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Baalos 5: Blinded Sentinel

A1 - General Background
A2 - Communication, Psionics/Magic
A3 - The Races
A4 - Lifesigns
A5 - The Character Templates
A6 - Coverts and Factions

Special Rules:
1. No electronic technology is available
2. Powerful magic is exceedingly rare, and it is hard to draw upon magical energy here, making it harder to cast spells
3. You may pick characters from any faction or subspecies, but picking conflicting combinations is discouraged

A2 – Communication, Psionics/Magic

The neo-humans have lost such electronic technology such as walkie-talkies or radios, but have evolved general telepathy and most subspecies have retained the ability to speak.

Other means of communication are just about anything available to ancient or medieval cultures, including messenger animals and runners.

Telepathy, unless otherwise noted, normally functions somewhat like a radio system. Anyone nearby of whom a neo-human is aware may send telepathic messages with some concentration, and messages are heard by the receiver, though it is not as clear as normal speech, and is usually much deeper and somewhat distorted. However, it can be a speedy and convenient method of communication. Best of all, a group can have messages be heard in a network, though it is possible for a skilled telepath to intrude upon the network.

It's also possible to send psychic garbage, distracting the subject from the task at hand, as well as giving them a sharp headache. However, this is frowned upon, and most have trained to resist this use of telepathy. All factions have trained their subjects to block someone from sending telepathic messages.

Some factions have managed to discover low-level magic. Though limited, they can create objects linked to each other. If something happens to one object, it happens to the other. Paper is very common for this, as writing on one will cause writing to appear on the other. An interesting way to implement this is to link weapons such as swords to the fire of a faction, causing the weapons to be sheathed in flames, providing both warmth, light, and extra firepower. Such weapons typically have a command word to suppress the enchantment.

One last psionic ability all neo-humans have is the ability to vaguely sense the presence of nearby life. However, all other neo-humans can hide themselves from this sense, making it useful only in detecting the beasts of Baalos.

A4 – Lifesigns


There are many creatures adapted to life on Baalos 5, some of which were kept in labs for study, and to prevent them from attacking the inhabitants of the planet. However, after the EMP hit, some of them were able to escape. Since the neo-human's lifesense could not distinguish between these dangerous creatures and the more benign ones, they were taught to be wary of all creatures they sensed, commonly referred to as Lifesigns.

Subfang:
These burrowing creatures are most definitely one of the more dangerous lifesigns on Baalos 5. They pass through snow with ease, and attack their prey from below, using their powerful arms to drag victims into their even more powerful jaws, which are strong enough to crush bone and metal alike. They usually live in areas with deep snow, but are known to move to areas of more shallow snow to hunt Baaroms.

Subfangs look somewhat like apes, except they are much larger, with proportionally huge mouths and large, mole-like hands. Their fur is thick and shaggy, usually extremely pale. They have strong legs, and have large chests to house huge lungs to store air while below the surface. Their eyes are small and pink, but their keen sense of smell more than compensates for their below-par eyesight. They're twice the size of a human in all dimensions, and eight times as heavy.


Baarom:
A curious creature, the Baarom is the most numerous animal on Baalos 5. They are covered in a near-flat, insulating layer of fur, with a thicker layer of fat underneath, keeping them warm. They are surprisingly agile, and still somewhat light. Baaroms gather in herds and commonly live in areas of shallow snow, and dig up the roots of subterranean plants, particularly Snare Roots.

They are around the size of sheep, and are digitigrade quadrupeds, completely covered in pale fur. They have three toes on each feet, and have enlongated muzzles with durable teeth. Their front claws are adapted for digging. They have prominent, dog-like ears, and have a good sense of hearing. They communicate with infrasound. Their eyes are also very sharp, and able to detect even slight variations in color, allowing them to spot predators. Their back legs are somewhat like a cat's. They can grow to be 3 feet tall and 4 feet long, but only have short, vestigial tails.


Mraelth:
Another carnivorous creature, the Mraelth is somewhat feared among neo-humans. It's not as large or as strong as a Subfang, but they are much faster. They hunt in packs, usually composed of four to twelve members, with the leader of the pack being the most experienced Mraelth. It has been suggested on many occasions that they are capable of thought, and tests have confirmed they can be as smart as 4-year olds. They prey upon mostly Baarom and Padclaws. They rarely hunt and eat neo-humans, but they will chase and attack them to defend their territory.

Mraelths live in much larger groups, usually in a rocky area, where they keep all of their young. They commonly live in groups of fifty to four hundred. They are ruled by the oldest Mraelths, whether male or female. The strongest and most experienced Mraelths are sent out in packs to bring back food while the rest raise the young and teach them to hunt. They sometimes fight other groups of Mraelths to claim territory, though this is somewhat of a rare occurrence.

A Mraelth can move on either two or four legs, and have some level of manual dexterity. They have sleek, lithe bodies with well-packed muscles, and have a layer of medium-length, shaggy and pale fur. They have digitigrade hind legs, but their forelegs are built a lot like arms, with elbows and three fingers with one thumb-like appendage. Their hands have sharp claws for ripping, while their hind feet have claws for gripping the snow. Their muzzles are not very prominent, but they have well-muscled jaws, giving them a powerful bite. They have sizable tails for balance. They can grow to be about 4 feet tall at the shoulder and 6 feet long, 9 feet including their tails.


Padclaw:
Where Baarom rely on their numbers to protect themselves, Padclaws are herbivores (sometimes omnivores) who are actually built to defend themselves. They usually live alone, gathering only to mate and raise young. They dig for snare roots for a lot of their sustenance, but can also scavenge corpses when the need comes. However, they are usually slow, and are excellent at conserving energy. They usually don't threaten neo-humans unless they themselves are threatened.

Padclaws have large torsos with comparatively small heads, and have massive arms, which can be used to tear Snare Roots from the frozen soil or batter predators into submission. Their hind legs are small in comparison to their arms, but have thick muscles. Their fur is long, thick and insulating, and they have an even thicker layer of fat underneath, allowing them to keep warm their entire lives. Their ears aren't very noticeable, and they have prominent noses and vivid eyes. Their heads have a somewhat similar structure to that of a camel. Their fur is a striking white, allowing them to blend quite well with the snow. When propping themselves up on their arms, they can be up to 10 feet tall. They got their name from their fingertips, which are rather thick, and hide surprisingly long claws for both digging and defense.


Snare Roots:
Since they are plants, Snare Roots are not detected by a neo-human's lifesense, but they are exceedingly common on Baalos 5. They are found in incredibly vast networks underground everywhere on Baalos, and are adapted to living without sunlight, using chemosynthesis to get their energy. Their roots can be burnt in a fire, creating a somewhat sweet scent, as well as a tenacious flame. They can also be eaten for some amount of nutrition, though their taste leaves something to be desired.

They often feed upon pockets of gas found deep underground, and also grow special areas where the ground is partly dissolved by acid and replaced with entangling roots, creating a trap for unwary organisms. When an animal falls into the pit, they get wrapped in reactionary roots, and will, over time, be broken down to provide the components for chemosynthesis.

Other than Snare Roots, Baalos 5 has little plant life, but still has some lichen, and have plants similar to Antarctic Hair Grass. As a rule of thumb, any plants in Real-life Antarctica most likely have counterparts on Baalos 5.

A6 – Coverts and Factions

There are five main factions vying for power on Baalos, as well as many independent Coverts who are either aiming to become a Faction or just neo-humans who want to survive or don't want to be involved in the power struggle.


The Republic of Lahemoir:
This Faction is composed primarily of neo-humans of the Lahemoir subspecies, named after the founder. The Republic inhabits one of the groups of abandoned super-city domes found on Baalos 5, and have retained some of the lost knowledge. They have some firearms with advanced designs, though little else in the way of technology surpassing those of other factions. They have taken it upon themselves to unify the neo-humans, but have come to violently persuade others to convert to their views. Many have risen against their oppression, and they have been forced from their place on the throne. As of late, their leader, Aouliadd, has become paranoid of most other factions, and many not of the Lahemoir subspecies within the Republic have been purged, since few Lahemoirs operate outside the Republic, and few other subspecies operate within it. They are at war with pretty much everyone but the Moonkeep.

The Republic of Lahemoir is located on the equator of Baalos 5, and their super-city domes are often used as the center of the world on maps.

For characters, they conflict with the Beuraak, Oeryyn and Anchor subspecies.


Anchorage:
The neo-human subspecies known only as the Anchors are all within the Anchorge, the largest subterranean super-city in all of Baalos 5. While most of the ancient cities are above ground, the older ones are underground, and the Anchorage was one of the few active ones at the time the EMP struck Baalos 5. Few remember where it is located, and so the Anchors have mostly been left to fend for themselves. They seem to be planning a coup of the Republic of Lahemoir, and any non-Anchors aware of this plot are working to help them, including the few coverts in their area. Few know about them, so they have no official alliances or rivalries.

They're a few hundred miles north and slightly west of the Republic's domes. There are no publicly known maps with their location noted.

For characters, they conflict with the Lahemoir, Oeryyn and Beuraak.


Moonkeep:
There's always a group of fanatics in a world, and Moonkeep fills this role quite well. Few people retained knowledge of “modern” values after a few generations of anarchy, and so a group of Beuraak, Kraff-Jra and some Oeryyns took to worshiping the sun and moon, particularly the moon, from which they got their name. They seek to assimilate all other factions, but won't hesitate to torture or kill anyone who will not accept their values. However, they aren't all murder and persecution, and are the faction with the strongest sense of brotherhood and unity. Anyone part of Moonkeep is treated well, and there's little or no discrimination against different people within the group. They control several super-city domes built into one of the mountain chains of Baalos 5, and their subgroups constantly communicate with each other. Visitors are treated fairly well as long as they behave. They aren't on very good terms with anyone but the Lahemoir, who are mostly indifferent towards them.

Moonkeep is located a couple hundred miles northeast of the Republic, and have Deepscale between them and Tone.

For characters, they conflict with the Anchors.


Deepscale:
These people are the ones who know they have to do what needs to be done, and Deepscale is the faction out to quell hostilities between the factions and hopefully use diplomacy instead of weapons to settle disputes. However, this didn't work very well, and so this faction militarized itself, using mostly Oeryyn soldiers to protect their allies and to send skilled raiding parties against particularly stubborn foes. They're a close ally of the Tone, and are on neutral terms with everyone else but the Moonkeep, who resent them for protecting the Tone. Deepscale covers a fairly large area, inhabiting various hills, subterranean cities and super-city domes.

Deepscale is located a couple thousand miles east and somewhat south of the Republic, and are the main obstacle between Moonkeep and Tone.

For characters, they conflict with the Lahemoir and Anchors.


Tone:
Even in a serious world, there's usually at least one group that is still lighthearted. Tone was originally a joke, but it kept growing until people started referring to it as one of the factions. Tone eventually adapted values and a culture of its own, which definitely helped to establish it. They are on good terms with most other factions, save for Moonkeep. Deepscale is their greatest ally, and have reliably helped them when they are raided by them. Tone is located within the largest super-city dome on all of Baalos 5. Within it, there is lighthearted music nearly everywhere. Many people in Tone earn a living by entertaining residents, most often through music or humor. They are composed primarily of Kraff-Jra, with a large number of Beuraak neo-humans.

Tone is located a few thousand miles south-east of the Republic, not all that far from Deepscale.

For characters, they conflict with the Lahemoir, Oeryyn and Anchors.

Coverts:
These small settlements or cities mostly keep to themselves, with few of them really grouping together to form new, larger groups. Many are instead assimilated into one of the factions. They can be found just about anywhere, in any kind of settlement. The Republic and Moonkeep often raid Coverts who have not been assimilated. Deepscale and Tone usually leave them alone, and most coverts aren't even aware of Anchorage.