Worldbuilding: Pantheon of Draconiquity, Part I - The High Priestess

Velmyssa, Lady of the Veil

The Pantheon of Draconiquity, Part I

Motif: A black cat

Spiritual Weapon: A dagger

Domains: Trickery, Knowledge, Twilight

Core beliefs

• There is power in holding secrets.
• Secrets are a burden that only few can carry.

Velmyssa is the goddess of secrets and shadows. She is often portrayed as a black-furred female catfolk.

Followers

Followers of Velmyssa are often called Whisperers. Their spellcasters are generally practitioners of divination, enchantment, and illusion magic, and many of their members are experts in subterfuge as well.

Rites

Velmyssa's clerics offer blessings and protection in return for secrets, which they, in turn, offer to others in return for loyalty and prayers.

Temples

Because the priesthood of Velmyssa is often cult-like, temples to the Lady of the Veil are rarely open to the public; Her followers instead prefer to congregate in private estates. Shrines, however, do exist, and the common folk will whisper their secrets to statues of onyx felines. It's said that sometimes they can feel as though the Lady hears them, unburdening them from the responsibilities of keeping terrible secrets, and blessing them with good luck for some time.   

Organizations

Shadow’s Hand

This organization focuses on blackmailing others through secrets, and have wormed themselves behind positions of power. This has allowed them to pursue their agendas while remaining mostly unnoticed.

Order of the Watchful Eye 

This group dedicates themselves to protecting sensitive information. Through magic and other means, they are able to detect if certain information is being disclosed, and they work to find out who is doing so. Nobles often seek this order to protect their secrets.

Vyardor's Seat - Part 3: The Noble Houses

   This is part of a series of posts that details parts of my homebrew campaign setting. Initially inspired by Forgotten Realm's Baldur's Gate, Vyardor's Seat is a city full of rival gangs and merchants that struggle for control of the city's economic power, all while evading the wrath of it's ruler; an old and powerful Great Wyrm.

    This time, I give a very brief description of the ruling noble houses. This was taking me a lot longer than expected to publish, so a bit of it is rushed, but I'll come back to it later! I just really need to do more worldbuilding before I continue. 

    Anyway, please consider all this as something of a first draft look into the noble houses of Vyardor's Seat; There's so much more story to tell.

Vyardor's Seat

Part 3: The Noble Houses

The Eight Noble Houses

The eight noble houses and their respective trades are:

House Joy

House Joy trades in curiosities, jewelry, and miscellaneous magic items. The founding for this house was originally based on a family of peddlers that would make a living off of discarded or stolen curiosities from the old town's travelers. 

As Vyardor's demands grew, this family became desperate, and so they turned to otherworldly mean for help, through a devil's contract. House Joy would receive funding and a supply of wares to sell, and in return, their children would sometimes bear the mark of The Fiend, a sign that they would be chosen to lead the noble house. Over time, the family's members would bear children to tieflings, and the house would become a mixture of human and tiefling, until the human members were a minority of House Joy. 

Their current leader, a female tiefling named Cara Joy, is a proud bearer of the mark of The Fiend. 

House Riviera

House Riviera deals with the assembly and repair of vehicles, including wagons, carts, and most importantly, water vessels. Originally, the members of this house made their income by repairing ships that dock in the old town's harbor. When Vyardor's demands came in, the family eventually became overwhelmed, and entreated with a noble marid for help. The result was a union of families, quickly producing Half-Marid offspring that would take over as heads of the noble house. With this, House Riviera has access to resources that allow them to produce magical water-faring ships, including ones capable of sailing underwater.

This house is led by a female Half-Marid, named Marie-jois Riviera.  

House Dalla

House Dalla focuses on providing lodging, restaurant, and catering services. It is also the only noble house in Vyardor's Seat that has always been comprised of halflings. The members of this house were originally outcasts, branched off from their main family in Salagoria. As Vyardor increased his demands, House Dalla were the first to branch themselves outside of the city, starting with Salagoria. 

The current head of the family is an elderly male halfling named Lieu Dalla. Lieu is ambitious, yet humble. He is fiercely protective of his family. Lieu used to be an adventurer in his younger years and learned many things of the world in his travels. He retired to his home in Vyardor's Seat when his family needed him to lead the noble house, and he has done so happily. 

Lieu believes that Vyador City's prosperity lies in it's expansion, through the support of the lower class. He has teamed up with House Jerro in this goal.

House Ventura

House Ventura is responsible for travelling, shipping, and distribution. Originally only transported customers to neighboring cities and towns, like Salagoria.

The head of the house is Aisling Ventura, a wild female Half-Orc who likes to dress well and wear big hats. 

House Jerro

This house was once a proud human family who quickly grew to notice the growth of the town into a city. They made a fey pact with the Goblin King to ensure that they had a workforce that could meet the amount of demand that their ambitions required. 

While the goblins would worked for very little payment, the house agreed that the Goblin King and his children were considered members of the noble house. The house prospered for centuries, until the entire family died to a mysterious sickness over one terrible winter. Thus, there was no one left to lead the house except for the goblins, who had a rightful claim.

This house is now led by Char'gak Jerro,  a male goblin, and descendant of the Goblin King.

House Fablaska

House Fablaska deals in the trade of worn goods and tapestry, including some magical wear, and it is the largest meat distributor in the city. Their house slogan is Thread Carefully. The members of this house originally only concerned themselves with making furry leather coats for chilly winters, and comfortable clothing for hot summers. 

When Vyardor's demands started increasing, this house turned to the twilight elves for their advanced techniques in shearing, skinning, and other ways of getting the most out of animals. After some time, much negotiation, and a budding romance, these elves agreed to share their secrets of the trade.  

The leader of this house is Zahir Fablaska, a female Half-Twilight Elf. Zahir follows the long family tradition of employing the lower class in raising and collecting from the livestock, and she thinks that Lieu's and Char'gak's plan to improve their quality of lives will lead to the poor wanting to switch to more glamorous careers, leaving House Fablaska to deal with the fallout of having to either increase their wages or seek workers from elsewhere. As such, Zahir secretly opposes their operation, and seeks to undermine it.

FFXIV x D&D - Artificer Archetype: Gunbreaker

 This is part of a series of posts I'm making in prep for a FFXIV x D&D sourcebook I'm writing. Other related articles are:

• Astrologian
• Bard
• Black Mage
• Dark Knight
• Dragoon
• Gunbreaker
• Machinist
• Monk
• Red Mage
• Scholar
• Summoner
• White Mage

Here's a copy of the (unfinished) product if you want to see it in a coherent  form: https://homebrewery.naturalcrit.com/share/rJQ24FvEBr

Gunbreaker

This week's homebrewed FFXIV job is the Gunbreaker. I'm basing this one off of the Battle Smith Artificer, since the Battle Smith is the tank version of the Artificer class, with a pet. Gunbreakers aren't really known for having mechanical dogs around them however, so I had to replace that feature with something more fitting.

The first, obligatory feature of this subclass is Gunblade Mastery. It grants proficiency with the "gunblade", which I establish doesn't need to be a sword. I think it would be perfectly reasonable to assume other versions of the gunblade that aren't necessarily swords would exist. I state that the gunblade is used as a spellcasting focus, because most of this subclasses' spells and abilities will originate from it.

The Gunbreaker Spells list is a modified version of the Battle Smith spells list, since I thought most of it was fitting already.  I changed conjure barrage and fire shield for binding smite and staggering smite, since I thought smite spells would fit this subclass better, since it can be explained as the character charging a bullet with a smite spell and then using that on their next attack. The only spell I'm not sure about is Warding Bond, since that's more of a Paladin thing, but I'll leave it there for now.

The Cartridge Charge feature is the main replacement of the Battle Smith's Steel Defender feature. Instead of a trusty companion, Gunbreakers have a mechanic that is similar to the psionic power type features from some of the new subclasses in Tasha's Hidden Cauldron. This mechanic would then allow characters to give some of their attacks an extra oomph when they so choose. The way you can recharge this feature through spell slots is also reminscent of how Gunbreakers typically need to imbue ammunition with their own aether. Generous DMs could also allow other PCs to recharge the Gunbreaker's ammunition as a reward for roleplaying.

I based Royal Guard off of Battle Ready, and left it mostly untouched, except I added the ability to increase the user's AC by 2 if they leave a hand available, so players can have their fantasy of a Gunblade-user that doesn't need a shield, just like it's been portrayed in the videogames so far. I would strongly suggest they use a shield if they would play at higher levels, however.

The Bloodfest feature, originally a variant of the Battle Smith's Arcane Jolt, was added in this manner, principally because I thought that allowing your Cartridge Charge dice to be restored when dealing critical hits was very unreliable. So instead, dealing damage is enough to "power up" your ammunition in a way that lets you do additional things with it. This way, I can introduce more job abilities into this subclass as well. Aurora is strong, as it essentially heals you twice, and it's great in a pinch. The second heal used to happen at the beginning of the turn, until I realized that something like that could lead to the Gunbreaker always having a way to start the turn conscious after being knocked out over the course of the round (Assuming they always have something to hit). Fated Circle purposefully doesn't allow for saving throws, making it a strong feature against minion-type enemies.

The Superbolide feature is pulled right out of the game. The Gunbreaker definitely needs as much staying power as they can get, especially given that their hit dice is a d8 (so their HP is always lower than a fighter's or barbarian's). Because this feature lowers the PCs HP to 1, it's something you'd only want to use when you're faced with an attack that is about to knock you out. Like an overpowered version of Uncanny Dodge that comes at a cost. Is this feature good enough to merit a once per day use? I'm still not sure. Maybe I'll come back later and change that if necessary.

I am overall satisfied with the way this subclass turned out. Even though it shares a lot with the Battle Smith, I think it's different enough to stand out on it's own. It has enough to feel like the subclass does in play, and for those who want to roleplay the mechanical aspect of charging up ammunition into a gun that also shoots, I think this subclass will deliver in spades.

Vyardor's Seat - Part 2: Technology and Districts

   This is part of a series of posts that details parts of my homebrew campaign setting. Initially inspired by Forgotten Realm's Baldur's Gate, Vyardor's Seat is a city full of rival gangs and merchants that struggle for control of the city's economic power, all while evading the wrath of it's ruler; an old and powerful Great Wyrm.

    This time, I go over the city's overall organization and function. I made a temporary city map to better visualize the city, which you can see below. I'll be posting more zoomed in versions of this image as I talk about each of the districts. Hopefully, I'll have a better map in the future!

    Likewise, this is all something of a first draft look into the city, so I'm very likely bound to return to this post to provide updates.

Vyardor's Seat

Part 2: Technology and Districts

A rudimentary city map of Vyardor's Seat made by yours truly

Technology

    Being a spectacular trading city that has had little setbacks over it's long history, Vyardor's Seat has access to most technological advancements. It has a well-built sewer system that covers the entire city proper. It also has several means of transportation both within the city, as well as to other cities. Higher-class and middle-class citizens are both well informed and well entertained.

Transportation

    Most business is done in the main city, so travel through the Salagorian river isn't necessary unless you're part of the militia, or if you have family in the Vyardor Slums, located on the other side of the river. This means that travel through the river isn't accessible in a private fashion, though there is a public water trolley that travels from one side to the other every so often. If you can't afford the water trolley, there are bridges between the two lands and the islets that connect to each other, though these have a curfew.

    Though middle-class citizens don't typically have their own means of transportation, both public and private means of transportation are accessible to them, in the form of large wagons and small coaches.  

    Vyardor's Seat is more than capable of building and planning for in-city airship travel; However, Vyardor and his brood are notorious for knocking airships down, since they don't appreciate anything coming near the height of Vyardor's perching tower (That is Vyardor's reason at least. His children just seem content on following through because it's fun).

    Finally, because Vyardor's Seat is part of a dwarven underground rail system, it has access to fast and safe travel to other cities that are part of the system as well. 

Districts

Bronze District

    The "Bronze District" was named after Vyardor's scale color when the villagers assumed he was a bronze dragon. It is currently what the old small town used to be. Currently, it is a tourist spot that has preserved some of the old buildings, and the city's governing officials have a space for their meetings in this district as well. Most notably however, is the city's namesake, a giant tower that has seen several upgrades to it's height. Not too far away from the tower is the well-protected Genesis Tree that protects the city from the Mist (More info on this later!).

Docking District

    This district goes along the Salagorian river, and it's where you'll find all the inns and established businesses in. Most artisans that live in the city have established shops in this district. You can also find several warehouses hidden from the main roads, and this also serves as the main grounds for most guild quarters.

Trader's District

    Located between the Bronze District, the Patrician's District and the Living District, merchants and peddlers populate this district every day; This is the main commercial hub of the city. Patricians often prefer making their purchases from this district, given it's convenient position to the Patrician's District. One of the city's main attractions is the Central Plaza, which allows visitors a splendid view of many of the city's main buildings from different districts in one convenient location. 

Patrician's District

    The Patrician's District is located in the eastern shore of the Viridescent river (Named after Vyardor himself). This housing district is reserved strictly for the higher-class members of society that count among the descendants of the nine original families that made a treaty with Vyardor. Though their houses were originally in what is now known as the Bronze District, when the town prospered into a city, these families then moved to this new housing district.

    Sticking out like a sore thumb is the destroyed ancestral home of one of these nine families; They betrayed Vyardor centuries ago, and the dragon saw fit to decimate the family and any would-be descendants. Now the space where they used to live serves as a constant grim reminder for those who would consider stepping out of line.

    Recently, it's said that during certain nights, the mansion will appear restored and with people inside, but no one has dared investigate such rumors for fear of Vyardor's retribution.

Living District

    This district is located besides the Docking District, and it houses all of the working middle-class civilians. Though it was called as such to categorize it as the residential district, recent reports reveal strange sounds of laughter and shouting in quiet alleys, spreading rumors that this district is indeed "living". Despite city officials pushing for a change of name for the district in fear it would affect tourism, it's done the opposite, and so they've put the issue to rest. Some residents, however, continue to demand to know the source of these sounds.

Entertainment District

    Built originally for the working class, the Entertainment District is located next to the Living District and the Trader's District. It counts with several well-equipped structures designed to comfortably allow hundreds, if not thousands of members at a time. Such structures include a theatre, a coliseum, and a natural park, among others.

Temple District

    Located between the Learning District and the Entertainment District, the Temple District contains most of the city's temples to the gods. Most of these temples provide a specific service to whoever would visit them. Among these is a library, a hospital, a bathhouse, a morgue, and the headquarters for the city's Dragon Knight chapter, among others.

    A temple to the Lady of Storms can be found in the Docking Station, while a temple of the Hanged One can be found in the Outer City.

More information on these deities and their temples will be provided in a future blog post.

Learning District

The Learning District contains most of the city's places of learning and training. These include a military school, a school of music & art, and a magic school for wizards. 

Dwarven District 

    A small community of dwarves live next to the inner border of the city walls. In this district is a dwarf-maintained underground rail station that connects Vyardor's Seat with other cities in the continent (I'll provide more information about this underground rail in a future post!). This district is also at the northern end of the Bronze Road, which goes straight through the Living, Learning, Temple, Entertainment, and Trader's districts, all the way to the Bronze District.

Outer City

    In order to protect the city from outside threats, a city wall was built about 500 feet away from within the Genesis Tree's protective aura's limit. This, however, did not stop people from setting up makeshift homes outside the walls, creating what would eventually come to be known as the lower class district of the city. Recently, the Outer City has expanded so much that corners of it are now outside of the Genesis Tree's protective aura.

Green District

    The Green District is where Vyardor's servants, composed mainly of kobolds and half-dragons, reside. No one else is allowed in these grounds, and it's residents have permission to attack any who trespass.

Vyardor Slums

    Located on the shore to the other side of the Salagorian river and taking up the remaining space within the Genesis Tree's protective aura, this makeshift district is composed of immigrants who are looking for a safe place from the mists, and don't have the income to move within the city proper. City officials were happy to let them stay without paying much attention to them until several decades ago, when Vyardor increased his yearly tribute to account for those living in these slums, claiming that everything within range of the Genesis Tree is still a part of his city.

    This decision then forced city officials and merchants to invest in these slums, so that it's residents may help make up for the yearly tribute increase.

Airship Docks

    Since Vyardor doesn't take kindly to airships in his city, there are no airship docks within it's grounds. However, there are many who would still prefer to arrive by air, and so a private airship dock was made several miles to the south, on the other side of the Salagorian river. These docks are technically not part of the city, so it counts with it's own security personnel, and it's own expensive docking fees. 

What's next?

 Next time, I'll be talking more about the people of Vyardor's Seat.

Vyardor's Seat - Part 1: Terrain, Purpose, and History

    This is part of a series of posts that details parts of my homebrew campaign setting. Initially inspired by Forgotten Realm's Baldur's Gate, Vyardor's Seat is a city full of rival gangs and merchants that struggle for control of the city's economic power, all while evading the wrath of it's ruler; an old and powerful Great Wyrm.

Vyardor's Seat

Part 1: Terrain, Purpose and History

Artist: Tyler Edlin

Terrain

    Vyardor's Seat is a sprawling city located across a river. The river itself contains several islets, through which the city has grown to occupy, all the way to the other side of the river. The main part of the city, where the original town was located, lies close to a large forest surrounded by mountains. On the other side of the river are several hills.

Purpose

    The main purpose of the city of Vyardor's Seat, originally, has been that of defense; Primarily by protection of the Ancient Green Wyrm, Vyardorrogroeniix (Vyardor for short), also known as The Viridescent King, after whom the city is named. The people of Vyardor's Seat pay a yearly tribute, and in return, Vyardor ensures the city's protection.

    Vyardor has been so successful, in fact, that many have flocked to this city for safety. This, combined with aggressive yearly tributes and a strategic location, has been the catalyst of a booming economy, making Vyardor's Seat one of the most reliable cities for trading.

    Because the city has had to expand over time, several walls have been made for protection in the past. However, due to the current spread out state of the city, the strategy for defense has been to invest in local mercenary companies as well as militia. These function both as local enforcement and as armed forces used to protect the city from hostile attacks. 

    Because of the city's constant and strong leadership (Very few settlements have survived while also having the same ruler over centuries of time), it has been a staple of stability. And even though crime and corruption is rampant in it's streets, the city's overall direction has always been constant, giving Vyardor's Seat the title of The City of Vision.

History

    Several centuries ago, before Vyardor's Seat was a commercial juggernaut defended by a green dragon, it was just a small port town for travelers going across the river. Then one day, this small town was raided by sahuagin, leaving the already fledgling town defenseless.

    Desperate, the surviving villagers decided on finding a fast way to protect themselves. There were rumors of a Bronze Dragon that lived in the woods nearby, and so the villagers set out to plead the dragon for help.

    The Bronze Dragon that these villagers were seeking was actually Vyardorrogroeniix, a young Green Dragon with a birth defect that caused his scales to look bronze yellow instead of green; it wasn't until several years later that his green scales would appear, giving him the title of Viridescent.

Vyardor agreed to protect the town, with the following conditions:

1. Every year, the villagers must pay him tribute in gold and treasure; he will establish the amount at the beginning of the year, and the tribute must arrive by the end of the year.
2. He must be made leader, and given full charge for the defense of the town. The villagers cannot turn to anyone else for protection.
3. A building must be made just for him to perch on and survey the area, and it must be the tallest building in the settlement at all times. 

    The villagers agreed to his terms, and the small port town eventually grew into a sprawling river city. It would eventually be known by the biggest structure that towers all others, the place where a large green dragon would sit on for everyone to witness it's might. Over time, this tower, and eventually the city, would be known as Vyardor's Seat.

    Though the settlement has seen it's fair share of attacks, Vyardor has always managed to defend it with few resulting civilian casualties, either by mercenaries in his employ or his own efforts. Vyardor has even appropriated or conquered neighboring towns or rival cities, turning his own city into the heart of a kingdom, and as such has fully established his grip of power in the region.

    Over the centuries, Vyardor has raised three sons, each from a different mate. He's delegated responsibilities of the two other biggest cities under his command to his oldest two sons, and he's given Vyardor's Seat to his youngest to watch after while Vyardor, now a powerful dragon in his late stages of life, spends his remaining days in his lair, which is located somewhere in the forest near Vyardor's Seat.

What's next?

    Next time, I'll be expanding more on Vyardor's Seat, including it's technology and it's people.