has a couple of side effects: gone is all sense of good fashion taste, and humbleness. Due to these traits, Wizards wear cloth armour but will suffer an armour penalty if it does not have at least two bright but different colours. They can equip metal armour, but only on the shoulders and it must be made of gold, silver or another precious and shiny metal. Also, the larger and more grand the shoulder armour is, the better the armour bonus is.
Elementalist - IBSFA Elementalists are essentially a specialist type of Wizard, although the two classes do not study in the same universities. Elementalists use spells from four element types: Fire, Air, Earth, and Water. Similar to Wizards, the class favors noble style clothing, yet unlike the former, Elementalists have a far better sense of colour coordination. However they do like their armour decorated with elemental symbols and designs. The colours of their armour directly effects the their spells - each piece of armour corresponding to the colour of the four elements provides a bonus to the spell power of that element. Fire range between red and yellow; the colours between brown and white are Earth; blue to green are Water; and purple to pink are Air colours. Metallic armour don't effect spell power, but coloured gems do.
Warlock - IBSFA Warlocks dabble in daemonic magic and summoning, typically dressed in skimpy clothing that leaves little to the imagination. Warlocks don't get any defensive bonuses from their armour, instead they rely on their daemonic minions to keep foes at bay while they provide long range nuking with daemonic fire. Warlocks dress skimpily to keep their minions happy - daemonic beings dislike being summoned to serve sensibly dressed masters and will certainly avoid entering into contracts with some old fart in a tweed suit.
Thug - IBSFA Thugs are similar to monk in focusing on hand to hand combat, however there the similarities end. Thugs rely on their brute strength to overcome their foes and use every dirty trick in the World's Dirtiest Fighting Tricks book. When punching doesn't work, they will try punching harder. If asked to use their head to to bypass a locked door, they will use their own head as a battering ram. One of their most feared techniques is the Groin Punt, a move outlawed in the Bandit's Convention On Mugging Guidelines as being too unfair. Thugs wear a combination of simple cloth, bandages and chains as armour. They don't get much of an armour rating from that, but they do have a natural resistance to crushing damage and they are very good at punching people through walls.
Transmutator - IBSFA Transmutators specialize in transmutation magic, the arcane version of shapeshifting. Transmutators can shapeshift specific parts or their whole body, taking on elemental and beastile abilities. Somewhat like the Barbarian, Transmutators armour rating and other abilities depends on the beast or elemental being they have transformed into. Often mistaken for the worse dressed mage by many (Wizards still hold the Fighter's Guild Award For Shitty Fashion Sense), Transmuators prefer to wear loose fitting robes as many of their shapeshifting abilities would often tear any other garment to shreds, and Transmutators learned quickly buying new gear after every encounter can get very expensive. The only consistent item Transmutators wear is a piece of clothing made from a miracle fabric known as Hulksmash. Sometimes the actual design of the Hulksmash garment can vary from leotard designs to y-fronts, but Transmutators love the fabric for it's superb stretchiness and extreme resistance to ripping and tearing. It is always purple though, no matter what dye is used in it's creation.
Assassin - IBSFA Assassins is the typical back stabbing class of the Rogue archtype. Dressed in black, or near black colours, (the Guild of Gentlemanly Assassins once wore white leather to cut down on costs, but they found out that blood stains where a bastard to shift on white) the Assassin wears tight, thin leather clothing that gives them a high degree of agility. Their dodge chance is enhanced further by the number of daggers and knives currently stashed on their person, so Assassins often wear lots of straps and buckles as their actual armour statistic is literally pants. Another thing to note, quality thin leather isn't in much demand among other adventuring classes, so Assassins tend to have to resort to buying from bondage and fetish shops, hence their gimp/dominatrix clothing style.
Mechanist - IBSFA Mechanists construct magic powered minions and weapons. The core principles behind the magic is nothing new, however the actual class is quite recent as clockwork mechanism are fairly new. As a mage class, Mechanists wear cloth armour and can build metal armour that although doesn't improve damage reduction, can give stat increases or new abilities. Mechanists are a diverse yet risky class. Typically they prefer to have a couple of spider-bot minions getting between them and the enemy, but they can also build and use powerful melee and ranged weapons. However they lack the weapon abilities of other classes, instead having to rely on the core damage statistic and ability of the weapon. The same goes for their mechanical minions, although they can improve their contraptions with upgrades and additional weapons. All Mechanists have a personal gadget called an Universal Screwdriver that they use to build and power their creations. This item is needed to power minions and weapons like saw axes and automatic crossbows, and is unusable by anyone else.
Scout - IBSFA Scouts are a ranged class belonging to the Rogue archetype and excel at stealth and ambushes. Often compared to the Archer, Scouts lack the melee skills and armour of the former and rely on distance and dodging to avoid attacks. Unlike other stealthy classes which rely on creeping through shadows and being very quiet, Scouts use the camouflage skill to hide in plain sight. The class armour comprises of an odd assortment of leather, cloth and scales of various materials and they can further enhance their camouflage skill in numerous environments by sticking elements of the chosen environment onto each piece of armour, like leaves and twigs for the outdoors, or bricks and chains for a dungeon.
************************
Monsters & Foes
The world of IBSFA is filled with many monsters, foes and scoundrels. As foes can range from an illiterate wizard to terrifying undead, enemies are categorized into four sections:
Civilized - thieves, bandits, any foe belonging to civilized races (standard player character races) and others creatures that have built grand cities.
Tribal - usually roaming nomads, tribal enemies can be found in civilized areas, as well as deep in the untamed wilds.
Beast - wild and domesticated animals.
Monster - aggressive and destructive creatures that are either enslaved to a master or is completely wild and unreasonable.
Enemies:
Wizzards - (Civilized) Bands of illiterate dropouts from Wizard universities, these failed mages have banded together to take their bitter revenge on authority and anyone competent in magic. Wizzards tend to accompany bandits or mercenaries with a dark reputation, as well as plot conspiracies against authority and magical institutions. Wizzards can be of any Fighter or Rogue archetype. They have a modifier in that they can also use spells from the Wizard class, however they have very low control over their magic power.
UBan - (Civilized) Short for the Union of Bandits, Uban was once known as the Guild of Thieves, a shadowy crime syndicate with tendrils in every major city. Since it's rebranding, Uban openly operates as security advisers, locksmiths and criminal rehabilitation services. In the shadows however they are rumoured to act as the middle men in connecting people with a plan with people with the skills.
Pirates - (Civilized) Fans of AAAARPGs and scurvy, Pirates are basically sea-bound bandits sailing across the oceans and raiding anything that takes their fancy. Pirates can be of any class except Ninjas.
Land Pirates - (Civilized) Traditional pirates who have taken a liking to acts of piracy and raids across land. Land Pirates differ from common bandits by using land ships - basically wheeled sailing ships. Land Pirates are limited to Plains and Deserts, and can not swim.
Ninjas - (Civilized) Mercenary clans. Despite their name, not all Ninjas are of the Ninja class. Sworn enemy to Pirates, although for some odd reason, not Land Pirates.
Gnolls - (Tribal) A tribal race of savages, Gnolls are a tall, physically strong race of anthropomorphic hyenas with racial influences of demonic influence. They have little interest in clothes and civilization, but do love shiny things and eating. Outside of their tribes they can often be found as mercenary grunts or exotic prostitutes - besides fighting for gold, they would quite happily bonk anything for gold.
Xezozex - (Civilized) An ancient race that once ruled a sprawling empire, now since collapsed into ruin. Known as Snake People to many who don't know how to properly pronounce Xezozex, the Xezozex are similar in appearance to Naga. Unlike the latter, the Xezozex have daemonic ancestry in their blood - horns and talons are common across their serpentine bodies. Regardless of gender, every Xezozex has to what appears to be breasts located on their chests. The race do not have nipples so it's a mystery to non Xezozex as to how or why they have large fat mounds on their chest. The Xezozex are fiercely territorial and often in a bad mood. They control one of the largest slave markets in the known world. They tend to keep to themselves are rarely ever chatty. Asking about their nipple-less tits is a one way ticket to a world of pain.
Dragolich - (Monster) Undead Lich version of a dragon. Not to be confused with a regular undead dragon, Dragoliches are powerful Dragons that have decided to extend their natural life span into undeath. Unlike humanoid Liches, the flesh takes a very long time to decay on a Dragolich. Skeletal Dragonliches are very, very old, and undoubtedly far more powerful than newly created Dragoliches. Dragoliches prefer to make lairs in ancient ruins and tombs. What they do with their time since they no longer need to hunt for food is up for debate. Many agree on brooding.
Stoned - (Monster) A magically constructed being created entirely from stone (of any type). Unlike other stone based species, their body can be as soft or as hard as their master's wishes, and they can be of any shape or size. They are usually used as personal servants and bodyguards for powerful mages living in remote locations and who don't want the risk of betrayal or complaints from normal beings. The Stoned do have a form of sentience although they can not make any sounds and will always obey their master's commands, even after they have long ago passed away. Damage to a Stoned body or head will not destroy it, and they can reattach separated body parts and even slowly reform from dust. To defeat a Stoned completely, their magical essence must be completely dispersed from their bodies which will cause them to turn into statues.
Lycanthrope - (Tribal) Also known as Werewolves, Weremen, and Lycans, the Lycanthrope is technically a disease than an actual species. Caught by bites and intimate contact with an infected, Werewolves physically and mentally transform into a primal, beast like creature. The effect is temporary and usually triggered by strong emotion and stress. In the beast form, the infected have increased strength, endurance, and agility, but their mind relies solely on animal instincts and they can be dangerous to family and friends. Lycanthropy can be cured within a few days of infection, but it must be treated immediately or it will become permanent. Despite this this many Werewolves can live normal lives with precautions and safeguards. Those known as "Wild Lycans" are people who prefer being in their beast form than their normal form. They live in remote areas and count as the majority of Werewolf attacks on people. Lycanthrope infection can be diagnosed with the Stick Test (throw a stick, if they fetch it, they are a Werewolf. If they instead look at you like your an idiot, they are not a Lycanthrope).
Drider - (Monster) A dangerous race of females with the appearance of hermaphrodites. Driders can have the torso of any intelligent being with the body of a giant spider below their hips. Driders consume blood and prefer to trap their prey using their sticky, silk webbing. Unlike other giant spiders their silk comes from a penis-like appendage just below their hips. Driders rarely venture into civilized cities, although their silk is a quality fabric prized by nobles and the rich. Driders can usually be found within forests and cavern networks where they like to ambush passing travelers.
Mermaid - (Tribal) A female race of aquatic nomads, Mermaids have a cruel desire to feast upon drowned creatures, especially sentient beings. Although perfectly capable of feeding upon fish and other aquatic species, Mermaids particularly like to lure in victims with their skillful use of illusion magic. Mermaids can survive for a short time out of water, however they have great difficulty crossing dry land.
Succubus/Incubus - (Civilized) A type of daemon that focuses on seduction and deception. Known collectively as Cubi, these demons act as spies and ambassadors for Daemon Legions and powerful Summoners. They are well versed in many forms of magic, including illusion magic which they use to hide their daemonic features. There are two types of Cubi - the normal sexy daemons, and the Corrupted. The latter where once beings of any race who have been turned into daemons by Cubi.
Invizor - (Civilized) One of the more obscure IBSFA monster is the Invizor, a silent, invisible, and formless creature that possess' adventurer's clothing and armour. Invizor possessed clothing appears as if the original owner is wearing them and are firm to the touch. Invizors are a mysterious species - religious researchers have confirmed they are not a type of ghost, and they appear to not have any sort of language, culture or presence when not inhabiting clothes. What is know is that Invizors seemly possess clothing for mischief and tends to flee if attacked.
Illithid - (Tribal) The Illithid, sometimes known as Mind Flayers or Ohgodtentaclemonster, are a male only, (vaguely) humanoid, subterranean race of psychics. They have tentacles in place of their arms and legs which gives them great agility moving over obstacles, although their gait is ungainly and even with the best of disguises, an Illithid walking down a street is very obvious. Illithid are telepathic and practically stone deaf, but they are natural spell casters and are known to be highly intelligent. They are also known not to be very wise, and have a high sex drive and many tales of travelers waylaid by molesting tentacle monsters are usually drunk Illithid holidaying on the surface.
Kraken - (Monster) The Kraken are a huge, squid like, female only species. From a distance the Kraken looks like a squid swallowing a humanoid. Some Kraken use this to their advantage to lure in naive prey. The torso part does not have any arms, instead the Kraken uses the tentacles at their "waist" to grapple and manipulate objects. Young Kraken are the size of an average human, but the older they get, the bigger they grow. The oldest Kraken are the size of a three mast sailing ship. Researchers don't know how the Kraken reproduce and no one has been brave enough to try asking one.
Cursed - (Monster) The cursed are people (humans, dwarves, elves, etc) who have been afflicted with one of the most terrible curses every created. The cursed are bound to an inner world sub realm and given a form of immortality. When they die, the cursed are resuscitated in the muds of the sub realm, clawing their way up to the surface. Nothing grows in this sub realm and there is no life other than the cursed. The cursed still experience hunger and thirst; they have two choices - either starve to death and be reborn to starve again, or kill and eat the other cursed to live.
Time runs quicker in this sub realm and just a month can be years in the Cursed Realm. Countless deaths of a cursed slowly mutates their bodies, turning them into monstrous creatures that could even make a Daemon pause. The cursed are prisoners to the sub realm and can only leave if summoned. If they die outside of the sub realm they will return to the Cursed Realm.
Wyvern - (Beast) Often mistaken for dragons on a crash diet, the Wyvern species are separate from the various dragon types. The Wyvern are easily identified by their thin, serpentine bodies and four wings. They do not have a breath attack and spend much of their life up in the air, only coming down to mate and nest in cliff sides, trees and tall buildings.
Lich King/Queen - (Monster) Lich Kings (and Queens) differ from the standard Lich by having a better title and usually a larger army. Where as most Liches are necromancers or wizards, Lich Kings are rulers of a kingdom or city state that has hired someone knowledgeable to transform them into a Lich. Lich Kings aren't necessarily evil tyrants, some choose to extend their lives and wisdom by becoming undead advisers to their descendants. Whatever the circumstances, Lich Kings don't hide away in crypts and secret lairs, but instead place themselves into the centre of politics and high society of their city or nation.
Naga - (Tribal) IBSFA Nagas are somewhat similar to the Yuan-Ti from a distance but up close the differences are easy to see. Nagas have humanoid heads, webbed hands, and fins. They are amphibious but most of their settlements are located deep underwater. Although they also have the mammary features of the Yuan-Ti, Nagas differ by having nipples.
Chimera - (Monster) The Chimera is a monstrous creature with the heads and limbs of several animals or monsters. The Chimera isn't a natural species but a magically created guardian or minion. Their bodies can differ greatly and some Chimera even have wings. Despite having three brains, the Chimera is dumber than a bag of rocks. They can be trained to perform simple tasks and guard duties, and can even learn the basics of language if the teacher has lots of patience, however they have little imagination and can only count up to the number of toes/fingers they have on their body.
Harpy - (Monster) The harpy is a terrifying flying monster known for it's people snatching raids on groups of travelers and villages. Although they are smaller than an average human, the harpy have powerful wings and vicious talons that can piece heavy armour. A couple of harpies can lift a fully armoured fighter clean off the ground. Harpies are a female only species and most raids are to find males to take back to their nests for breeding. Snatched males tend to live short lives as a harpy prisoner as once he has mated with all of the harpies, he is then used as food for their young.
Slime - (Beast) Of all the monsters in all of the multiple realms of the world, the slime monster must be the most pathetic of them all. Slimes are slow, weak, and far too cute to be threatening. Trainers the world over pit their newest students against slimes to teach them what end of the sword to hold. If it wasn't for their rapid reproduction by mitoses, the slime would have gone extinct long ago. Being an ooze type monster, the slime has a crude form of shape shifting that it uses to try to persuade attackers to leave it alive.
Basturds - (Monster) Basturds are somewhat like a hyena with ribbon like tentacles. They are aggressive carnivores with a talent for illusion and warp magic - a very rare form of magic that allows teleportation. The creatures aren't native to this world and are thought to be from an undiscovered sub realm - scholars devise that their mastery of warp magic is how they travel to and from our world and theirs. Despite their talent for complex magic, Basturds have not responded to attempts at diplomacy and do not appear to have any concept of civilization or self awareness.
Temptress Ooze - (Monster) Despite it's usual appearance as multiple figures, the Temptress Ooze is a singular being. The monster is an ooze type that entices prey to approach by shape shifting into a seductive form. Scholars believe the ooze has some form of telepathy that allows it to shape shift into the best form to capture it's prey. Although it may seem playful and seductive, the ooze is highly dangerous and attempts at taming it for obvious reasons have failed. Despite this, several private establishments keep Temptress Oozes' in glass enclosures for their patrons to safely "study".
Parasitic Armour - (Monster) Parasitic Armour is a type of shape shifting creature that wraps itself over a person's body. Technically a symbiont, Parasitic Armour requires a host body to survive and can provide benefits like damage resistance, increased agility and strength. However the monster is very unsightly and will resist attempts at separation from the host by using it's strength to control the host's limbs. The parasite can be so strong it can force the host to fight former allies.
Mummy - (Monster) Mummies are a type of undead that have a well preserved body even after being dead for thousands of years. They are used as guards for royal tombs and ancient temples. Although they do not have any armour, they can withstand great damage before being destroyed. The secret to their preserved bodies are their bandages. Without it Mummies would crumble into dust, and they are vulnerable to fire. However their bandages are very valuable, especially to the right buyer. There are rumours that with the correct ritual, mummy bandages can halt the age of time on a person's body.
Shade - (Monster) Shades are a rare, mysterious monster that can shift at will from a two dimensional shadow into a solid, third dimension form. Shades usually lurk in very dark areas - forests, caves, and abandoned buildings. Nothing much is known of Shades. Their shadow form is incredibly agile and fluid, allowing them to pass seamlessly through small holes and hide in people's shadows. They do have to shift into their solid form to attack and a Shade has difficulty crossing lit areas in their shadow form. There is no evidence of a Shade communicating but there are tales of dark cults that have somehow enslaved Shades as assassins.
Gargoyle - (Monster) Technically Gargoyles should be named as Grotesques, but everyone mistakenly called them Gargoyles so much it stuck. Gargoyles are a magically created creatures used as guards and servants by isolated mages. Gargoyles can be infused with magic gems that can give them elemental abilities like lightning bolts and flame breath. Due to their vulnerability to daylight freezing them in place, the use of Gargoyles have fallen in favor of the Stoned who do not share their vulnerability to daylight but do lack the magic abilities Gargoyles can be infused with. Despite many Gargoyles having wings, they can not fly.
Centaur - (Monster) Of all the player races in IBSFA, the Taur species is the one that is most effected by sexual afflictions (seasonal heat and such like). The name Centaur is used to describe Taurs that have been completely overtaken by their lust and have devolved into a primal being that seeks only sex, nourishment and sleep.
Gremlin - (Tribal) Gremlins are mischievous little shits with a natural affinity for transmutation and illusion magic. Physically they are quite weak and tend to avoid any kind of confrontation. They are however excellent saboteurs and have the uncanny knack to find and exploit the weakest point in contraptions and machinery. Despite their dubious reputation, Gremlins do occasionally find themselves in employment as servants and mechanics.
Tarrasque - (Monster) If you want to obliterate a party of adventurers, the Tarrasque is your monster. A huge creature created for an ancient war eons ago, the Tarrasque is a weapon of mass obliteration, possibly able to give a god a run for it's money. A Tarrasque has never been killed, instead they fall into an deep sleep while they slowly regenerate. It is this sleep which ancient, hidden orders use to keep them locked away, deep underground in the hope they will never wake to weak untold destruction. And yes, they have giant boobs. None know why a creature of destruction has need for them, and history texts tend to skirt around mentioning those features since cities being flattened by the world's largest teat or wiped out by floods of Tarrasque milk as too embarrassing to put down in writing.
Gorgon - (Civilized) The Gorgons are race of creatures similar in appearance to the Yuan-Ti. They are thought to be created by a curse or disease like that of a Werewolf that turns a person's lower body into a serpentine tail with a twisting mass of snakes in place of head hair. The Gorgon's head is cold and emotionless, while each of the head snakes takes after an emotion or personality. The snakes can talk and they tend never to shut up. Not much is known of the Gorgons or whatever makes a person turn into one as all afflicted flee to a hidden city ruled over by the God-Queen Medusa.
*********************
Locations, Nations and World History
Joon - The continent of Joon is largely a tropical jungle dominated by a huge crater. Within the crater was once the mountainous region of Oonda that became the home of the first surface elves known as the Night Elves. These Night Elves emerged from the network of caverns far below the mountains and built a wondrous mountain city that lasted for over a thousand years.
The Night Elf civilization was obliterated in a cataclysm known as the Shattering. The mountainous region within the crater suddenly broke apart and collapsed on itself, forming thin, jagged ridges and mountainous islands bisected by channels of molten magma.
Although nature recovered after the apocalyptic event, forming the Oonda jungles on the jagged remains of the mountains, the surviving ancestors of the Night Elves was fragmented. Those that stayed in the heights of the jungles became the Sky Elves, while a group settled down in the remains of the caverns to become the Rock Elves. Surviving nobles who did not want to live in the ruins traveled to foreign cities and nations with their servants to become the Highborne and Common Elves respectively.
The exact cause of the shattering is unknown, but there are many rumors. The most popular tale is of a Dwarven expedition sponsored by the Elves to harness the power of the thermal energies deep below Oonda.
Ubervale - A continent of dark forests and cloud crested mountains, Ubervale is a land of isolated towns and city states. Below Ubervale lies the Drow homeland of Undavall, an underground region of deep caves and twisting tunnels with a dark city of towers and walkways in the centre, suspended upon the roof of a huge cavern.
Known as Anmber to outsiders, the city is the birthplace of the Elven race. Once united as one people. the Elves society became divided long ago in a bloody civil war that resulted in a large group being exiled from the city. These people became the Night Elves of Joon, while the Elves that stayed in Anmber became known to outsiders as the Drow.
Jornmire - North of Ubervale and across the river of Tale is the region of Jornmire, a land similar to Ubervale but buried in snow all year round.
Deep within Jornmire is an area known as the Crystal Forest. Long ago a mysterious event flash freezed the area, turning the land and it's unaware inhabitants - wild animals and a village - into icy statues in an instant. None know of what caused the event and the area has a haunted reputation with tales of travelers being followed by the frozen victims who move in an instant as soon as they take their eyes off them.
Jaggered Mountains - A mountain range of razor sharp mountains and ridges that stretches from the edge of the Outer Seas and all the way south to the Innie Seas. The mountains border Ubervale to the west and Whales to the east. There is only one safe pass through the mountains, patrolled by the city of undead: Necropolis.
Whales, The Wildlands - East of the Jaggered Mountains is the region of Whales, a wild land of rolling hills, forests and plains dotted by walled towns and cities. In the west part of the region is the town of Nendenwoth, an otherwise unremarkable town that is a major trade route due to sitting on top of the labyrinth city of Unwoth.
In the far east of Whales is the mighty city of Enderwall.
Kingdoms of Old - A region south west of Ubervale that has been split up and ruled by various Kings and Queens for many centuries. Although the region is generally safer than the wild lands of Whales, the Kingdoms are susceptible to raiding bands of monsters sweeping down from Ubervale as well as petty wars between the various royal families of the region.
The most prosperous city among the Kingdoms of Old is city state called Horse. Established by a barbarian hero who provided safe haven for refugees fleeing from a brutal counter attack that was the result of a disastrous invasion of Ubervale, Horse is named after the Barbarian's most trusted companion. A horse he had named Horse.
Sub Realms
City Of Winter
City Of Summer
City Of Autumn
City Of Midnight
Daemonic Realm
Cursed Realm
General Lore
Origin of the Land Pirates
A few decades ago the seas south of the Kingdoms of Old where ruled by the dreaded Pirate King Red Burd (he had skipped writing lessons to learn sailing). Commanding a fleet of scurvy pirates from a mighty floating fortress of a Man o' War, Red Burd feared nothing. His reign on the seas came to an abrupt end when a huge hurricane descended on his ship, ripping it out from the seas and carrying it hundreds of miles inland.
Red Burd's ship, the Crimson Cock (his sense of humour was childish), survived largely intact, however Red Burd knowledge was that of sailing, fighting, whoring and taking what he wanted. He did not know how to lead a life on land, and his attempts at ambushing travelers repeatedly failed due to being stranded in wide, open plains. His boisterous pirates brethren could be seen and heard long before they could reach their targets, and chasing after mounted riders on foot was nothing like sailing on the seas.
Red Burd's crew was on the verge of mutiny until one of his most trusted lieutenants, an Elementalist specializing in air magic, had the bright idea of mounting a sail some wheels. After a few prototypes and a little magic help, Red Burd soon regained his power and reputation with a fleet of swift land yachts. His wind powered vehicles where such a success they where eventually adopted by the locals. Red Burd pasted away long ago, but his legacy lives on with family dynasty that commands the Land Pirates from the Crimson Cock citadel.
A Tale Of Two Porks
The island city of Old Pork rests in the middle of the river Tale, the natural border between Jornmire and Ubervale. The city started out as a pig farm. Situated on an island it was easily defended from raiders and it wasn't long before a tavern and inn was built and the settlement flourished with trade from travelers and ships.
The family of pig farmers who founded the settlement became rich and powerful as the town grew. Unfortunately they where largely a bunch of arseholes and where despised by many. When Old Pork became a proper city state, the family where tricked out of control of the city.
Although still rich and influential with the followers they still had, the family did not want to start a civil war. Instead they moved further downstream to where the river Tale meets the ocean. There they founded the city of New Pork. Although it wasn't as defensible as the island, it was closer for sea traders and it soon became a powerful rival to Old Pork.
There was no open warfare or raids, but the rivalry between the two cities was almost like a war. Merchants from each city undercut and back stabbed each other, poaching imports and exports, spies spreading rumours of debauchery and corruption, and saboteurs ruining crops and equipment. The rivalry lasted for almost a hundred years until it was suddenly brought to an abrupt end when a Tarrasque sat on New Pork and completely flattened it.
Webcomic got hit with a WotC threat of lawsuit over several things and to avoid going to court one of the things he had to do was rename a character named Yuan-Tiffany.
Grenadier