HYPERBOREA » Isle of Daofeng

gizmomathboy · 2/23/2022 4:06 pm

So...one of my groups is there...but they don't know that. Part of my weird munging of Taken from Dunwich into the center of the Lemurian Remnant and making up a Yith teleportation network a la stargate.

So...how gonzo should I make it?

Definitely going something like Island of Dr. Moreau, mashed with a thread in SG-1 where a goa'uld was manipulating humans to be better hosts, and maybe stealing ideas from chainsaw's Atlantis module.

As it is now...on the fly made the objects of the experiments superior albino apes. So...4 arms, mostly hairless, more human than ape, and smart but not supra-genius. So far.

I might have a small cabal be super intelligent and psionic-ish.

Have a lab they can experiment on themselves if they want is one idea. And it just so happens one of the party is playing a weird scientist.

I have 2 weeks.

Last edited by gizmomathboy (2/23/2022 4:06 pm)

Caveman · 2/24/2022 8:32 am

Technically I would use the default setting (Fane: P9-10), which is exactly as your planning with the scientist-sorcerer Daofeng creating hybrid men-beasts to guard and assist him in life, but whoosh it goes wrong as usual and only the idea of powerful magic items on the island would induce any sane person to visit the island!

** Daofeng the Twice Blinded is not actually dead, perhaps a lich (so undead...).

** Perhaps creatures from the void have entered the land of Hyperborea via the Isle of Daofeng and plot sinister plots?

** A Lemurian cult has enter the island as our heroic group does and causes problems?

** Or Winged albino apes?

** If group has a scientist, he might need a component for a machine, that he know can be found on island due to reading text in the library of Zoan Monastery.

** The Barrier around Lemuria is faltering and magicians of Lemuria have had visions that only this scientist and his comrades can stop problem. The source of flaw comes from the dreaded isle of Daofeng? Oh, yeah and causing the Eternal Flame to puff out of existence...

** Ah, think this eternal flame is popping out of existence, brain gone blank.

Blackadder23 · 2/24/2022 10:03 am

As I mentioned before when the Lemurian Remnant was discussed, I believe there should also be temporal distortions caused by the spatial distortion. Maybe pockets of suspended time, reversed time, areas that are actually from the past or future, etc. That would let you (for example) do the old gag where the party finds their own dead bodies from the future; players love that one. Or maybe an area that exists in the distant past and is overrun by a variety of full-sized dinosaurs (sourced from the original Monster Manual).

Last edited by Blackadder23 (2/24/2022 10:03 am)

gizmomathboy · 2/24/2022 11:52 am

Yeah, the brief from Fane for Daofeng lays out some good, broad strokes.

The "finding your future dead bodies" is something I have in mind for the complex that started this whole mess :-)

Since it is near the edge of the Remnant...playing with space/time could be fun.

winged apes could be a faction. They have some experience with them from Ghost Ship and my warping of Swordfish Isle from Echoes of Fomalhaut.

Definitely gonna jack up the gonzo for this, but gotta balance it a bit since players gonna be players :-)

Also, they are nominally on a quest to find the "false god" that is an affront to Ymir in exchange for some Heals used on some of the characters after tangling with the automatons in Port Greely.

I might have to have Ymir remind them of this now that they are back *on* Hyperborea at least. Of course, they broke the teleportation system getting to the isle, and don't have (currently) a method of travel that could get them anywhere. Although the weird scientist does have a grav belt from Swordfish Island. If they remember that.

Caveman · 2/25/2022 7:45 am

Blackadder23 wrote:
I believe there should also be temporal distortions caused by the spatial distortion. Maybe pockets of suspended time, reversed time, areas that are actually from the past or future, etc. That would let you (for example) do the old gag where the party finds their own dead bodies from the future; players love that one.

Your an evil GM BA.

False god in Lemurian lost temple just right of Deofeng's ruins down the valley of death...

gizmomathboy · 2/27/2022 11:33 am

The blessing and curse of a lightly detailed campaign setting.

Gonna tweak the coast line and fill things in.

gizmomathboy · 2/28/2022 10:52 am

Ok, while reading a web comic with a character wearing a plague doctor's mask...I've decide that the dominant mutant ape tribe chief wears one. Because for some reason Daofeng did and now it does.

I have not decided about Daofeng's fate. Yet.

gizmomathboy · 3/01/2022 12:54 pm

I think this is the topography I'm going with

Caveman · 3/02/2022 4:37 am

Looking good man!

gizmomathboy · 3/02/2022 7:51 am

Thanks mucho.

Now I have the hard work of filling in terrain and stuff for the players to find/deal with.

gizmomathboy · 3/02/2022 5:09 pm

Ok, I'm using using of Dyson's maps for the ruins of the settlement where the "experiments" lived.

Room 1 is where they come up out of the underground area where the Yith transport system and area is.

A is a "canal" that provided fresh water to the settlement via science-magic. It's kinda gone stagnant but still potable. Time and such got to it.

Not sure what to do for the statues. I'm thinking B is probably Daofeng. C are probably Lemuria dieties that seem appropriate.

Dyson's Map:

https://dysonlogos.blog/2016/10/14/the-ruined-canal-city/

A little bit of tweaking by me to add numbers and scale it to work better on a roll20 map area.

Last edited by gizmomathboy (3/02/2022 5:14 pm)

gizmomathboy · 3/02/2022 5:12 pm

Rough ideas of stuff:

Far north in that small "plateau" area is the settlement.

In the middle is the lab proper. I'm thinking a step pyramid.

The far southern peaks are home to 2 factions of flying apes. Maybe a group of pterodactyls.

Caveman · 3/03/2022 6:53 am

gizmomathboy wrote:
Rough ideas of stuff:

Far north in that small "plateau" area is the settlement.

In the middle is the lab proper. I'm thinking a step pyramid.

The far southern peaks are home to 2 factions of flying apes. Maybe a group of pterodactyls.

Feels goods.

gizmomathboy · 3/03/2022 2:51 pm

I think what I'm going for is a mix of High Evolutionary and Island of Dr. Moreau with a dash of Beneath the Planet of the Apes

Caveman · 3/04/2022 6:43 am

Yeah, I noting by some of these pictures of folks ideas of 'The Queen of the Black Coast,' demon that they give it an apish look.

A pure S&S beast...

Winged Apes: | Flickr

Blackadder23 · 3/04/2022 1:55 pm

Howard calls the creature in "Queen of the Black Coast" a "winged ape" in so many words. I assume this was Jeff's inspiration for including winged apes in the game in the first place.

Caveman · 3/05/2022 5:19 am

Yes, I comprehend that theory, but I still look on the creature as part alien in nature. My notation of of the creature is of part superior alien, and the devolved beast it has become, battling in its brain to find rest or reason, or just to release its frustrations on any who invade its city? It looks like a winged ape, but not actually is...

Howard used a lot of as likes for his story. So we must perceive different perspectives of what he trying to state in the dramatic poetic licence of S&S...

For example: In same story Howard states...

At first Conan thought it to be a great black gorilla. Then he saw that it was a giant black man that crouched ape-like, long arms dangling, froth dripping from the loose lips. It was not until, with a sobbing cry, the creature lifted huge hands and rushed towards him, that Conan recognized N'Gora. The black man gave no heed to Conan's shout as he charged, eyes rolled up to display the whites, teeth gleaming, face an inhuman mask.

So basically we must presume varied conclusions of the beast, as noted even the crew could not decide what it truly was, but we try to accepted the so-called wisest member of the crew's theory.

Is it a bird (or a plane), is it a monster bat, is it an ape?

No it a winged ape!

gizmomathboy · 3/10/2022 10:20 am

So, the party engaged in combat with the settlement denizens.

They fought 4 4-armed apes and a tiger-person. It was a bit of a blood bath for the party. It was in a kind of confined space and couldn't get more than about 3 pc's in the fight. The strongest fighter got dead-dead and the rest are banged up. They were lucky to make their saves when hit with the paralyzation pistols. They did snatch up 2 para-pistols. I need to roll a save vs fireball on one of them.

We paused when the reinforcements showed up: 2 tiger-people, 2 lizard-people, and an ape. These are type 2 experiments so they started out "smarter" than type 1's but like all of the experiments it has degraded. I have type 3's in the settlement (in charge of the religion).

I think for the lab proper area with be those experiments with the most intelligence and psionic like stuff. Probably just telepathy, empathy, and telekinesis (Beneath the Planet of the Apes represent!).

The weapons possible for the settlement group are:

1. laser swords
2. laser crossbow
3. paralyzation pistol
4. laser pistol (only does 3d6 damage)
5. crystal scimitars d8+4 dmg,
6. two-handed crystal scimitar 3d6dmg.

Weapons with "charges" have an "infinite" number. They are charged wirelessly by Daofeng's infrastructure that is still working (Gamma World and Tesla FTW). Otherwise they have a bank of 10 charges stored on the device but no cartridges to swap out. A weird scientist might be able to figure out a way to use charge packs. There aren't any cartridges on the island.

Crystal scimitars have an "aura" on the island that lets them negate any DR armor might have.

I roll a d6 for non-ape folks and a d8 for apes. For apes 5-6 is a single handed scimitar, 7-8 two handed.

8 HD monsters with up to 4 attacks are vicious things. I haven't even put armor on them yet so their AC is their biggest weakness.

gizmomathboy · 3/10/2022 10:23 am

If they can make it out of the settlement alive they still have to tangle with the wild life on the island.

There is still gonna be some gonzo stuff on this island because...well...it's in the brief outline in the gazetteer for this place :-)

I also need to figure out some kind of transportation they can use to get off the island. Probably solar powered boats or something equally ludicrous but not overpowered.

They do have a flying carpet and antigrav belt, but that is only good for maybe...3-4 of the party. I think there are still 6 still alive.

Caveman · 3/11/2022 6:05 am

I am guess the PC are high level? 6-8?

With a raise dead scroll?