Dark Fantasy X Version 1.1.1

I've made some changes to the Dark Fanasy X document. I'm going to review them just a little bit before uploading them; sometimes the editor in me doesn't see problems too soon after writing the stuff that I'm editing in the first place. Among a few other minor things that I did, I removed a big chunk of the appendix on traveling. I've never actually been quite sure why I wrote that stuff. I mean, it mirrored the old Zeb Cook Expert set in many ways, and I thought it'd be kind of useful, but I never used random encounter tables, so I've never been quite sure what possessed me to believe that I needed them here. Some of this editing and updating was sparked by my recent iconics and campaign planning activity; I have an iconic that's a dhampir, but I had no dhampir race! This was really more of a story thing than something that I wanted to reflect mechanically, at first, but I ended up adding it as a race in the appendix, where it's more appropriate. 

I do actually have an alternative travel ruleset that I prefer, which I found on a blog many years ago, and was reminded of recently. But what I'm thinking of doing now is keeping the rulebook more or less as it is, but having travel and some setting stuff all be part of a Dark Fantasy X Companion document, of about the same size as the original book, give or take a few pages. And I'd throw my maps in too.

All in all, it'd be a digital equivalent to one of those boxed sets that used to be popular when I was young, and which seem to be making a bit of a comeback. I don't really know that it'd play much like those, since most of the boxed sets were designed specifically for newbies, but I like having a book of how to play and then a book of optional stuff, including some setting gazetteer stuff, as well as a few optional rules, like traveling.

Also, I made a new character sheet. I did it in LibreOffice Calc, while the original had been done in Write, so it's quite a bit better. The original spreadsheet version, naturally, works as a fillable document, but the pdf version is just to print off and write on, the old fashioned way. When (if) I actually run this, I'd probably make the .ods document available to them, but otherwise, it's only available on request. Everyone else can look at the pdf.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ols2sEepL5KwkiqoapwgiVYEKMfSymqC/view?usp=sharing

I've also, on a bit of a whim since I've been so Hero Forge crazy lately, updated my old Dark Heritage Mk. IV material on the Heresiarchs to the new Dark Fantasy X paradigm. These are supervillains of the highest order. I tend to relate them to the Ten Who Were Taken from Glen Cook's Black Company series of novels. If fantasy were Marvel Superheroes, D&D 5e would be the Avengers, but Dark Fantasy X would be the Daredevil show. However, the Heresiarchs are Avenger's level villains. And yet, here I am, making them part of my campaign planning. That said, I don't necessarily envision that players would have their characters charge in all huzzah! and fight them directly. Hopefully by the time they realize who's pulling the strings, they've figured out some more clever way to defeat them than simply charge at them with their swords.

All of them were originally based, at least in terms of concept, if not in terms of anything else, on some prestige classes from the 3e era of D&D. Each Heresiarch will, therefore, have his concept noted.

There are rules for Heresiarch as a monster in the monster list for DFX. However, each of them probably needs a special rule added for the concept that he's embodying.

Amrruk the Ancient (Oozemaster) (Masters of the Wild) His actual race and culture are unknown.  Amrruk may be the oldest of all sorcerers, a primal magician who existed before any of the modern nations even had their roots planted.  Some even believe him to predate the existence of humanity altogether; either as a Neanderthal or even some older, more primal being.  His involvement in affairs is rare, but his strange and bizarre tastes and appearance make him, along with Kadashman, among the most disturbing to behold.

Arzana, Clad in Black (Blighter) (Masters of the Wild) Arzana appears as a girl, little more than 12 or 13 years old, running naked and filthy through the wild places of the world, or clad in shadow and a rags, and her long, matted black hair.  She rarely speaks in words that anyone else can understand.  Nobody knows the source of her fury and paranoia relative to the forest, but she seems especially keen to destroy it whenever possible.  She makes no home, that anyone knows about anyway, but is most frequently spotted in the deserts, or high in the mountains above the tree line.

Bartolommeo the Many-Angled (Alienist) (Tome and Blood, and Complete Arcane).  Bartolommeo is a disturbingly post-human creature, made up of of hissing, whirring metallic parts and alien appendages as much as human flesh and blood.   Bartolommeo is completely insane, but luckily spends most of his time in a torpor-like slumber.

Demma Mennefer, the Gnomic (Fate Spinner) (Tome and Blood, Complete Arcane) A cautious sorceress who spends her time plotting massive webs of conspiracy that stretch for centuries.  Her apparent lack of overt action has caused many to underestimate her power.  She is the most driven by fear; fear of death, fear of loss of control. Her powers are in many ways based on seeing beyond what her mortal eyes would show her, so she usually keeps them covered... assuming she still has them at all.

Esmeraude, She Who Ushers In the Apocalypse (Elemental Savant—fire) (Tome and Blood) Esmeraude claims to frequently visit the mythical City of Brass, from which the jann claim their inhuman heritage comes.  Whether this is true or not, she clearly is obsessed with fire, and has an unnatural control over it.  There is still a city, located in the Boneyard, that is nothing more than blackened ruins and molten stone, supposedly the target of her ire many years ago.  Esmeraude is a girlish, exotic beauty in appearance, but fickle and short-tempered.

Hutran Kutir, the Hex-King (Eldritch Knight) (3.5 DMG) As the founder of Baal Hamazi, and (maybe) even the entire kemling race, Hutran Kutir has been one of the more active of the Heresiarchs in the past, but he has been sealed and sleeping for many ages. Rumors about of his return, somewhere in the Daemon Wastes.

Jairan Neferirkare, the Soulless (Infernalist) (No Quarter #14).  An alabaster woman of unearthly, unbelievable beauty, Jairan is most known for her long and fertile association with daemons of various kinds.  Fickle and vain, Jairan can also be among the most charismatic and charming of the Heresiarchy, when she so pleases.  In the past, she ruled in Hyperborea, and she is probably the result of the curse that now sets Hyperboreans apart from humanity.

Kadashman, He Who Peers Into the Void (Alienist) (Tome and Blood and Complete Arcane)  Much more contemplative and outward looking than Bartolommeo, Kadashman rarely acts in this world.  His efforts and energy are spent peering into the Spaces Between, and he claims to frequently travel the Realms Beyond.  Accompanied by a variety of mind-blasting servitors, Kadashman is among the most disquieting and bizarre of the major sorcerers.

Kefte Taraan, Mistress of Forgotten Secrets (Pale Master) (Tome and Blood and Liber Mortis) A beautiful young woman, at least to appearances, this vile necromancer has an unnatural affinity for--and some say, perverse attraction to--the dead.  Her association with the long dead and restless spirits has, however, granted her access to a wealth of knowledge that her colleagues can only dream about.

Sébastien, He of the Beast Aspect (Acolyte of the Skin) (Tome and Blood and Complete Arcane)  A gigantic, hairy post-human demon, Sébastien is a predator, who loves eating his victims, and in doing so, retains his immortality. 

Siggeir the Flesheater (Flesheater) (Dragon Magazine #300)  This savage beast was once consort to Jairan Neferirkare.  When he was freed of her domination, he hid until he was able to amass sufficient power to challenge her.  Their battle ruined and cursed Hyperborea to this day, but Jairan was overthrown from her throne.  Despite this, the two remain somewhat fond of each other.  They don't trust each other, certainly, but they remain uneasy allies in many things.  Siggeir also seems to suffer from the curse of ghoulism, but rather than wilt under the appalling things he is made to do by the curse, he embraces them as the source of much of his power. 

The Master of Vermin (Vermin Lord) (Book of Vile Darkness) Surrounded by filth, insects, spiders, and rats, the nameless Master of Vermin is another disquieting and disgusting member of the Heresiarchy, who rarely appears in his natural form.  What exactly his concerns are, or what his intentions, plots and conspiracies may be geared towards, are anyone's guess.  Like Amrruk the Ancient, he seems almost beyond (or beneath) concerning himself with the world of mortals, and lives a more primal existence.