Cavernous Creatures (Five Factions Supplement)

The Cavernous Creatures are quite strong, mostly for their high level of technology. They have steam weapons and greater siege weapons that they can use if required, they already have defenses in place that utilize their technology and are a strong fighting force - both mentally and physically. They worship Gimmin, God of the Forge, or Aifra, Goddess of Craft, this allows them to be excellent craftsmen - they have the most structurally sound cities and have weapons of excellent workmanship.

[edit] Description

Based on technology and intelligence. Even though dwarfs excel in these two areas, their technology is still limited to things which can only use gunpowder and steam engines. Thanks to Dwarven stubbornness this limits their "Minds" into a narrow view of how they might be able to advance their technology. This is where their allegiance with Gnomes becomes beneficial, for Gnomes can pretty much think up even the most ridiculous of ideas, the problem is they have no concept of reality, while Gnomes think up the wild ideas of "Flying machines" and "Hand held flame cannons" it is the dwarfs who must limit them to stop them from killing themselves and every other Gnomes who hears about the idea.

[edit] Relations

Mostly passive. For years the Bonds between Human and Dwarf has held strong in the past, as strong as blood ties between brothers. Unfortunately, in recent years the Humans have become more aggravated towards the other races and have been pulling the dwarfs into combat so to best suit their own agenda. It is because of this that the dwarfs resolve has been weakening, their trust broken, to many times to ignore, and now, with war consuming the most part of their lives, it is found, that some Dwarf Clans are willing to side with anyone. So long as they are paid with fine goods and finer women.

[edit] Laws

Their government is based on kings, they will not tolerate any fighting within their walls. If so much as a bar brawl starts up, a dwarf who participates may find himself on a death sentence. Others may be forced into army recruitment (this seems to be mostly seems to hing upon the dwarfs age).

[edit] History

A long time ago, in the middle of Ragnarok, the war-god Temoku decided he didnt like killing, and become a god of whatever. Temoku was only in his late 18th millennium and was at that rebellious stage of his unending life. He had only recently got twelve and a half thousand piercings in his left ear and was getting bored of killing things, it was because of this that Temoku fled the battlefield leaving his brethren to die. it was because of this, his father Motoko, in his dying moments having realized his own, three hundredth and eleventh, son had forsaken him that he cursed him, tearing his mind from body, he tore his son through every plane of existence scattering him into every possible plane. Unbeknown to his father, but beknown to us, Temoku was able to tear his mind from every plane, into one entity. His body forever lost, he set about rebuilding it, hiding in the center of Hakkaruzi Volcano he slowly reforged his body, over the following twelve thousand years he forged body after body, but every time he was dissatisfied with the result, tossing one after another aside, they slowly gained souls of their own, it was said the first body to have been forged was that of a Giants, who became the Elders. Then Trolls where to follow, the last he made where the Goblins, after so many failures Temoku couldn't handle his failings and destroyed himself within his own forge, blowing apart Hakkaruzi Mountain and leaving boulders in all directions, this is how it was said that the Uldarian Mountain Ranges where created, this is also where the rumored "Forge of the Ancients" is located, although the Dwarfs themselves have never located its precise location, many believe it is protected by the Elder Giants, who have never revealed where their main keep is located, let alone any keep or outpost they hold. This has been widely accepted as the creation of the Uldarian Mountains and how most hill-dwelling creature came to exsist, but there have been claims that the fabled "Forge of the Ancients" was destroyed when Temoku cast himself into it, leaving nothing but rubble, which is why no one has ever located it.

[edit] Lands

[edit] The Iron Citadel

The Iron Citadel is the most secure military complex of the Cavernous Creatures Faction. It is nearly impenetrable from the outside and boasts an excellent entry prevention system, backed up by a hundred tonnes of stone! The complex itself (once you get on the inside) is guarded adequately but only for the fact that 70% of the people there are military personnel with the other 30% being the families of those posted there. Built in the wake of a war with the Alliance the Cavernous Creatures decided that this would be in their best interests to build a underground complex that is impenetrable - and they have gotten quite close. They have not revealed the location of the Iron Citadel to anyone except high ranking officials and officers that are now posted there. All operations are on a need-to-know basis. Any resources they need are brought on a small caravan once per month, this can supply them for the month due to the fact that there is only about 100 residents within the complex.

The entry prevention system is situated as the only entrance to the complex and it is located 1000 feet away. Firstly, the door is concealed from the outside and appears as a natural rock face and it is also on the inner side of a ridge, with lush vegetation in front of it. The primary prevention system consists of two large solid stone doors re-enforced with iron and a room that is a 30ft wide circle (fits 25 medium creatures comfortably). There is also another room a level above this one, it has two large levers, one smaller leaver and some pulleys on each side, with a wisdom check (DC15) four people may attempt to open the door, each person has to pass the check and it takes 5 rounds to fully open the door. Once the door is open it may be closed via either pulling another leaver or moving the other large leavers again. If you pull the other leaver the door will almost instantly close but it allows a reflex save to pass through it, the DC of such a save is equal to 20 plus 2 per round that you have been lowering the door via the larger leavers. The door takes 5 rounds to lower using the larger leavers but still requires a wisdom check (DC15) by all four people.

The top room also has another special function, after the invaders are stuck in the bottom room the soldiers in the top room are able to open slits in the floor that allow them to fire at the enemy and also grants them 9/10ths cover. They also have chutes in the walls that they can roll oil vials down and other small vials. When sliding the vials down treat the attack as an area attack, originating from a location picked from the outside of the circular room. It hits a area of with a 5 ft radius, the liquids are all placed in the same ball like containers, they all affect the same area.

The defense of the entrance doesn't end there, the top room also has access to a large fuse to a large batch of explosives that will block of that entire passage within 2 rounds. Also, if they get killed then as a last resort the leaders of the complex may use the explosives (as there is a second fuse in their command hub) to block off the escape of their enemies (and kill any more invading forces). Once the entrance is destroyed the residents can either use teleportation (or a similar ability) or they can go to the top room on the entrance and open the four arrow slits (in the correct order) and then wind a central hatch that also has 10 slots in it, open these in the correct order and then rotate the hatches latch to open it. If the player fails to open any one in the correct order the latch wont open and they will have to start again.

Five Factions Navigation

Five Factions Campaign Setting^v

Factions

Alliance, Brutes, Cavernous Creatures, Resounding Occult, Sylvan Advocates

The World

Races, Classes, Equipment, Character Options, Magic, Religion, Organizations, Lands, People, History, Quests

Other

About, Add new page, Edit/add quotes, To-Do List