Liang Mark, all the art for this post is from him.
The needle grass plains cover nearly the entire western edge of the nine rivers, ranging from from the white cliffs of the southern coast, to the iron peaks of the northern mountains.
Their namesake is the needle grass, a family of grasses grown from iron lattices (as the soil is known to be poor in most other elements). While flexible when walking slowly, breaking them with rapid movements will result in sharp metallic shards splintering off.
Vehicles and animals not adapted to the conditions will break down within minutes. The native inhabitants fashion thick suits from layered cloth, leather and iron plates, and cover their faces near permanently to prevent splinters blown by the heavy winds which mark the region from piercing their eyes. Domestic animals will have extremely thick fur around their legs and faces (like a Bison or Belgian Draft Horse ) and are adapted to digest the nutrient poor grass.
The needle grass plains mostly have low population density, with people living a nomadic lifestyle, though many cities in the southern coast have subsisted off fishing and agriculture for centuries. In recent times this has been further exacerbated by the destruction of Karakorum, the only great city* in the needle grass plains.
Despite their comparatively small population, the needle grass plains is still highly militarily significant as most adults are trained in some way in fighting.
Officially, it is under the control of the sunken city, though this has never been concretely true. Before the war of the yellow throne it was split between several hundred tribes loosely arranged into a half dozen or so cultural groups.
This is about to change, the ramp up of the joint dominion military force is not subtle, and many both hope for an end to the war, and fear what complete dominion control of the plains will entail. Several of the more remote western regions have also been sold to the emperor.
*Great cities are defined by having at least 10 million inhabitants.
The northern forests which blanket the entire northern half of the nine rivers are deterred only lightly by the harsh conditions of the plains. Near the northern regions, the winds abate, and the earth grows rich enough to support forests. These are still not quite as large as their eastern kin.
Six paths from the needle grass plains
-A couple notes first of all, this is intended to be used with a system that has 2-3 actions, or a class with 2-3 attacks. One attack may be translated into one ap. This class was made to be used with these paths.
-In addition, one thaum = 1MD.
-You'll also want to replace any d12s with d6s, otherwise damage will likely be excessive. Carrion gods (the system this was built for) uses d12s for HD rolls, so this should be proportional.
-Charge deals 1 damage per 3m/10ft moved towards them in a straight line this round. Impale prevents half of all healing until ripped out (this is more useful in the nine rivers than in most settings, since cancer and demons both love healing themselves).
The dark path of the True Dragon Sorkhaghtan: Who wields True death and sleeps on a field of bones.
Ψ Knight of the yellow throne
All those who take this path are hunted, and may only pay back their debt with service. In exchange, if you take this path, you may choose a second path from the cultural paths below. Gain the first two techniques from that path and one from this one, you get this path as a free slot if you complete both.
Stance - Shar Takhil, Yellow-throne: If you have entered within 6m(20ft) of an enemy this turn, ignore cover, shields, and concealment when attacking that target. In addition your ranged attacks gain charge 1.
Technique - Morin Alagh, Horse slayer: Add advantage on a ranged attack within 6m(20ft) made at a larger creature.
Technique - Yalakh, Victory: Turn an attack with advantage into a critical hit.
Ranged strike - Zeleg, Rust-eater: Reduce the dr of a piece of iron or steel based armour by half for one hour. If the armour is destroyed during this period, it crumbles to dust.
Lesson - Yas Zuun, Needle: You may carve the bones of a fresh corpse into 10 arrows or bullets given half an hour. If the projectile already has impaling, it now prevents 100% of healing, instead of half. If it does not have impaling, it instead gains it.
Ammunition made this way automatically detonates in the hands and maim the fingers of those without this path.
Ψ Tsagaan Khad: Bleached Cliff
As the most populous and prosperous of the clans before the war, they were first to be conquered and subjugated. And in time most became known as conquerors themselves. On the day of arrival, when the True Dragon that would become their queen awakened, the sky grew dark, and ten spells were weaved into the clouds and cursed the land below. The combined might of all the armies of the White Cliffs was crushed, and those who survived broke and ran and ran and ran. Casting off their armour and laying their horses to rest in order to flee longer and keep hold of their meagre thread of life..
-Those who learn this path may not become a knight of the abyss.
-The techniques must be learned in sequential order from top to bottom.
Stance - Wave crashes against shore: Add the strength of your mount to yours and gain charge 1 when making melee attacks.
Melee strike - Wave pushes up the valley (1-3ap): [ap]+[movement actions taken this turn]d6 bludgeoning and knockback damage. If your target has less strength, knock them prone.
Technique - Tide devours cliff: After moving over a prone target deal, [number of medium slots you and your mount occupy together]d6 damage. Write the amount down in advance when you get this technique.
Technique - Dark swallows father (1+ thaums): A [sum]HD target who you have killed explodes into a fountain of black water. They are whisked away to the ocean within the fourth dimension and will stay there if not rescued. The entrance lasts [dice] rounds, and pours out 1000L of water every round.
Ψ Altus:
Style of the northern tribes, who live on the border to the graveyard of stars.
Stance - Rime muse: Your hearing becomes 10x stronger, and you may whistle at 10x volume with perfect pitch and control. In addition, you can hear and whistle ultrasonic and subsonic sounds. You may also listen to ice in order to tell its internal structure and, at short range, detect people stepping on it. The range is up to 1km in complete quiet, and 30m in most cases.
Stance - Basal slip: You can apply 3m/s/round of acceleration to a cubic meter of ice, up to 20m/round (or three times that much while going downhill).
For each 10 fold increase in volume this is applied to, your acceleration per cubic meter applied is halved. There is no limit to the amount of volume you can affect, or to the amount of people who can do this on the same volume of ice.
Technique - Slough: Transfer falling damage to a creature you land on.
Iif you are falling while on a block of ice, you can guide it with basal slip and target any creature impacted by your controlled ice block.
Impaling strike - Heat shock (1ap): Deal 1d12 cold damage, in addition, they may not use stances for 2 rounds.
Lesson - Gift of the crevices: You may pull out basic melee weapons and arrows from ice. These have no protection against melting.
Lesson - Skate: You may control the level of friction applied to your feet, from 1/10th to 10x. This extends to your boots. While skating, your max running speed is doubled while in a straight line, and you are doubly affected by forced movement.
Soul etching - Otzi : Sleep for a week beneath black ice, at least 10 m deep, and transparent enough for moonlight to still reach you. You will not wake naturally if not unearthed by another.
While you sleep, you do not age.
In addition you gain immunity to cold.
Ψ White star
The path of the chosen of the stars. Unlike the other clans, they are not tied to a specific location, instead following the trail of meteorites to harvest and protect them. By now, most which resided with the plains have fled to take shelter with the northern or eastern tribes.
Requires a spear or ranged weapon with a kinetic or light based projectile.
Stance - Starlight prism: You may change the trajectory of your attacks up to 3 times mid air. In addition you ignore shields and concealment. You may use the line of sight of allies when attacking.
Technique - Comet (3ap) (1+ thaums] (300m): Deal 2d12+[sum] force damage in an [dice]m radius, with 10* damage against unprocessed rock, earth or ore.
You may delay the landing (but not firing) of the attack by 1 in order to arc your shot and multiply range by 10. You may do this multiple times.
Technique - Veer: When you miss an attack, make it again at a different target, drawing line of sight from 1m behind the target.
Technique - Blink: Save to negate a ranged or spiritual hit. Regardless of the outcome you teleport to a point of your choice within 6m and line of sight after the attack is resolved.
Technique - White light charge(1ap): Forcefully move yourself in a straight line equal to your walk speed, then make a free attack with charge 1.
Soul etching - Gift of the stars: Burn a tiny slot of meteoric iron and inhale the smoke. Normally this would be impossible, but it can be done easily if you have the completed path.
-You fall at half speed and gain resistance -2 to force and radiant. In addition, while jumping you land soundlessly, gain weakness x2 to forced movement, and do not take or deal collision damage.
-You are inherently more likely to encounter meteoric iron.
Ψ Tegegur - Oucast
An exiled people, who returned to stand aside those which had cursed them.
These must be learned in order.
If you complete the entire path and etching for Ψ Hermes or Ψ Resilience, gain +1MD.
Lesson: You gain half fame from all sources. In exchange, you may bond a bird as a familiar, which benefits from your immortality.
Stance - Birdseye: You may share sight with your familiar. Ignore cover and concealment. If your accuracy is less than 4, then it becomes 4.
Technique - Whirlwind: Your ranged weapons gain multiattack for a round.
Ranged metallic strike - Sky snake bite: Reduce speed to 6m or half, whichever is lower. This can be cured with an action and a blade by taking [target HD] bleeding damage.
Technique - Slip: After being hit by an attack, immediately make a movement action. Can be used on any ally within 6m of you or your familiar.
Technique - Kindness without honesty (1 thaum): Negate a hit, the hit is inflicted with twice as much force after 1 minute.
Ψ Val - Resilience
Custodians of the eastern regions, and of the burning river. The western tribes are one of the few clans which remain unconquered, and have fought fiercely for many years. Currently they are being supported by both the flayed lord, the exile tribes, remnants from the other clans, and all those who would wish for the war to remain far from home.
Stance - Futility of flame: Exhaustion increases your hit rolls instead of decreasing them. In addition, your attacks can also deal acid or fire damage.
Technique - Arrow of screaming death (4ap) (1+ thaums) (2 exhaustion): 100m line, 6d12+[sum]+[strength] piercing/force damage. Smoke is cleared and everyone in a 12 meter cone in front of the target and marksman are deafened.
Unless shot from an indestructible bow, it breaks.
Technique - Jet: When you take piercing damage from an attack within 6m, push yourself 6m away and deal 6 fire damage to the attacker.
Technique - Spine serpent(1ap): Deal [self HD]+1d12 force damage to a target in close combat. In addition you may take and deal a point of dismemberment to convert the damage to burning or bleeding.
Requires an organic skeleton.
Lesson: You may cure a point of exhaustion as a free action, this deals [HD] damage to yourself.
Soul anchor - Serpent kin:
-Gain resistancex0.5 to magic. You are immune to domination, memetic agents, charm, and psychic damage.
-Gain heat vision
-Gain weakness coldx2.
-If taken by a serpent soul, gain +1MD instead.
Some regions are too toxic for even the grass to thrive, though bacterial and archean life is always happy to supplant it. This is even more true for the region near the burning river, which has its own separate biosphere.
The exiled tribes, while despised by most humans, remain a people exceptionally beloved by the gods.
