Darkworld

Hey man - this is Stephen, glad to see you on the boards! You should also post in this thread to let people know you were at the Leeds CUBE so you can get your UP!

Regarding your concept, I actually had a momentary "eureka" flash while considering how to fold Darkworld into the cards that currently exist - use it as a completely subterranean portion of Ai. Being as that world is completely magical and invested in "preserving" its various biomes with that magic, it could easily force a "turn out the lights" scenario in its caverns and underground spaces in response to their invasion.

This is not to say that Darkworld doesn't function on its own accord and can't be its own separate plane of existence - I was just trying to find a way to make it work with the cards as they are currently printed, and that way you can instantly start pulling in Ai-affiliated Minions and antagonists to challenge your PCs in the dark.

Could I suggest the Loph? They look like humanoid angler fish and dwel deep in the oceans - perhaps there are deep oceanic trenches that bleed into Darkworld? Maybe that's where their city is hidden that none can find...

Yea, there are very cool ideas here. I really like the potentials of connecting a "Darkworld" and Ai, as well as pulling the Loph (and possibly Externals too) in... Imagine - Externals hiding "under" Ai itself! :P

Yeah! Darkworld could totally be an Ai section. All the magic could also explain why there's no light.

I'd still like to see it as a kind of fissure-world. Not really a part of any universe but not a universe itself either.

You could make it so the Loph have to go through darkworld to GET to their city. Sort of like a gateway. I'd imagine it'd be tough for them to live there though.

It reminds me of a combination of a black hole and the deepest part of the ocean. Black holes eat everything, including light. And it has been theorized that they eat time as well. Its kind of the same with the deepest part of the ocean. The creatures that live down there do have eyes, but they cannot see very well. They focus on 'feeling' and 'hearing', instead of seeing because there is no light. The creatures down there do not have bright colors adorning their bodies as there is no need. The only color to penetrate the deepest part of the ocean is red. Some creatures use it to mate while some use it to attract prey. Interesting fact: the inspiration for the alien in "Alien" is actually a microscopic creature from the Deep Blue. Darkworld could be a torn part of Ai (it was part of Ai until the Event and then everything changed, the light vanished, the creatures adapted, etc). Just a thought. But essentially, it is its own realm. Its a part of all worlds, while still being its own.

Bulwarks would fit perfectly here, and Vectors too. Go check 'em out on the Ecologies section!

http://www.untoldthegame.com/splintered-serenity/ecology/vector
http://www.untoldthegame.com/splintered-serenity/ecology/bulwark

Going on my original idea, bulwarks TOTALLY fit in. Vectors would work too.

In terms of real life, the deepest darkest caves have some pretty gnarly insects. Most life in lightless environs tend to be translucent. Spiders and centipedes and the like have also adapted in such a way as to outright abandon eyes. Poisons, fangs, etc. abound in lightless areas. But more than anything, creatures have found the use of traps. Anglers for instance, or a cave centipede. Or maybe it was millipede? They hang off the ceilings and wait for bats to brush up on them before grabbing them, lifting them up, and eating them. They get pretty big too.

Perhaps darkworld's predators don't necessarily have to be hunters. They could just wait and strike. Translucent skin and a large amount of insect types might also fit in.

Also, what might darkworld have that's non-aggressive?

Have you considered plant life forms that might not be fatal but dangerous?

I would suggest something like a blind slug/worm. A nondangerous food source.

Darkworld sounds bad enough since there is no light. All sorts of bad things can befoul a party.

And yeah, Bulwarks are awesome...

Hmmmm.... I guess it all depends on how hostile an environment you want darkworld to be. You could have all sorts of crap running around or growing if it's in Ai. Magic and all that goodness. Actually you could explain that darkworld has warped/diminished magic so consumption is REQUIRED for life.

A slug would be so cool. Would it be a huge slug, or just a weird one? Maybe it could be a really weird slug with armor? Could be a beast of burden or something. Wouldn't be easily as startled by the lack of sensory input or even predators.

Hmmm.... Plants. You could fill darkworld with all kinds of roots, but for effect you could have no idea where they go to...

I like your imagination. You repost this in Untold Alternate Settings.

Btw, because your username is such as mouthful, I now nickname you M3 (or M cubed to people who like math).

Me likes M3!

I also love the CONSUMPTION is required for life - that little twist rocks on toast! :) Just wait til you see the Puke Worm... Yer gonna love it! :D

Hurm... I may post that tomorrow just for the heck of it. :D

Ok, running with the idea that there is no light...how about fungus? While essentially necessary for life as we know it now...lets face it, its gross. And it comes in all sorts of shapes and sizes...it grows on the human body (and animals), comes up from the ground, covers walls, caves, and trees. And it needs no light to grow. So how big could these things get? And what do they eat...just a thought...

Nobody likes the idea of a fungus amongus? I thought it would fit right in...(anyone tell what my degree is in?)

Oh, I like it - but then, I once built an entire subterranean world for a setting where the primary food source was all fungal and the primary light sources were either phosphorescent mushrooms or magical glowing "violation of thermodynamics" algae. I was just figuring I'd give some time for everyone else to pitch ideas in before I posted again.

...so long as I don't have to eat it.

BTW, M3, this is the Alternate Setting Thread that was mentioned earlier:

http://www.untoldthegame.com/forum/alternate-untold-settings

MHM, I like the way you think.

I love mushrooms especially...but anyways, on to something Untold related! Fungus could be good, because it can have very detrimental effects to an individual. Also, it would provide a soft padding for predators to sneak about on.

And another idea (because we are such a wellspring of twisted ideas) what about a sentient race that communicates entirely via telepathy? They have no sight or hearing. They obtain sustience via moisture, and therefore have no need of taste.

So I should just repost the OP in there Ashy?

Also, M3, M-cubed, etc. is all fine.

Feel free to continue refining it here. When you're done, you can repost when you're ready...

I could not resist, so I posted the Puke Worm for ya... :D

Awesome bug there guys.

Along those lines, and back to the slug idea, you could make an indigenous species a plate slug. A slug with really tough armor outside it. You could make them really tasty to those puke worms too, as corrosive vomit could wear down through the shell of a relatively slow and easily digested creature. For other players, if they had to kill a plate slug, the underside could be feasibly weak. Heck, you could make it so the armor is held in place only through adhesive substances and the use of gravity. Maybe the mucus that holds the armor in place could harden into the exoskeleton? I dunno. Just throwing ideas out there.

If you guys want, I can post in that thread/forum that you posted and sum up some of the ideas posted here. I could link this for reference too. Maybe discuss flora and fauna in more detail there....

Edit: That's a really workable idea there Ben. XD Make adventurers even more boned by installing an enemy that doesn't even speak! Or maybe a crucial ally. Would it be a subspecies of L'na(sp?) or would it be something more original? Maybe L'na that have been warped? Or maybe darkworld just always had these? It all really depends on darkworld's backstory I suppose.

Sounds like some awesome ideas herein! Keep 'em coming! I think linking to this thread for further development is a great idea!

Awesome idea! If darkworld is/was directly connected to Ai, we could make L'na "ghosts". When a L'na dies its psyche could remain in Ai, drifting down to darkworld. It could materialize as all sorts of awful baddies and be used as that "defense system" Ai employs. Darkworld could maybe be sacred or have some large importance to Ai. Whaddya think?

Oooo....I REALLY like that! :P

I went ahead and posted some data on the alternate setting thread. I can edit it as necessary but I figured I'd go ahead and get it up and running.

I'm gonna go ahead and list some of the proposed ideas again. (off the top of my head)

Natives:
Plate slugs
Puke worms
Ghost L'na (that silver saber needs to be useful for something...)
Bulwarks
Vectors
Blind/deaf/psychic sentient creatures
Mushrooms/fungus
Loph
Some kind of plant life

Features:
Roots
Large fungi
Mines
Ai "underworld"
Passageways to other universes / inaccessible parts of the same universe
Flux Crystal formations
Cave network

Depth Wolf:
A quadrupedal predator with a thick, barbed exoskeleton on its head and teeth upwards of 1.5 inches in length. It is of medium build and has small, stiff bristles instead of fur. In addition to its four clawed feet, it has two appendages on its sides that fold close to the body each armed with a series of small hooks along the length and a large hook at the end used to reach out and hold prey in place. Also, the tail diverges near the base into two tails, used for balance and sensory input. The tails are highly functional, able to contort as needed whilst the "arms" can only move at varying heights in a forward direction. Depth wolves have no sensory organs on the head relying entirely on the tails and body bristles for information. The average weight is 50-65 pounds, but larger specimens can reach up to a weight of 80 pounds. Depth wolves are lightly armored at the joints, tail, and grasping arms, and heavily armored on the head. The two primary attacks employed by depth wolves involve charging a target and bashing them with the barbed skull exoskeleton, or holding a target in place as it proceeds to maim the prey with it's teeth.

Depth wolves are mildly regenerative and can even repair broken teeth and grow back a severed tail, given time and sustenance. Depth wolves are largely solitary but have been known to hunt in packs of up to 15, although this is almost strictly when engaging a large target, typically in defense. In such an instance they'll latch onto the target, not to hold it in place, but to maintain themselves on the creature, as they proceed to rip it apart bit by bit. Depth wolves have even been known to take down transports and other large vehicles by employing this method.

Being a mid-class predator, they aren't terribly dangerous alone, but should be avoided in the instance that others may be lurking nearby.

What the card might look like:
Card Type: Minion
Card Name: Depth Wolf
Swap Type: Story Swap
Level: 3
Body Attributes: Body atk/def: 4 , Body boost: 3 (natural body of 3)
Mind Attributes: Mind atk/def/boost: 1 (natural Mind of 1)
Soul Attributes: Soul atk/def/boost: 1 (natural soul of 1)
Action: standard
Duration: instant
Range: touch
Game Information: Headbutt - +1 MAG for every 1 body boost; Rend - 4 Mag, +1 MAG for every 1 body boost; Latch - Adds condition "Latched". Auto-equipped with "Fireteam Attack"; Auto-equipped with "Awareness 4"; Auto-equipped with "Regeneration 1"
Magnitude: 3
Flavor Text: Blind hunters That hunt in packs and use their tails to find prey.
Flavor Quote: "Keep your eyes peeled guys. You never know if this guy is with a pa-" (I just realized how silly this is if the depth wolf is a darkworld native)

Hemorrhages:
Highly developed, bulbous insects, hemorrhages aren't actively violent but have highly toxic blood. Hemorrhages spend most of their life in a pupa state burrowed 3-5 feet below ground and are highly nutritious in this state. However, upon maturing, hemorrhages subsist on the flora and raw minerals of darkworld and are highly toxic. Being on the prey side of the darkworld ecology, these bugs have developed some very potent defenses. As a first line of defense, wherever a Hemorrhage goes, it leaves a trail of gunk behind that reeks horribly, instantly rebuffing any of the native creatures with a heightened sense of smell. Should a creature be too daring or stupid to acknowledge this, the second line of defense that hemorrhages employ is a horrible regurgitating noise followed promptly by a large dose of blood-infused goo. This goo isn't corrosive, but the fumes can induce unconsciousness and sometimes seizures if inhaled too much. Should this fail and the creature persists in killing it, hemorrhages will open pockets of their body and let raw blood flow openly, creating a massive stench, corroding the environment, and creating highly toxic fumes in the area capable of inducing instant death if preventative measures aren't taken.

M'we:
A L'na that has had its psyche preserved after death by the magic of Ai, M'we manipulate the environment to give themselves any sort of physical form. M'we see in magic, so the lack of light in darkworld is of little to no obstruction to them and adjust easily. While a M'we's personality remains intact, their memories in life fade gradually over time. Under the influence of the raw magic of Ai, some M'we are even hostile to the point of blind rage. M'we are united in death as a race and therefore lose the distinction between Dawns and Twilights and instead focus magic on maintaining a body composed of pieces of the environment. M'we are also talented at corpse possession and sensory manipulation.

Edit: If you want, you can make hemorrhages the larval state of puke worms. You'll need to change the ecology of the puke worm a bit though.

Me likes! :D