Populating the Southern Reaches

Some art and a short update on the ecology of the Southern Reaches

9/1/20211 min read

Some new art of the Wavebreaker Mantle (as shown below this post), courtesy of VTTP/BoneDust on ArtStation is the only major update currently, displaying both it's size and hinting at some of it's capabilities. Fairly sure that the next piece I want done is the Stonesingers, I might get back in touch with Joe about that one, but first I need to replenish some funds.

Beyond that I've been putting some thought into the unique flora and fauna of the Southern Reaches, with a focus specifically on the area surrounding the Stonegraves. Glass Lilies being crystalline formations with a passing resemblance to the plant they're named for. These plants forgo the usual photosynthesis instead drawing heat in from the surrounding area and using that to assist in breaking down carbon for sustenance. They can also be used as a signpost for heightened radiation emissions, with clusters present in the more dangerous areas to absorb the latent energy. Especially canny adventurers can spot these and identify the area as dangerous with the petals of the glass lilies turned to face the source of the emission. Meanwhile, in the depths below, explorers can find themselves confronted by the Phages, monstrous creatures that stalk the halls of the labyrinth below, a twisted mixture of mammalian and insectile physiology that suggests a created origin. With six limbs and functionally blind, the phages often lie in wait and ambush their prey, though they have been known to hunt for prey. The phages seemingly hunt for pleasure or as some kind of internal directive, seeming to feed off the radiation from the lower, mostly collapsed layers of the Stonegraves.

Other than that I've been sick or distracted by Pathfinder Kingmaker, so I've stalled a bit on work on Delve Into The Stonegraves. Whoops.