Lair Teaser: Taiyougami, The Majestic Sun (Patreon)

Across cultures, the supreme symbol of power has always been the radiant star providing light, warmth, and life to all: the ever-shining sun.

An advanced Dyson Sphere created during the ancient Godwar by the joint labor of East Asian divinities, Taiyougami, the Majestic Sun, is a giant tribute to the power of the sun. Powered by a radiant artificial star, Taiyougami is a weapon of war, meant to serve as a throne of power, barracks for interstellar armies, and a mobile fortress to smite down the enemies of the gods with heavenly flames. Covered in various protections and possessing a devastating Star Cannon, Taiyougami fears no one. 

Taiyougami is rare among Lairs in its mobility: a space station smaller than Earth's moon, Taiyougami can move across galaxies at immense speed, and thus challenge the dragons on their home turf.

- Trials of the Zodiac

Now transformed into a testing ground for worthy Players, and a trump card against the Concordian Empire, Taiyougami will only bend to heroes who show key virtues dear to its builders: wisdom, bravery, honor, resilience, and duty. To access the throne and meet the Lair's Sponsor, Players must face a mighty challenge: the twelve members of the Zodiac. 

The members of the Chinese Zodiac (although, ironically, some of them aren't Chinese) are a powerful group of demigods, and like all families, quarrel and bicker; unfortunately, demigods feuds mean epic conflict and magical disasters, which have overtaken Taiyougami's levels. 

Each of the Zodiac is their own being, and some can be gentle friends to hang out with...

While others will be fearsome obstacles...

Only by proving themselves to all members of the Zodiac, and bringing peace back to Taiyougami, will players prove themselves worthy of its amazing power. 

Many of the Zodiac inspired stories about cultivating immortality, mastering martial arts and the power of Chi, or long, dangerous quests in search of mythical places or items. To earn their favor, Players will often have to do a version of those tales, with dangers both old and new.

You are warned.

Here be dragons. 

- Inhabitants and Monsters

Due to being created by East Asian deities, Taiyougami is populated from monsters from Chinese, Japanese and Korean folklore. Divided into the various levels of Taiyougami, they can be the minions of the more ruthless Zodiac members, workers managing the systems of Taiyougami, or violent beasts. All of them are however intelligent, and it would be a mistake to underestimate them.  

From man-eating Yokai to mischevious spirits, Taiyougami is a dangerous place. Of course, Taiyougami is not a monolith, and quite a few of its inhabitants, while dangerous, are either neutral or benevolent. Some may be martial artists seeking to cultivate their skills through honorable challenges, and eventually, immortality. Others are loners who just want to play banjo in peace without those pesky humans bothering them. 

Who knows. Maybe some of them just want to have tea and good company.

- Lair

Taiyougami, created by both technology and nature deities, represent perfect harmony between respecting nature and the forces of civilization. Some areas have thus been turned into garden, providing oxygen to its inhabitants and a home to natural spirits.

Other areas, closer to the sun's burning core, are hellish forges where the heat alone is a lethal danger, and fiery beasts lurk below rivers of molten metal. 

Of course, more than a tribute to sorcery and ancient myths, Taiyougami is first and foremost an advanced space fortress; hidden behind the superficial veneer of Wuxia training grounds, hide advanced technological armories, monitoring rooms, and hidden trials. Fighter supernatural martial artists is difficult; fighting them while gravity increases artificially is harder. 

All in all, Taiyougami is a strange, closed world unto itself, home to thousands of creatures and whose full exploration will be a trial unto itself. But the prize that awaits those who conquer it...

Who doesn't want an interstellar cannon? 

- Quest Poll for Patrons

Tier 3 Patrons and above can send Quest Proposals once a month, and this month's poll will decide which special quest the Dragonslayers will accomplish in July; as those quests happen in Taiyougami, quests which cannot happen inside (quests involving attacking  a Concordian official for example) will not be picked for the Poll. Otherwise, if you have a sun or martial art inspired proposal, feel free to post it in the Discord Quest board for submission.

The Quest proposals for Taiyougami will close on June 10th, which is the day where I will publish the Poll. 

That's all folks!