Architects of the Great Plan - Warhammer Fantasy Old One Quest

[Red Bovine]

Fission has not shot down my Comic Book Uranium Warpstone plan yet, which obviously he can at any point but does leave me hopeful.

Click to shrink...

IIRC canon Skaven for all intents and purposes can use them like that considering that they use WS to power all their tech including electricity. So I imagine that our Skaven might eventually be able to figure out how to do something like that.

 

[Fission Battery]

That seems like it would actually be pretty in character for the OOs. Now imagining an Old One that realizes that they have a very large stockpile of Warpstone that no one bothered to clean up due to the hassle and deciding that the Rats seem like they would make great disposals for the stuff while maybe finding an actual use for the stuff.

Click to shrink...

Okay but that makes perfect sense. We use dogs to clean up messes we can't be bothered to pick up, they use rats

Click to shrink...

The joke is they don't have warpstone laying around.

 

[Red Bovine]

The joke is they don't have warpstone laying around.

Click to shrink...

The Old Ones don't? Because seems like they may have at least some stuff lying around. Or at least be able to make a mountain of the stuff for the Skaven to make use of.

 

[Whenyouseeyou]

Did you know @Fission Battery that Skaven were so crazy on tech they figured out a way to get warpstones from the freaking moon yes that actually happen whether by a portalgate way to establish a colony there or freaking rocket ships they got warpstones from the moon

 

[Fission Battery]

There is exactly just such a thing. Power Stones that channel a single wind. The Loremasters of Hoeth make them, and occasionally the Empire's college of magic. When I get off work, I can pull out my old copy of WHFRP, Realms of Sorcery 2E.

Click to shrink...

Yes please, I'd like more information on that if possible. Age of Sigmar has something like that exist for each wind. It sounded like an interesting idea.

The Old Ones don't? Because seems like they may have at least some stuff lying around. Or at least be able to make a mountain of the stuff for the Skaven to make use of.

Click to shrink...

Why would they? Warpstone is concentrated raw magic that didn't disperse back into the wind, but instead condensed into physical crystals. The entire warp gate and geomantic network system is meant to prevent stuff like warpstone from forming. It's a dam that controls and filters the flow of magic from the Aethyr, while safely directing it through controlled channels along the network. Excess stuff keeps getting cycled around to prevent it from stagnating or sent back into the Aethyr.

Did you know @Fission Battery that Skaven were so crazy on tech they figured out a way to get warpstones from the freaking moon yes that actually happen whether by a portalgate way to establish a colony there or freaking rocket ships they got warpstones from the moon

Click to shrink...

Warpstone comets and fragments kept raining down from the moon. It seems being made out of raw magic it wasn't that stable.

 

[The Froggy Ninja]

Okay, after double checking a few entry's about warpstone, it notes that canon skaven have a somewhat higher tolerance for warpstone compared to other species, but that grey seers need to process/transmute it into refined warpstone that's safer to handle. Handling the raw stuff kills slaves over time. Which is what Always Late said. These skaven probably have a higher tolerance to it thanks to the stacking of traits. If people want to teach these skaven how to refine warpstone that can just be included as knowledge imparted to them. It doesn't have to be runes specifically. There'll be a section for Old One imparted knowledge and tech, so that can be included there.

It is also a bit amusing because there's basically no warpstones in Araby or most of the world at the moment. Translating player concerns and plans to Old One discussion would go a bit like "what if our warp gates spit out a bunch of waste and we can't be arsed to clean it up? Maybe we could have the rats handle it for us."

Click to shrink...

Distilling and handling other Realm Stones (Wind Stones?) could be a valuable arcane science to teach. Is that an option?

 

[Red Bovine]

Why would they? Warpstone is concentrated raw magic that didn't disperse back into the wind, but instead condensed into physical crystals. The entire warp gate and geomantic network system is meant to prevent stuff like warpstone from forming. It's a dam that controls and filters the flow of magic from the Aethyr, while safely directing it through controlled channels along the network. Excess stuff keeps getting cycled around to prevent it from stagnating or sent back into the Aethyr.

Click to shrink...

Well as mentioned they could serve as a contingency for clean up of toxic magical materials in case something happens that makes it so that the Old Ones can't spend much time on it or would let them focus on other things. Giving them a large stockpile to experiment with early on seems like it would be for the practical reason of not only giving them experience in cleaning up but finding new uses from them and hopefully finding new and more efficient methods of getting rid of the stuff if they are ever needed to do so.

Yes please, I'd like more information on that if possible. Age of Sigmar has something like that exist for each wind. It sounded like an interesting idea.

Click to shrink...

On that matter since Warpstone is pure magic seems like it could be an interesting idea to have the Skaven work on it to create different things like Power Stones. Maybe even working with other races like Elves or even magically attuned raced to figure out new stuff.

 

[Earth-Destroyer]

Pretty sure power stones are made by folding a wind in upon itself again, and again, to condense it into a physical form. But creating a power stone takes months for a experienced wizard of the empire to make one.

But they are very useful as when released they count as a power dice that automatically rolls a 6, but does not count for magical mishaps. Theoretically with enough powerstones anyone could manage even the most complex rituals without fail. Like the turn your body into living gold spell, sure you need something on the order of 40 stones for that but with a proper production rate 1-2 people could make the jump to immortality a year.

 

[Red Bovine]

So thinking that giving the Skaven the role of 'alternate' researchers, scholar and scientists would make sense when you think about it. The Old Ones are noted to do things a certain way because that's just how they progressed a people. Thing is that their methods aren't actually practical for most of the other races. So having a race who could go down different research trees early on means that a research race would be able to start from scratch. On top of that them not being able to use magic conventionally would force them to go down new avenues the Old Ones may not have considered.

Them being able to clean up magical toxic disasters could be their secondary purpose since they are uniquely suited for it.

Pretty sure power stones are made by folding a wind in upon itself again, and again, to condense it into a physical form. But creating a power stone takes months for a experienced wizard of the empire to make one.

But they are very useful as when released they count as a power dice that automatically rolls a 6, but does not count for magical mishaps. Theoretically with enough powerstones anyone could manage even the most complex rituals without fail. Like the turn your body into living gold spell, sure you need something on the order of 40 stones for that but with a proper production rate 1-2 people could make the jump to immortality a year.

Click to shrink...

Imagine that for mechanical balance purposes that there would be limit to how they would work mechanically. As in there is just so much power stone bonuses you can stack on something. Besides if it could be used like that imagine the the Elves would have been making and using them constantly like that.

 

[Travler66]

[] Plan: C&D2

Click to shrink...

Do you mind if I give a little constructive criticism of your culture plan?

I have no problems with the Architecture and the Cultural Behavior, it's the Government structure and Clans I have concerns with.

The Government Council feels like it's just Canon Skaven Council of Thirteen, but good. The clans are like, Canon Skaven Clans, but good. For example, Clan Assassins sounds just like Clan Eshin except good. I know its specialized in killing mages, but it doesn't feel like a big difference.

My point is, that the Government and Clans for your plan don't feel that much different from Canon.

 

[Lost Star]

Do you mind if I give a little constructive criticism of your culture plan?

I have no problems with the Architecture and the Cultural Behavior, it's the Government structure and Clans I have concerns with.

The government council feels like it's just Canon Skaven Council of Thirteen, but good. The clans are like, Canon Skaven Clans, but good. For example, Clan Assassins sounds just like Clan Eshin except good. I know its specialized in killing mages, but it doesn't feel like a big difference.

My point is, that the Government and Clans for your plan don't feel that much different from canon.

Click to shrink...

Part of that is admittedly intentional. I do want the rats recognizable as skaven in some ways. That said, I am open to alternative ideas. The clans in particular can be altered. I need to keep within the vote word count, while being descriptive about things too.

Admittedly, thinking about it, I don't need to really describe clans that granularly. I could theoretically go with something like: 'The Skaven have been gifted a library filled with riddles, mysteries, and hidden secrets that encourages them to discover and explore the world.' Then I'd cut out the clan descriptions and add other cultural things.

Would that be better you think?

We could also just redo the clans in general. I like the assassins one, but we can change that to something like anti-magic knight for instance.

 

[Whenyouseeyou]

Wonder how the OG Skaven will react to these Skaven given they will appear since ours will be in arady

 

[Theaxofwar]

The joke is they don't have warpstone laying around.

Click to shrink...

Yeah because they don't have any pet rats to pick up after them, so they have to do it themselves

 

[Voidseer]

Why would they? Warpstone is concentrated raw magic that didn't disperse back into the wind, but instead condensed into physical crystals. The entire warp gate and geomantic network system is meant to prevent stuff like warpstone from forming. It's a dam that controls and filters the flow of magic from the Aethyr, while safely directing it through controlled channels along the network. Excess stuff keeps getting cycled around to prevent it from stagnating or sent back into the Aethyr.

Click to shrink...

It could be done as a way of just in case the geomantic network gets frayed/damaged at which point warpstone may form and need to be cleaned up until repairs are made. After all this whole thing is a just in case, contingency upon contingency world.

 

[Red Bovine]

Don't know why but suddenly had the idea of our Skaven having normal rats and mice as pets. Don't know, just seems like a fun thing to throw in there.

 

[Always Late]

Yes please, I'd like more information on that if possible. Age of Sigmar has something like that exist for each wind. It sounded like an interesting idea.

Click to shrink...

Pretty sure power stones are made by folding a wind in upon itself again, and again, to condense it into a physical form. But creating a power stone takes months for a experienced wizard of the empire to make one.

Click to shrink...

Ok. So Earth has the short, mostly-correct answer. Here's the blurbs that're relevant about Warpstones and Power Stones.

Spoiler: Big block of direct quotes.

No one is entirely sure how Warpstone came into existence. One theory offered by the Loremasters of Hoeth suggests Warpstone was a substance first created by the pre-historic Old Ones to power their inexplicable arcane devices, like the Chaos Gates. The Loremasters theorise that when whatever catastrophe overtook the Old Ones, the great power source was ejected from its place between both the material and immaterial universes. Pure Warpstone, then, is thought to be all the Winds of Magic made into a solid with an extremely random and dangerous influence over all things it touches. In addition to leaking magic into the environment, Warpstone actually draws the Winds of Magic to itself so they swirl around it like a mini-vortex. Depending on the size, age, nature, and positioning of a chunk of Warpstone it can play all manner of tricks upon those with witchsight. Some Wizards have reported becoming blinded by the foul rock, while others claim the substance causes ripples in their visions. Once Warpstone comes to rest upon the mortal world, it attracts to itself the Winds of Magic, sucking them into its core and crushing them together. The longer this goes on, the more dangerous and tainted the Warpstone becomes. The Golden Order regards Warpstone that has sat upon or within the mortal world for any length of time as tainted and increasingly dangerous.

Click to shrink...

High Elves and Power Stones​

The mages of Ulthuan have been creating stones of solidified magic for millennia. Their abilities at doing so far surpass anything that Human Magisters could hope to duplicate. Elven power stones are absolutely flawless and can be of almost any size. The enchanted sword that Loremaster Teclis forged for himself at the time of the last Great Chaos Incursion is fabled to have had eight such gems upon it; one for each of the Winds of Magic. Only such a powerful Elven archmage as Teclis would be able to unlock the power of such a weapon without causing great harm to himself.

Click to shrink...

Although Warpstone is forbidden by law and tradition of the Colleges of Magic, this has nor stopped many of the Colleges experimenting with ways to store amounts of pure magic for future usage. Although every one of the Colleges practice some form of runecraft, Human Magisters are far from expert in the ways of binding magic to items through means of runes. Unlike the Dwarfs, Hunan runecraft tends to have a limited effect and lifespan, and so is not therefore the best way to store large amounts of magical energy. It was the Golden Order thạt first theorized power from a single Wind of Magic could be isolated and forced under an intense artificial pressure, making it into a tangible "stone" of that colour of magic. This stone would not have the raw and dangerous power of Warpstone, as it would only posses the powers and predilections of one of the strands of magic, not all of them. It would be of manageable power and not blinding to Magisters. It was the third Patriarch of the Golden Order, Magister Patriarch Theodor Habermas, who first succeeded in devising a way to fold a strand of Yellow Magic in upon itself again and again, somehow imposing physical laws upon it, until eventually it became like a glistening yellow mist, then a sparkling yellowl iquid, then eventually a kind of semi-translucent golden stone that shone with an inner light. The properties of this stone were marvelous, for it could be used in different quantities as a reagent for any alchemical experiment, and could also be used to power certain devices and magical implements used by the Magister Alchemists of the Golden Order.

Click to shrink...

POWER STONES OF THE COLLEGES OF MAGIC​

The magical stones of power that the Imperial Colleges very rarely manage to produce for their own usage have many different names. Here follow some of the most commonly used:

Stone Name	Wing	Magic College
True Sapphire	Azyr	Celestial College
Endstones	Shysh	Amethyst College
Ghost Amber	Ghur	Amber College
Lumen Stones	Hysh	College of Light
Fire Rubies	Aqshy	Bright College
Goldstone	Chamon	Gold College
Crystal Mist	Ulgu	Grey College
Vitaellum	Ghyran	Jade College

Click to shrink...

CREATING THE POWER STONES​

Each College has its own way of creating stones of power like those mentioned above, though the basic principle of doing so is one of imposing physical laws onto a small fragment of a Wind of Magic. It is important to note chat only the most powerful and experienced Magisters of the Orders can even attempt to create stones of power. They do so only rarely as it is one of the most exacting and exhausting endeavors that a Magister can embark upon. The complex rituals and processes involved in doing so take anywhere from weeks to months. As a result, very few items would have such a stone attached to it, and only full Magisters (Master Wizards) and Wizards Lords would be likely to posses one.

Click to shrink...

Power Stones
Academic Knowledge: Magic
Powers: A magic using character may roll up to two extra d10s above what his Magic characteristic ordinarily allows. A spellcaster with a 1 Magic characteristic could roll 3d10 for his Casting Roll. Once used, the Power Stone is destroyed.
History: The Wizards of the Empire learned the secret of solidifying magic into Power Stones from Teclis himself. With a Power Stone, a Wizard can focus the Wind of Magic to cast some of the most powerful spells with ease. Constructing these stones is extremely difficult, requiring an involved ritual known only to a few Master Wizards or Wizard Lords.

Click to shrink...

Summary+contextualization: The Elves think Warpstone came from the Old Ones tech as the power source. When the Polar Gates first went boom, it threw chunks of the power source across the planet. There may be an initial period of not turning into Dhar, but the substance inherently creates the stagnant curdling for Dhar by drawing the winds of magic into itself and crushing them together. So Warpstone is always bad, it just gets worse over time. The Elves have mastered Power Stones due to long life and institutional knowledge, and don't have the same issues of immediate expenditure. Each Power Stone is a single Wind. If you want to replicate High Magic with every type of stone, you have to be One Of The Greatest Wizards Since Caledor to not Explode Into Daemons. The fundamental concept making a Power Stone is ripping out a piece of magic and commanding it to do the very thing Chaos does not want to do, Obey Ordered Reality. For a race as long-lived as Elves, spending weeks and months on a ritual to take a wind through various states before you wind up with a single Stone is no biggie, to everyone else it's the culmination of their life's work. A Human Power Stone can give a super-charge but is immediately gone. Elf Power Stones don't have the flaws that make it break after a single expenditure. Between the Elves and the Gold Order, a Power Stone being used as a power source for technology is pretty much confirmed possible, bring on The Dakka.

Also, @Red Bovine wanting to make Skaven Runes or Power/Warp Stones into FMA Alchemy is only a small extension of existing material. After the Patriarch guy invented the first human Stone, mundane Alchemists kept trying to recreate it for all the usual lead-to-gold and miracle cure reasons. And since it's pulling a piece of the Realm of Souls into reality, the only difference between FMA's Philosopher's Stone creation process and this is smaller soul-use, the need to impose reality's rule on something antithetical to it, and sourcing that's a tad more ethical and less Chaos-brand ritualistic serial killing/genocide.

 

[inirlan]

[X] Plan: Good boy Skaven

Due to having no magic use trait on the Skaven I'm merely rating them as "okay-ish", but they're slightly more interesting than the blue giants.

I like the six trait hominid suggestion as the next race.

 

[Earth-Destroyer]

Imagine that for mechanical balance purposes that there would be limit to how they would work mechanically. As in there is just so much power stone bonuses you can stack on something. Besides if it could be used like that imagine the the Elves would have been making and using them constantly like that.

Click to shrink...

Their is no real limit apart from having to spend the better part of a year making a single stone. And the time of an experienced wizard is generally to valuable to waste on making them.

 

[Always Late]

Their is no real limit apart from having to spend the better part of a year making a single stone. And the time of an experienced wizard is generally to valuable to waste on making them.

Click to shrink...

Something to keep in mind: Always keep a sharp eye for whether something is being described as being in relation to The Empire of Sigmar or some other faction. Much like 40k, the flagship human and Chaos factions get the majority of the lore and often discuss the others by proxy. Whether our Skaven will be more like human or elves in handling Warp and Power Stones will be down to both the biology and culture vote.

 

[Mannan]

Actually how comprehensive are the education given to the races by the old ones?

After all I doubt the Elves were given all the knowledge of the Old Ones, more likeley they were given a beginner's guide version with awareness of how to advance further.

 

[DecaffeinatedOwl]

[] Plan: Better Fimir:

Click to shrink...

[ ] Plan: Welcome to Estalia Gentlemen MK

Click to shrink...

[] Plan: Mages HATE him

Click to shrink...

[ ] Born Underground V3

[ ] Born Underground With 5 Traits

[ ] Holy Mole-y

Click to shrink...

[] Plan: Multicolored Goat People!

Click to shrink...

[ ] Plan: Beastmen

Click to shrink...

[ ] Plan: Dragonborn

Click to shrink...

[] Plan: Redwall Reborn V2

Click to shrink...

[] Plan: All things end and all things begin

Click to shrink...

[] Plan: Magic Monkeys

Click to shrink...

[ ] Plan: Itxi grubs V2.1, living magical "supplements"

Click to shrink...

[] Plan: Magic Monkeys

Click to shrink...

[] Plan: Some rodents just want to prank the world.

Click to shrink...

[ ] Plan: Alchemy lizards

Click to shrink...

[] OTTERSSSS

Click to shrink...

[ ] Alchemical Engineers

Click to shrink...

[ ] Plan: Friendly little ratties

Click to shrink...

Added to my spreadsheet.

Unfortunately the spreadsheet is broken again, so it's going to take a while before I can actually update.

 

[DecaffeinatedOwl]

Went and transferred to a LibreOffice sheet without the TEXTJOIN character limit. Updated.

 

[Fission Battery]

Added to my spreadsheet.

Unfortunately the spreadsheet is broken again, so it's going to take a while before I can actually update.

Click to shrink...

Don't feel obligated to keep your spreadsheet up to date. Don't put the pressure on yourself.

 

[Whenyouseeyou]

@Fission Battery out of all the races which one has the most potential to be the world stabilizer when chaos arrives

 

[Travler66]

@Fission Battery out of all the races which one has the most potential to be the world stabilizer when chaos arrives

Click to shrink...

We don't know, the point of this quest is worldbuilding. There won't be a single race that can defeat whatever's coming.