Flight spells on the Coin

A long time ago the gods made it pretty clear that if the mortal races were supposed to be able to fly they would have been issued wings up front. After some lightning bolts were thrown around, the wizarding community got the hint and gave up on spells that allow humans to soar like birds.

Of course, wizards are smartasses. They've since worked out a myriad of spells that do similar things without breaking the "no flying mortals" rule. Feather Fall will slow your decent, Levitate will allow some vertical movement without actually counting as flight, and finally, the coin version of the spell Fly actually imbues aerial mobility on a broom* which a mortal spellcaster might just happen to sit on...

*or carpet, or staff, or cauldron. Different cultures have different versions with different degrees of speed and stability.

eXPloration: the pictorial guide (part 2)

I'd just like to thank every artist who's fantastic work I've ripped off for this.

You also get 2 xp for visiting each of these locations...

The Pyrsburg, realm of mages and merchants, hub of trade (if you can read French, just ignore the text)

Al-Harraj, city of a thousand genies
Spinotaur City, center of learning in Zwuyala
The great city of the drow that nobody can pronounce the name of.
Cannon Valley, the ancient stronghold of the dwarves
Broken Glade, the elven retreat on Spindlewick
The very Edge of the World (although you have to look over it to get the XP)

I couldn't find a picture of Yendys, as nobody has ever felt inclined to draw Sydney as a fantasy city. I guess I'll just have to do it myself...

Also, Xp will be given for...

Getting ship-wrecked (unless you did it intentionally) - 1 xp
Watching a city burn (once per city) - 2 xp
Watching a dragon fly - 1xp
Flying on a dragon - 5xp (less for later dragon flights and other forms of aerial transport)

And that, for the moment, concludes the pictorial guide to eXPloration in Jarrah's campaign.

eXPloration: the pictorial guide (part 1)

really, as an artist, I should be doing these drawings myself, but instead I've just stolen them wholesale from around the internet. So, without further ado, some inspirational artwork to represent the various things you can earn exploration XP for in my campaign:


Gazing upon the Coin from one of it's three moons - 20xp

Climbing the Spindle, the mountain at the center of the world, home to the gods - 15xp
Visiting the secret grove of the high druids, or the hidden monastery of the Tax monks - 8xp

Cross the Spindlewick mountains, or the Great Howling Desert of Aratha - 5xp

To be continued...

Random Details on the Races of the Coin

(the Coin, by the way, is the name of the planet my current D&D campaign is set on. More explanation on the subject will be forthcoming at a future point)

Dwarves:
Dwarves don't pray, or worship gods. They acknowledge that the gods exist, and that they're very powerful, but they draw the line at actually being deferential to such beings. What they will do, however, is bargain.

The closest thing to a dwarf prayer would go something like this:
"Hey, any gods who might be listening, I'd be willing to, I dunno, forge you some neat stuff in the afterlife, if you'd nudge things my way right now. Not that I need it, mind you, it's just that it would be awfully convenient..."

Dwarf clerics should probably be more accurately called "professional god bargainers".

Elves: Nobody has ever seen a fat elf. Some conspiracy theorists believe that all the ugly-looking elves are rounded up and kept hidden in dungeons beneath the elven capital of Yendys. Everybody else just thinks this is more evidence of the elves being an entire species that is annoyingly lucky.

Most elves are incapable of growing facial hair. They are perpetually aggravated that the human wizard community refuses to take their mages seriously as a result.

Gnomes (aka Halflings): Gnomes are by their basic nature, obsessive. Most people don't notice, because the average gnome obsesses over living a quiet, comfortable, unremarkable life in a nice little pastoral hamlet, and eating five square meals a day.

Adventuring gnomes are mostly those weirdos who become obsessed with travel, money, magic, power, bloodshed or similar, rather than pies.

Orcs and Half-Orcs
Orcs are an artificial species, crafted long ago by some forgotten Dark Lord from a mixture of goblin and human biology and beer. They have gone extinct several times since then, but as the recipe for their manufacture has been passed down from evil wizard to evil wizard, such reprieves haven't lasted.

Orcs can be found in two locations - in the service of an evil magic user with a spare vat to make them in, or skulking about in otherwise uninhabited regions after their dark master has been offed by some adventurers.

Half-orcs occur when a human and an orc love each other very, very much.

All greenskins enjoy singing.

my take on eXPloration

entirely stolen in format from Jeff Rients' post on the subject. XP values calibrated for microlite20

• 20xp for visiting any of the Coin's three moons and gazing upon the elephants and the turtle (10xp each for the other two moons).
• 15xp for scaling the spindle (talking to the gods when you reach the top is entirely optional. They might get pissed either way).
• 8xp for visiting the secret grove of the high druids or the hidden monastery of the Tax Monks. 10xp if the inhabitants actually invite you in.
• 5xp for crossing the Spindlewick mountains, or the Howling Desert.
  
• 2xp for each Great City you visit (Al Harraj, Pyresburg, Spinotaur City, and That Underdark One Nobody Can Pronounce).
  
• 2xp for visiting Cannon Valley.
• 2xp for looking off the edge of the world.
• 2xp for braving the misty hills or any similar monster-haunted, malevolent and generally creepy location for three nights.
  

Non-location XP

• 1xp for seeing a dragon.
  
• 5xp for the first time you ride a dragon. Other modes of aerial transit (flying carpet, skyship, roc, spell) as well as later rides on a dragon will give less xp.
• 2xp for watching a city burn. Once per city (no camping, people).
• 1xp for getting shipwrecked (either sea or skyship), but no xp if you do it intentionally.