Post by joatmoniac on Feb 12, 2016 21:41:13 GMT
I figured that since the last DM-Nastics on quite the breakneck pace tying this one to that seemed like the way to go! Since the Kurivaim Sojast have a lower population and are more war like I thought it would be an interesting exercise to build out a creature a that is continually at odds with them (similar to the info in the episode about the Githyanki v Githzerai.) If people like the idea having two versions of the creature that attack both subraces that is definitely an option as well. Also, it came to me that checking on what the best day DM-Nastics posts onto the forum would be a great poll to toss up and see what people think!
The Minwei
1. INT: High on average. 14 for commoners to 18-20 for casters.
2. Origin: Set upon the world of Dayeimbe by Ardaxes the god of science to learn of what the An-Kuri Desert holds.
3. Physical features: Avian in appearance, looking similar to humanoid versions of desert birds (hawks, vultures, etc.) They can fly through a combination of physical and magical means. The Minwei have somewhat humanoid torsos, but their legs are distinctly avian and they have the talons of a massive bird of prey. Their wings remain folded along their sides except when in flight, and they have no hands, but can use their taloned feet with extraordinary dexterity. Watching a Minwei alchemist balance on one foot while stirring an alembic with the other is a unique and somewhat disconcerting experience. It is these razor-sharp talons, too, which the Kurivaim have learned to fear. Their faces are dominated by a wickedly curving beak, similar to that of an eagle, and by their large bright eyes. The nature of their beak makes it extremely difficult for them to speak the common tongue, and their own language incorporates a variety of different noises created by clacking the beak, making it almost impossible for other races to learn their tongue.
The size of a Minwei is partly dependent on its role within society; the soldier caste are bred to be massive, approaching 7 feet tall with a wingspan of 10 feet or more, while the scholarly castes tend to be significantly smaller.
The color of Minwei plumage also varies based on caste, ranging from a dull ochre brown to bronze to gleaming gold. The purer the blood, the brighter the feathers shine; not for nothing is the emperor himself called the Soul of the Sun, and his feathers indeed seem almost to glow with their own light.
4. Psychological characteristics: The Minwei are the equivalent of the Han Chinese as opposed to the Kurivaim Sojast's Mongols or Xiongnu.
The Minwei, if defined by traditional alignment, are generally Lawful Neutral like their creator Ardaxes. They have extremely rigid social structures and codes of conduct, which when combined with their general isolation from other races would make them difficult or nearly impossible to fully understand from an outsider's perspective. When interacting with the Minwei it is extremely easy to offend them without meaning to, by breaking some unknown and obscure code or social taboo.
They have distinct social classes, including the nobility, the scholars, the laborers, the soldiers, and the commoners. The emperor himself is in a class of his own, and is worshiped as an avatar of Artaxes.
The Minwei practice astronomy to a more significant and precise degree than almost any other race, and see the mapping out and understanding of the rational and mechanical nature of reality as a form of worship. They have invented remarkable magical technologies to allow them to see deep into the heavens. This is one of the reasons they settled in desert cliffs and mountains, where the clarity of the air during the cold nights allows some of the best stargazing in all of Dayeimbe. Some Minwei believe that the movement and alignment of stars and planets are the primary ways in which Artaxes speaks to his children, and thus practice what we might think of as astrology. Science and religion are, in fact, one and the same thing in the Minwei mind.
When the emperor dies, according to Minwei belief, his mortal soul ascends to the heavens and becomes a new constellation in the night sky while his divine soul is passed into his heir. The Minwei therefore recognize not a few dozen but literally hundreds of constellations, with more added each generation.
Minwei law is generally considered harsh in comparison with that of other races. They have no resources or desire to imprison those who break their codes of law, so minor crimes are dealt with through fines while major crimes, such as rape, murder, or speaking ill of the emperor, are punishable by death. Execution among the Minwei takes a simple form--the convicted criminals' limbs and wings are bound, mouths gagged, and they are pushed from the cliffs to fall down into the midden heaps of trash and waste hundreds of feet below. Those who miraculously survive the fall are usually consumed by the scavenging animals who live among the refuse.
5. Preferred environment: They have always called the An-Kuri Desert and have set up Pueblo cliff dwelling system due to their ability to reach them where other creatures can not.
6. Numbers in Dayeimbe: Given that they are in one area it should range close to the Kurivaim, but not sure if it would be higher or lower?
7. Movement types: As stated before they can fly. This ranges anywhere from average to perfect depending on their level of magical skill.
8. Senses: The Minwei have excellent eyesight. To reflect it, the Minwei have advantage on wisdom (perception) checks that rely on sight. On conditions of clear visibility, they can make out details of extremely distant creatures and objects as small as 2 feet across.
9. Single version: the desert dwelling race.
10. Legendary representatives of the race: one that killed a particularly large number of Kurivaim, this could be a warlord if the creatures are intelligent or uncatchable fish in the local lake kind of thing.
11. Extra stuff: The Minwei compete on many different levels, for many different reasons for the same substances that the Kurivaim seek. They use the plants found in the desert for alchemical purposes and seek to learn as much as they can from their properties and continually build on recipes of the past to make new ones. They see the substance abuse of the Kurivaim as an affront to their sensibilites, and a complete waste of the plants that they would use to further their pursuits as they see them as their calling placed on them by Ardaxes.
They are viciously territorial of their land, not only is this to protect their alchemical secrets, but also to protect their leader who they view with god-like reverence and thought to be of divine lineage. The leader is given many titles, a few being "His Divine Eminence, Soul of the Sun, the Enlightened One, Scourge of the Scaled Savages, the Winged Celestial, the Fire of the East, the Phoenix Emperor." They defend their land against any who would dare be foolish enough to enter and defile it, but they will search farther into the An-Kuri Desert at times to try and cull the "savage" Kurivaim to help ensure that there are always enough resources for them to use in their research.
I’m hesitant to do stats, but if you feel up to it then definitely take a crack at whichever edition best suits your needs, and maybe others will do the same.
The Minwei
1. INT: High on average. 14 for commoners to 18-20 for casters.
2. Origin: Set upon the world of Dayeimbe by Ardaxes the god of science to learn of what the An-Kuri Desert holds.
3. Physical features: Avian in appearance, looking similar to humanoid versions of desert birds (hawks, vultures, etc.) They can fly through a combination of physical and magical means. The Minwei have somewhat humanoid torsos, but their legs are distinctly avian and they have the talons of a massive bird of prey. Their wings remain folded along their sides except when in flight, and they have no hands, but can use their taloned feet with extraordinary dexterity. Watching a Minwei alchemist balance on one foot while stirring an alembic with the other is a unique and somewhat disconcerting experience. It is these razor-sharp talons, too, which the Kurivaim have learned to fear. Their faces are dominated by a wickedly curving beak, similar to that of an eagle, and by their large bright eyes. The nature of their beak makes it extremely difficult for them to speak the common tongue, and their own language incorporates a variety of different noises created by clacking the beak, making it almost impossible for other races to learn their tongue.
The size of a Minwei is partly dependent on its role within society; the soldier caste are bred to be massive, approaching 7 feet tall with a wingspan of 10 feet or more, while the scholarly castes tend to be significantly smaller.
The color of Minwei plumage also varies based on caste, ranging from a dull ochre brown to bronze to gleaming gold. The purer the blood, the brighter the feathers shine; not for nothing is the emperor himself called the Soul of the Sun, and his feathers indeed seem almost to glow with their own light.
4. Psychological characteristics: The Minwei are the equivalent of the Han Chinese as opposed to the Kurivaim Sojast's Mongols or Xiongnu.
The Minwei, if defined by traditional alignment, are generally Lawful Neutral like their creator Ardaxes. They have extremely rigid social structures and codes of conduct, which when combined with their general isolation from other races would make them difficult or nearly impossible to fully understand from an outsider's perspective. When interacting with the Minwei it is extremely easy to offend them without meaning to, by breaking some unknown and obscure code or social taboo.
They have distinct social classes, including the nobility, the scholars, the laborers, the soldiers, and the commoners. The emperor himself is in a class of his own, and is worshiped as an avatar of Artaxes.
The Minwei practice astronomy to a more significant and precise degree than almost any other race, and see the mapping out and understanding of the rational and mechanical nature of reality as a form of worship. They have invented remarkable magical technologies to allow them to see deep into the heavens. This is one of the reasons they settled in desert cliffs and mountains, where the clarity of the air during the cold nights allows some of the best stargazing in all of Dayeimbe. Some Minwei believe that the movement and alignment of stars and planets are the primary ways in which Artaxes speaks to his children, and thus practice what we might think of as astrology. Science and religion are, in fact, one and the same thing in the Minwei mind.
When the emperor dies, according to Minwei belief, his mortal soul ascends to the heavens and becomes a new constellation in the night sky while his divine soul is passed into his heir. The Minwei therefore recognize not a few dozen but literally hundreds of constellations, with more added each generation.
Minwei law is generally considered harsh in comparison with that of other races. They have no resources or desire to imprison those who break their codes of law, so minor crimes are dealt with through fines while major crimes, such as rape, murder, or speaking ill of the emperor, are punishable by death. Execution among the Minwei takes a simple form--the convicted criminals' limbs and wings are bound, mouths gagged, and they are pushed from the cliffs to fall down into the midden heaps of trash and waste hundreds of feet below. Those who miraculously survive the fall are usually consumed by the scavenging animals who live among the refuse.
5. Preferred environment: They have always called the An-Kuri Desert and have set up Pueblo cliff dwelling system due to their ability to reach them where other creatures can not.
6. Numbers in Dayeimbe: Given that they are in one area it should range close to the Kurivaim, but not sure if it would be higher or lower?
7. Movement types: As stated before they can fly. This ranges anywhere from average to perfect depending on their level of magical skill.
8. Senses: The Minwei have excellent eyesight. To reflect it, the Minwei have advantage on wisdom (perception) checks that rely on sight. On conditions of clear visibility, they can make out details of extremely distant creatures and objects as small as 2 feet across.
9. Single version: the desert dwelling race.
10. Legendary representatives of the race: one that killed a particularly large number of Kurivaim, this could be a warlord if the creatures are intelligent or uncatchable fish in the local lake kind of thing.
11. Extra stuff: The Minwei compete on many different levels, for many different reasons for the same substances that the Kurivaim seek. They use the plants found in the desert for alchemical purposes and seek to learn as much as they can from their properties and continually build on recipes of the past to make new ones. They see the substance abuse of the Kurivaim as an affront to their sensibilites, and a complete waste of the plants that they would use to further their pursuits as they see them as their calling placed on them by Ardaxes.
They are viciously territorial of their land, not only is this to protect their alchemical secrets, but also to protect their leader who they view with god-like reverence and thought to be of divine lineage. The leader is given many titles, a few being "His Divine Eminence, Soul of the Sun, the Enlightened One, Scourge of the Scaled Savages, the Winged Celestial, the Fire of the East, the Phoenix Emperor." They defend their land against any who would dare be foolish enough to enter and defile it, but they will search farther into the An-Kuri Desert at times to try and cull the "savage" Kurivaim to help ensure that there are always enough resources for them to use in their research.
I’m hesitant to do stats, but if you feel up to it then definitely take a crack at whichever edition best suits your needs, and maybe others will do the same.
Great minds though.
