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Thursday, August 5, 2010

Arizona

So here I am in the state of controversy and I love it. The state is getting a pretty bad rap from the media here and abroad. Its also very hot. I have only been away from the family for two days and I miss them already. I talk to the family while I work and its ok but its not being home. Arizona is hot (did I mention that?) and pretty the cacti is aplenty here.

I am working on some ideas to put into the Rifter and cleaning up the material that I have finished. I have been talking to my cousin Jayson and others and have been working on some fantastic ideas that just need to be fleshed out.

Among some of the ideas up in the air right now is some new mutants for After the Bomb and adventure ideas for Palladium FRPG. We have been tossing around ideas and I will post them soon as I write them.

Monday, August 2, 2010

Jungle Elves


In preparation for your campaign coming in November, I have been creating a mess of characters. Getting the old creative juices flowing feels good, but has its costs. Sometimes I feel TOTALLY unproductive.

Anyway, I started to create a certain character that you may find interesting. In his creation, other ideas of his past and culture became quite interesting. Let me know what you think.

I started with the idea of giving this character some awesome armor. I began to think, what would be uniquely awesome about armor. I have always been intrigued in nature, organisms that share a commensal or a mutualism relationship. That was it! I wanted this character to have armor that was actually a living creature! I began to draw some armor that resembled the quills of a porcupine, while thinking about how this character came across this armor and what exactly was it. I named it Quill Dragon Armor. Lets discuss this organism in detail.

The Quill Dragon is not a dragon at all, nor does it even resemble a dragon. The Quill Dragon is a mutualistic organism found in the Yin Sloth jungles. It needs a host in order to survive. Anciently Quill Dragons could be found residing on the skin and body of true dragons. This mutual relationship was once thought to be one organism and a new species of dragon. The secrets of the Quill Dragon were discovered by the Elven people of the Yin Sloth jungle, whose relationship with creatures like the Quill Dragon, set them apart from other Elven cultures.

The Quill Dragon by itself has a very flat, flexible, yet durable body. On the top side of the organism the Quill Dragon has developed long, thin spikes or quills. These quills grow much like hair. Tiny muscles in the follicle of the quill provide movement of the quill. The outside of the quill, when examined closely, is composed of a series of chitin-like rings that overlap. The inside of the quill contains many fibers that are attached to the internal surface of these rings at various lengths of the quill. These fibers provide exquisite mobility and dexterity of each quill, much like a tentacle of an octopus.

The underside of the Quill Dragon are micro-tentacles that are used to attach itself to its host. These tentacle serve as the organisms means of feeding from the host. Microrrhiza extend and connect to the blood vessels and the neuro bundles of the host drawing nourishment back to the organism. The Quill Dragon not only collects physical nutrients (i.e. glucose, oxygen, etc.) from its host, but also feeds off of the surge of P.P.E. and I.S.P. emitted by its host at moments of emotional response. As such the Quill Dragon becomes connected to its host on an emotional level as well.

The Jungle Elves of the Yin Sloth jungle utilize mutualistic organisms as an integral part of their culture. The Quill Dragon is one of the most revered of these mutualistic organisms. Jungle Elves, or Taure Huri as they call themselves, have strong beliefs about nature and the interconnect relationships between all living creatures. As a rite of passage, young Taure Huri go through what is called the Vehi'i Atu, "The Union" or the "Coming Together". This is a sacred ceremony where the young elf is matched up to his/her "Life Bringer", one of the various mutualistic organisms found through the Yin Sloth Jungle.

Other Elven races/cultures look on the Taure Huri with disdain. Many eras back the Taure Huri were enslaved by the other Elven races and kept as servants. Since that time, the Taure Huri with the aid of abolitionists freed the Jungle Elves. Yet, still in high circles of mainstream elven culture, the Taure Huri are not respected. A derogatory term sometimes used by aristocrats and high class for the Taure Huri is "Muck Elf", referring to their place of origin and the sometimes appearance of their "Life Bringer" in their skin.