Shared world races:

[rust]

This is one of the best fantasy backgrounds I have seen for quite a while.
It gives a very good explanation both for the existence of strange monsters
and the existence of dungeons of varying degrees of danger and protection
(the tombs of the Azchir and those of their more or less powerful servants),
and it gives the entire world (or at least the parts once ruled by the Azchir)
a fascinating ancient history that is connected to the Gates.

Please continue, I am looking forward to reading more of your ideas.

[Puck]

Wow! thanks a lot. I really appreciate your feedback. Reviews like that can keep me banging away on this keyboard an awfully long time. Hopefully it will fit in with other peoples ideas.

[Trifletraxor]

Very good! I like this!

Suddenly we had an explanation for undeads too!

SGL.

[Atgxtg]

Originally Posted by soltakss

I've never understood Hard SF.

No FLT Travel, No Jumps through Hyper Space, no HyperSpace, no weird alien species, no immortals, no Psionics, just slowly moving through space to some asteroid or acelerating for months until you reach near-light sped, decelerating until you reach a planet, then going home the same way to find that your baby's grandchildren have grown old and died.

Not my idea of fun, to be honest.

But, there again, I liked Car Wars

Actually, if you do the Hard ci-Fi with enough hard science it can be interesting. The whole time dilation thing actually makes the times much less pronounced, assume you can get enough fuel. With enough fuel, even at only 1g, you could reach the limits of the universe within your lifetime. So a setting where the "Space Patrol" was viewed as a bunch of immortals (since for an outside view you would age normally, while they would stay young), and somewhat detected from the 'dirters" until it was time to retire, could be interesting.

And there is always a "local Level" SF idea. For instance image what fun could be had with "just" the solar system. We could have people terraforming Mars, mining the ateroid field between Mars and Jupiter, or epliring the other planets and moons. Hard Sci-Fi isn't any more boring that, say, modern day settings.

[frogspawner]

Originally Posted by Puck

Finally, much like in Rurik’s Portal, a hoard of northern, horse-riding barbarians arrive on the scene.

Hey, don't forget the horde of southern, moa-riding barbarians arriving at the same time... (Yes, nice one.)

Originally Posted by Atgxtg

And there is always a "local Level" SF idea. For instance image what fun could be had with "just" the solar system. We could have people terraforming Mars, mining the ateroid field between Mars and Jupiter, or epliring the other planets and moons.

Or even half the solar system - which would fit in the Dyson Sphere - might provide enough fun, especially if the 'gods' had put a Jupiter-like planet inside as well, with it's plethora of moons. Maybe if the Sphere radius was a little a bit more than 1AU, and a planet just like Earth was also in the sky...

[AikiGhost]

How about lizard men with who get a bonus to dex in hot climates and a minus in cold ones?

[Trifletraxor]

Originally Posted by AikiGhost

How about lizard men with who get a bonus to dex in hot climates and a minus in cold ones?

They could have their homeland in the dessert around the sky mountain maybe?

SGL.

[frogspawner]

That's "desert" - unless you're suggesting these amazonian lizard-women live in a morass resembling, say, strawberry yoghurt...

[soltakss]

Originally Posted by frogspawner

That's "desert" - unless you're suggesting these amazonian lizard-women live in a morass resembling, say, strawberry yoghurt...

Amazon women. In yoghurt. Wrestling. Hmmm ......

[Rurik]

Originally Posted by Puck

Gr

Thanks!, gives me energy to keep going.


An other idea for race, or really a background story, are the Azchirgnoth (Azchir to make it easier to remember). This again is just a proposal. I think with some nipping and tucking they could fold into Rurik’s Akershule. I will descibe them as I originally conceived them here, but of course a lot of edited or adjusting may be necessary, and of course welcome, to make them fit other people’s world ideas.

In the distant mythic past the Akershule I will use Rurik’s now familiar name) had one among them named Koru-su who lusted for power, and was not content with his normal allotted life span. He started messing with things that were forbidden (possibly the gates). Eventually Koru-su was ousted from the council and banished along with a number of his followers. Hundreds of years passed and then when many of the original banishers had died or grown very old Koru-su re-emerged.

In his exile he had made secret pacts with things from the gates and they whispered secrets to him whereby he could become like the gods. Druaga, Lord of the Undeath taught him the secrets of the immortality (not what he imagined though, in order to become truly immortal Koru-su had to become undead). Kosharo, the Mutant Twister of Life had taught him how to create creatures of his own to fill his legions. Although he could not create his races from scratch, he could crossbreed, twist and form others to his liking as well as force them to submit to his will. These creatures are called Kracheeth or simply the created.

Koru su defeats his old nemesis’ and sends his generals and sorcerers, the Azchirnoth, out to conquer the world. To make a long myth short several surviving members of the Akershule sneak though the Azchirgnoth armies and his guards and Slay Koru-su. The Azchirgnoth who have been sent out with armies to conquer and enslave the world set themselves up as independent kings. Immediately after Koru-su’s demise they begin vying for power. Vast wars are fought between the Azchirgnoth. Sorcerers begin trying to create(or possibly summon) nasty kracheeth of their own to throw at one another, they also create diseases to ravage one another's hosts. Though an era rife with slavery and warfare the Azchirgnoth wear each other down.

Finally, much like in Rurik’s Portal, a hoard of northern, horse-riding barbarians arrive on the scene. Through divination, the remaining Azchirgnoth witch kings realize that their time is at an end, their empires are fated to be crushed by the barbaric hoards. (Now here is the important part) Instead of succumbing to their fate, the Azchirgnoth begin to build tombs for themselves hidden in the back countries of their kingdoms. There they deposite ritches and vast libraries of knowledge. They hide and protect these tombs with traps both clever and magical. They too have learned Duaga’s secret of immortality and they lock themselves and their servants up in these tombs and go into the deep slumber of the undead hoping that someday the world will again be ripe for their rule.




The two important things a background like this could offer would be Kraecheeth (unknown horrors created or summoned from a past age that still inhabit the backwaters of the word), and a reason for undead guarded tombs and such. Each writer/contributor could create Kaecheeth that hid is his area of the world or borrow from some-one else if they like. They could come up with stories about the particular Azchirgnoth of their territories as well. Or, of course, they could ignore the thing all together as the Azchirgnoth overlooked or never invaded their part of the world at all. I realize the names are kind of nutty, but they can be changed as well from territory to territory.

….Just and idea to hopefully keep people thinking.

I too see a lot of similarities between the Akershule and your ideas. I'll upload my history of Portal to the Wiki. All of this of course is open to reconcilliation. The Akershule were not expansionist in my original concept, though they could well be one enclave of a race that in fact is in many parts of the world (connected by gates) or some such.

I completely envisioned them as coming back as undead in my original campaign storyline.

Good Ideas, keep it all coming!