 |
| A city of wonder and light. Art By: Yakov Chernikov |
Pictures Mangled
by Me: Any picture with this in its caption means it is a collage
I made using 19th and early 20th century illustrations. All these
illustrations are public domain, meaning I didn't rob anyone by using
these pictures for my own gains.
Author's Note:
This is a more complete, and
edited, version of my Stellatine write up. I am still trying to work
out how to make these guys in Into the Odd and Pits & Perils, any
advice would be greatly appreciated. I used the Pathfinder Race
Builder rules to create the stats for the game, but I had to make up
my own traits, so I am unsure how balanced they are, advice on this
would be appreciated as well.
LINK to
previous, and unedited, Stellatine writeup.
Beneath the City is
void, and darkness covers its depths. And the spirit of the City
moved over the abyss, casting its image upon it. From the reflection
came the spirit of the Stellatine, from the void came their
physicality. (Ad Initio 1: 2 – 3)
 |
| A woman dressed for Spark Night. Art By: Leon Bakst |
They are the
Stellatine, the darkness of their skin broken by points of prismatic
light. Humanoid in form, their skin a quintessential night,
androgynous unless self-willed from it. Their form is mutable,
constructing from their own light new features and even 'appendages'
to fit their own identity. Blank faces morphing neon features,
creating identities out of light.
The Stellatine have
a demeanor as bright as the light of their many faces, always ready
to experience a new sensation. Despite their current liveliness, they
were once the dour caretakers of the Infinite City, moving from
neighborhood to neighborhood enveloped in dark cloaks. At the end of
the Storyteller Wars they changed, somehow freed from a weight that
kept them subdued.
Claiming that their
god and creator, the City itself, had freed them from their toil to
live the lives they were denied as part of their service. From their
emancipation the Engineer Kraken and Labor Nautilus arrived through
the city gates to pick up their old toils.
 |
| A man garbed for the coming festival. Art By: Leon Bakst |
They are the
founders of Spark Night, ostensibly to celebrate the end of
the Storyteller Wars, though it seems to have been founded to simply
celebrate the beauty of life. On this night the Stellatine come
together to wreath the city in lights, outlining every building and
street in prismatic illumination.
During the festival
men and women dress in as little as possible, propriety is thrown to
the wayside, painting themselves with light itself. Horded during the
rest of the year, the Stellatine freely hand out these luminous
pigments for men and women to wear, with true artists of the medium
giving an idealized form for a few hours. At the setting of the sun
until its next rise, the city becomes a carnival that can range from
innocent entertainments to neighborhood wide acts of carnal
pageantry.
 |
| Someone made luminous by Stellatine makeup and magic. Art By: Odilon Redon |
In the city, the
cobbled streets are smoothed to lanes of velvet night. Broken bits of
glass, scattered in the destruction of castoff bottles, become
pinpoints of starlight in the shifting festival lanterns. People,
dressed in bright and varied colors move up and down the under-lit
sidewalks. The cloth they wear now light itself, luminous makeup
smoothing skin and sharpening features, leaving tracers in the wake
of their passing. Everyone a Nagel portrait, perfect in lanterns' dim
glow. In dawn's slow radiance people stumble home, their paint fading
in morning's light, some abandoning temporary lovers, others propped
upon one another to sleep off the headaches that are soon to follow.
On the other nights
of the year, the Stellatine fill the pubs, clubs, and theaters,
filling them with the light of their bodies and personalities. Their
voices and movements casting out their radiance in a way that has
little to do with light. They are the quintessential life of the
party, but find difficulty in places and situations where grandiose
acts are not possible.
 |
| A Stellatine adopting a more feminine form. Picture Mangled By: Me |
OSR
/ AD&D / LotFP
+/- 0 Strength (3 /
18)
+/- 0 Dexterity (3 /
18)
+/- 0 Constitution
(3 / 18)
+/- 0 Intelligence
(3 / 18)
- 2 Wisdom (3 / 16)
+2 Charisma (8 / 19)
Special Abilities
-
Faerie Fire:
1/Day per Level – Caster level equal to character level.
Infravision:
60
feet.
Reduced
Needs: The
Stellatine have no need to breathe, eat, or drink. They do require
sleep.
Fear
No Light: The
Stellatine cannot be blinded.
Identities
of Light: The
Stellatine may create faces and sexual characteristics from the light
of their bodies, allowing them to express different identities. The
faces are always the same, though they may subtly change to express
different sexes.
Drawbacks
-
Light
is Life: Stellatine
need light as others need food. They must bask in sunlight, or the
Light spell, for an hour a day or they begin to suffer from
starvation as per system rules. A Stellatine may subsist on the light
from torches or campfires, but require two hours of uninterrupted
time in order to gain sustenance. They may also gain nourishment from
candle or lamplight, but require three hours in order to gain
sustenance.
The
Light of Truth: The
Stellatine are particularly bad at hiding their emotions, the lights
of their bodies always shifting to match their particular mood. As
such, they take a -3 / -15% / -1 out of 6 (depending on the system
used) on all rolls requiring them to hide their feelings.
 |
| A Stellatine in masculine form. Pictures Mangled By: Me |
Pathfinder
/ DnD 3.X
I
have put question marks next to traits that I created in order to
express the race according to my ideas. I had to guess at what these traits might be worth.
Type:
Outsider
(Native) – 3 RP
Size:
Medium
– 0 RP
Base
Speed: 30
feet – 0 RP
Ability
Modifiers: +2
Dex, +2 Cha, -2 Wis – 0 RP
Languages:
Common
and Stellatine (Linguist) – 1 RP
Racial
Traits:
Lightbringer:
Stellatine are immune to
light-based blindness and dazzle effects, and are treated as one
level higher when determining the effects of any light-based spells
or effects they cast (including spell-like and supernatural
abilities). If a character has an Intelligence of 10 or higher, they
may use Faerie Fire at
will as a spell-like ability. - 2 RP.
Darkvision: 60
feet. (Native Outsider)
Reduced
Needs: The
Stellatine have no need to breathe, eat, or drink. They do require
sleep. - 3 RP (?)
Identities
of Light: The
Stellatine may create faces and sexual characteristics from the light
of their bodies, allowing them to express different identities. The
faces are always the same, though they may subtly change to express
different sexes. - 1 RP (?)
Drawbacks:
Light
is Life: Stellatine
need light as others need food. They must bask in sunlight, or the
Light spell, for an hour a day or they begin to suffer from
starvation as per system rules. A Stellatine may subsist on the light
from torches or campfires, but require two hours of uninterrupted
time in order to gain sustenance. They may also gain nourishment from
candle or lamplight, but require three hours in order to gain
sustenance. - 1 RP (?)
The
Light of Truth:
The Stellatine are particularly bad at hiding their emotions, the
lights of their bodies always shifting to match their particular
mood. As such, they take a -2 on all rolls requiring them to hide
their feelings. - 1 RP (?)
Total:
8
RP
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