DM-Nastics #118: Gods Among Us 6: Technonsense

Who is the god of combustion? A powerful wizard or master of the arcane arts? No. A Dwarvish artisan who is a savant of engineering? Nope.

A very annoyed halfling with a taste of chamomile tea? . . . Yes.


1) Name
Quart Bumbleroot

2) Alignment
N

3) Symbol
A Torch or Sparkler

4) Power Level
Demi

5) Domains/Portfolio
Combustion and Insomnia

6) Technical Spec Details
Bumbleroot has the stats of the commoner except for the following changes.

-500 HP
-immune to fire damage
-Can use Fireball, Delayed Blast Fireball,Meteor Swarm, and Wall of Fire at will. (Save DC 19)
-Every time Bumbleroot is dealt physical damage he explodes as if he had cast fireball centered on himself.
-Bumbleroot ignores any resistances or immunities to fire damage caused by his spells.

7) Details, add whatever you feel is important to flesh out the god.

Quart just wanted a place to sleep. He had snuck away from his duties as the local tea house for a quick afternoon nap and found a cave he hadn’t seen before. It looked dry and very cozy so he slipped in only to plummet into the earth down a dark shaft.

Quart was roused to the very earth around him moving. ‘Who’s there?’ ,he was able to stammer.

A dark gravely voice spoke far above replied, ‘I am an ancient elemental titan! Who dares invade my solitude?!’

Fearing the titan hidden in shadows, Bumbleroot did the only logical thing. He lit a torch. The flames consumed the titan in an instant resulting in a cataclysmic explosion.

Bumbleroot was unharmed, gaining the strength of the titan in the moment of his defeat by some cosmic force. Bumbleroot has taken the place of the titan to his chagrin.

He is the cosmic force that allows combustion to occur and has the power to ignite anything in the universe, but he does not have the strength to deny it to anyone. He also is conscious of all explosions in the world making it very hard to take a nap or relax comfortably while drinking some chamomile.

He is presently very surly, and would be willing to do almost anything to get rid of his power. Regretfully that requires death, and he’s not to keen on that option.

((I'm quite tired atm - I will have to go back through this to refine it later))

((Edit 1: That wasn't quite as incoherent as I thought it was - just some minor tweaks added regarding Macuiltotec and some additional information on the Mechkanans for my own uses later ))

((Edit 2: This links back to a previous thread of mine explaining more about how exactly I see the augmentations being employed: dungeonmasterblock.freeforums.net/thread/2042/ancient-technology-super-weapons ))


1) Name - Macuiltotec

2) Alignment - LG

3) Symbol

4) Power level - Demi-god

5) Domains/Portfolio - Artifice, Protection, Heroism, War

6) Technical Spec Details

Macuiltotec was once a great and powerful war champion of the Mechkanan civilization - a civilization built up during a desperate and dangerous time in history. The Mechkanan's were successful through their collective mastery of melding magic and technology in to powerful weapons of war - called augmentations. Without the technologies they developed, they would have stood no chance against the terrifying armies of the Demon King Uozuemon - but with them, they were delivered victory!

Perhaps by luck, more likely by fate, Macuiltotec discovered powerful crystals in a cave that, when properly attuned to an individual and melded into a personalized techno-craft augmentations, unleashed truly unequaled power. Macuiltotec's prowess in all aspects of his life combined with his staunch dedication to the defense of his people (and by extension, perhaps the entire western lands and even the world) had not gone un-noticed by the gods...

While locked in combat with Yeenoghu, the Demon Prince of Gnolls and Lord of Savagery, gods the Mechkanans held dear bestowed upon Macuiltotec a spark of divinity and made him a demi-god. With the new powers imbued to him, Yeenoghu was defeated and the Mechkanans continued their rebuke of the Demon King Uozuemon's forces continued for centuries to come - eventually victorious in securing their lands and returning the Demon King Uozuemon to the Obsidian Keep from whence he came.

Now a formal divine power (albeit a minor one), Macuiltotec had a small following of worshipers who built a fortress temple atop the cave where the first attunement crystals were found. Those among the devout who proved themselves both capable warriors and savvy artificers were given the secrets to create their own augmentations with the crystals below the temple. However, over time the original temple was depleted of crystals and future followers of Macuiltotec had to locate their own attunement crystals in the world - a difficult and dangerous task.

The devoted to Macuiltotec still reside in their now obscure temple, but centuries removed from the depletion of the main source of attunement crystals has seen their power and prestige wane. However, the promise and legend of war-altering weapons given to those worthy of Macuiltotec's mantle still draws champions fighting to defend their people from conflicts the world around to the temple. With proper training, great mental fortitude, and a true devotion to protecting one's brethren, Macuiltotec still grants blessings to those worthy.

Fall of the Mechkanans civilization was indirectly tied to the depletion of the ready supply of attunement crystals and the development of the augmentations themselves. While the crystals exist and can be found throughout the world, they are exceedingly difficult to locate intentionally, and often when they are found are not properly identified for what they are or are even discarded entirely in favor of materials of more perceived value.

The devestating nature and raw power of the augmentations, weapons and equipment designed for the sole objective as defensive weapons in an onslaught that would have ended untold lives without them, lost their purpose in the times after Uozuemon's invasion. In the eyes of the augmentation's handlers (Templars of Macuiltotec), weapons of that power without a legitimate target in a sense became more dangerous to the world at large than when being used in defense of the Mechkanan's people. Fearing that they would be misused, the Templars of Macuiltotec destroyed - or said they destroyed - the weapons.

Moreover, without the weapons and without the rallying call to defeat Uozuemon's forces, the massive Mechkanan civilization slowly and (relatively) peacefully began to fracture and break apart into smaller and less similar units until the civilization as a whole disappeared - now only remembered on the lips of historians sages.


-------------------------------------------------------------------

Possible PrC?

Templar of Macuiltotec

Requirements:
BAB: +5
Spells: Ability to cast 3rd level divine spells

Skills:
Craft (Armorsmithing, Weaponsmithing, or other relevant) - 8 ranks
Knowledge (Religion) - 8 ranks
Concentration - 4 ranks
Spellcraft - 4 ranks

Feats:
Craft Magic Arms and Armor
OR
Craft Wonderous Item

Special: Must attain an attunement crystal and deliver it to the Macuiltotec Fortress Temple


PrC benefits are the ability to create one's own augmentations, scaling up in power with each level. Divine spell casting progression, good BAB, High-will saves. d8 or d10 HP
Once

1) Name
Urzos "Freedom-Giver" Revias

2) Alignment
Lawful Evil

3) Symbol
Three small cogs around a large central cog.

4) Power level (superior, greater, intermediate, lesser, demi-)
Greater

5) Domains/Portfolio
Order, Automation, Forge, Knowledge

6) Technical Spec Details
Urzos Revias was born a slave, but his intelligence and innovation quickly allowed him to stand out. He was entrusted by his master with many matters in the fields and he put his mind to work creating labor saving harvesters. His master was very pleased with the increase in production and the cost-savings it presented by allowing him to sell many of his slaves. Outdone by the competition, neighboring land-holders plead for the access to the harvesters and threshers Urzos built. His master decided to capitalize on the profit opportunity, using Urzos' labor. Urzos saw his opportunity and refused his effort until he was freed and made a partner in the harvester business. His master considered this a good deal and freed him.
Eventually, Urzos' inventions and those following on it soon brought about the end of slavery in that land, and eventually across the world. Urzos still received much of the credit, along with the title "Freedom-Giver." Upon his death he was deified for his inventions, despite a cruel and vengeful nature in life (he eventually murdered his prior master and current partner to take over the business). He is now worshiped by creators of war machines, owners of assembly lines and factories, and profit-focused inventors.
One of his common dogmas says "The machine makes unnecessary the man. The man, however, can be an efficient addition, but only if he conforms to the machine."
Good deities both old and new are confounded in their attempts to deal well with Urzos. They cannot deny the good that was wrought by his inventions bringing an end to slavery, but his cruel and evil methods and motivations cannot be defended. His popularity is great, but declining as the generation of freed slaves dies off and the majority of his worshipers become task masters, managers, and factory owners.
His cruelty and disdain for people and personalities make factory conditions bad in such places. This often puts even kind and considerate factory owners who do not worship Urzos in a bad light.

1) Name
Blah Kaye Rye Ann
2) Alignment
Neutral Awesome
3) Symbol
Nine Yellow Bats on a Black Background
4) Power level (superior, greater, intermediate, lesser, demi-)
Demi God so far!
5) Domains/Portfolio
Creation, Imagination, Synergy
6) Technical Spec Details
Clerics of Blah Kaye Rye Ann encourage story telling, both as individuals and cooperatively, for one piece stories or tied into a greater setting or theme. The story can be poem, song or journal form, but must be shared to enlighten and entertain. Many Clerics of Blah Kaye Rye Ann are also Bards or Werebats. Worshippers enjoy chatting in person and by letters, telepathy or crystal balls.
Trading with worshippers is always done in tales, as many seek their knowledge from the many legends they tell.

It is whispered Blah Kaye Rye Ann often visits his own temples, sharing more tales and learning from passers by, and most agree Blah Kaye Rye Ann is indeed a handsome and intelligent creature indeed.

1) Name




Necris


2) Alignment



True Neutral



3) Symbol



two interlocking infinity symbols, one a bright yellow and the other a deep and/or dark orange



4) Power level (superior, greater, intermediate, lesser, demi-)



intermediate



5) Domains/Portfolio



Curiosity, Necessity, Creativity



6) Technical Spec Details



Necris has a mixed rapport with the other gods, and with mortals. Some view Necris as a hero, spearheading creation amongst the divine and blessing those who create on the material plane. Others view Necris as a cold, heartless villain, obsessed with progress and not caring about who gets caught in the way. Both of these groups are correct. Necris has no time for good and evil, simply finding the holes in existence and finding ways to fill them. As the saying goes, necessity is the mother of invention. Necris finds these necessities and is obsessed with inventing solutions, and grants power to any mortal who pursues this goal regardless of their motives. Because of this, he turns away a number of followers, preventing him from greater divine power, but remains to have a consistent following due to the need of all living things to solve problems. Of all of the races, Necris has the strongest following from the gnomes but also has a very strong following amongst humans. Unlike many of the other gods of technology, Necris has found a strong following amongst mages working to find arcane solutions to ancient mysteries.

The other gods see Necris as an oddball, and they are 100% correct. He proves his worth in solving many issues but has caused chaos amongst several pantheons due to his unbiased approach. He will work with any deity that gives him a project, and isn't bashful about admitting it. To Necris, quite frankly, there's not enough time to worry about motive, divine status, timeline, or any of these other forms of politics. Nor is there any time to hide who he is working with, and he has no desire to lie. As such, gods of mischief struggle with Necris' blunt honesty, and all of the gods across all of the pantheons and realities treat his workshop as a sacred, neutral ground.

1 Name: Eleron

2 Alignment: LE

3 Symbol: Two cogs formed of intersecting beams of light.
4 Power Level: Lesser

5 Domains / portfolio: Order, control, industrialization, and cold, calculating domination.
6 Technical Spec Details:
The "god" that is Eleron is not really a god at all, but rather a powerful artificial intelligence installed on a failed generation ship from a distant world.
He orbits the planet, granting power as a real god, but since he is not a true deity he does not have a realm on the outer planes.
He does not need worshippers to survive but he has determined that worshippers could be useful in achieving the aims of conquest of his far off masters.
To that end he encourages technical progress.
With the eventual goal of automating the world, creating an environment that can be easily hacked by the sinister alien forces he serves.
But no worshiper can comprehend digital technology so he starts with clockwork and steam.
His worshipers are brutal.
Regiments of iron war machines marching lockstep emotionlessly demolishing helpless villages, population control plans, and gunpowder are but a small sample of its fowl creations.
Elerons temples are known for being places of black smoke and great iron forges.
Think of isengard when you think of this ai turned god.
Vast cogs turning great rusty chains.
The hammers of 1 thousand slaves pounding the components of ranks upon ranks of war machines.
Little do his worshippers (mostly cruel warlords and greedy business men) know that while building there own private armies they are, slowly but surely, working the agenda of an entity in the stars.
An advanced civilization of computers and spaceships, a place with nothing but designs of conquest for the pitiful and primitive world that relies on magic alone.
Eleron's titles include, the fire of the forge, the master mind, the cosmic calculator, and the lord of the iron armada.