|
King of Solomon posted:My big issue with using an Aerostat Venus strategy in this setting is I'm a big worried it's a bit too similar to the space colonies. I do want there to be a meaningful distinction between the terrestrial humans and the people living in the space colony chain. Following things I've read in Analog in recent years, "aerostat" Venus can be very interesting and distinct. Sure, you don't want to be caught outside without some protection, but it's more of a hazmat than a pressure suit at those altitudes, there's the whole question of whether you want to somehow be anchored to one place or just migrate with the winds, how to deal with storms, the fact that travel is a bit easier because you have atmosphere within which to use wings, etc. It diverges both from living in an outer space habitat and being on the surface of a planet in interesting ways.
|
#
?
Jan 23, 2021 21:17
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 9, 2024 19:41 |
|
|
Absurd Alhazred posted:Following things I've read in Analog in recent years, "aerostat" Venus can be very interesting and distinct. Sure, you don't want to be caught outside without some protection, but it's more of a hazmat than a pressure suit at those altitudes, there's the whole question of whether you want to somehow be anchored to one place or just migrate with the winds, how to deal with storms, the fact that travel is a bit easier because you have atmosphere within which to use wings, etc. It diverges both from living in an outer space habitat and being on the surface of a planet in interesting ways. Oh, that's a great point. More than just being distinct from space colony living, it allows for a distinction between life on Mars and life on Venus. I'm definitely going to need to read more about this.
|
|
#
?
Jan 23, 2021 21:25
|
|
|
King of Solomon posted:Oh, that's a great point. More than just being distinct from space colony living, it allows for a distinction between life on Mars and life on Venus. I'm definitely going to need to read more about this. One serialized Analog story in particular, which really brought floaty Venus to life for me, has been published as a novel: Derek Künsken's House of Styx. There were a lot of short stories by other authors, too, but I'm not sure if they're collected anywhere or are otherwise easily accessible.
|
|
#
?
Jan 23, 2021 21:35
|
|
|
A Venus aerostat would be quite different from either a surface-bound city or an orbital space habitat. Planetside has abundant access to mineral resources, and even in space there are captured asteroids to mine, but Venus has all that entirely inaccessible, if you fell from an aerostat you'd die halfway down to the ground, so almost all their building materials would have to be sourced either from imported metals or maybe plastics produced from atmospheric chemicals, which means everything's gonna be built as resource-light as possible. Which is handy, because unlike Mars you don't need as much radiation shielding, and while it has to be air-tight, it doesn't need to be anywhere near as bulky as, say, an O'Niel Cylinder, it's really just a big balloon you live inside. Also, local geography is a consideration, or more accurately the lack thereof. Mars or Earth-based colonies have fixed positions relative to one another. Orbital habitats are mobile, yes, but they're gonna be in stable orbits so even if their relative positions change, it will be in a predictable fashion. Venusian habs will have a more chaotic relation to each other, guided by wind and weather and coming and going in unpredictable intervals. This might engender a certain nomadic, mercantile attitude in its inhabitants, eager to trade for rare and valuable materials whenever the weather throws them into close proximity, an exchange made easier by not needing a full-on space suit to go outside and having the advantage of a thick areodynamic-friendly atmosphere allowing you to fly or balloon around without ever having to deal with rough terrain or airless void. In terms of relation to other space nations, Venus DOES have a lot of N2 and CO2 to trade with anyone wanting to terraform Mars or fill their space station with air, and they certainly have a shitload of solar energy to work with to power all this. And every ton of gas they scoop out of their atmosphere makes their planet a little bit closer to conventionally habitable. They might dream, one day, of finally stepping foot on the dirt of a world they've lived on all their lives.
|
|
#
?
Jan 23, 2021 23:27
|
|
|
Reminded that this thread exists and as such I should put some ideas about designing something like the whimsical high fantasy of a magical school or similar whose students go out into the fantasy world to do research projects, gather magical ingredients, and get up to no good. I joked about how "in grade 5, all wizards get a gun", but the thought exercise of adding some kind of power control relative to educational grade levels in a magic school is extremely silly. When thinking about settings I like to pull a bunch of different sources together into some kind of conceptual idea locker and without going back to really refresh myself on why I thought that might be related by re-consuming the material, just start thinking about what stuck out the most from those things that I liked and riff it from there. For a magic school, it certainly demands you need to have an idea and structure to the magic in the setting you're in, such that there are rules, teachable formulae, and so on which enables people to harness that magical power. Perhaps it's not a large school like a Harry Potter type university. Instead, it could be a very small wizard tower with a few instructors and a handful of live-in students. These could be potential player characters on either end depending on what kind of game you wanted to play. I'd also want to consider the following things: - How does society treat the school? - How do other schools treat the school? - Is there a disciplinary system? If so, what happens when your wizard with a gun goes to detention? - Is there some kind of ranking system? Popular in East Asian media like xianxia and shonen anime, maybe someone's grade directly corresponds to their power level (which, conveniently, is only one interpretation of a measure of worth so player characters can buck the system from square one) - Does the school mirror the structure of a real world curricula? Cultural events? Calendar? School settings are interesting because they are familiar and provide a clear timetable for story arcs and beginning/ending things, as well as rotating characters in and out - transfer students, graduates, etc. - Does the school have formal or recreational competition in something (Quidditch, Psycho Badminton, Thaumatological Debate League)? - How do students and faculty let off steam, get sustenance, and do mundane things? What makes those stand out from a real world analog? (Ghost cafeteria ladies, a gumball machine that spits out full course meals, indoor reverse skydiving, outdoor sky fishing) - What fantastic locations are in the school? - What unsolvable mysteries or legends are in the school? The more I start pulling on this and letting my brain wander the more I get into things like "Well, what marks the passage of time at school on a day to day basis" and "do they use real bells in their school chimes, or some kind of magical anomaly". Real world research leads to interesting things on these seemingly minor details that help to flesh out the setting though. I dunno, just some food to kick off another setting discussion perhaps. What would you think about when designing a magic school? Does it change based on what you're designing it for, like for a tabletop RPG setting or a published book setting?
|
|
#
?
Feb 6, 2021 10:41
|
|
|
One thing which might open new avenues for consideration: in my experience when a magic school is involved, the protagonists (in fiction) or players (in game) are almost always students, so the things we think about when considering magic schools are things which are student facing, like subjects, houses, sports and such. What changes when we consider a magical school where the players are teachers? Are the teachers masters of their environment? Often a magic school is full of secrets, are the teachers 'read in' on them, or as much a mystery to them as the students? Do they routinely rescue their charges from danger? Do the kids routinely create danger? Do the teachers have adventures away from the school, or are their adventures part of the curriculum (i.e. will training students be part of the adventure)? Is the school well supplied, or do the teachers often have to go off to source their own basilisk tongues and whatnot? Regarding discipline, even if you can send a magic-gun wielding kid to detention, do the teachers need to worry about how the kid's archwizard parent will react? A more general thought I have is that in Europe at least, the establishment-facing public/boarding school that most magical schools are based on wasn't really a thing until well into the early modern period. If you were part of the nobility pre-18th century, you'd almost certainly just be hiring tutors for your kids. Early schools were for the middle class; guild members, clergy, and bureaucrats. So if you have a relatively traditional medieval/renaissance feel to your setting, an important question to consider is "do nobles send their kids here instead of hiring tutors, and if so, why?", that changes the feel of a school quite a bit, I think. Are these kids with incredible power growing up in a system where their parents expect them to be merchants and priests, or lords and ladies? Is there a mix of these two classes in the school (again, if so, why don't the powerful have their own school)?
|
|
#
?
Feb 6, 2021 15:34
|
|
|
Part of answer those fiddly questions like "why wazzard school in the first place" is probably pretty key on this to make such a setting cohesive. This could be expanded to any major institution that is featured in any setting since it also provides a foundation for how people grow up in that society and treat the world around them (potentially, anyway). There was an interesting (to me) video that I had watched about Monster Hunter and how everybody in that setting is really part of a 'culture of danger' where you not only near giant fire-breathing dinosaurs, but also doing so and having a good time about it. So, if the students (maybe kids, maybe adult students) are regularly creating danger, this means both they and their instructors are used to the 'proximity of the danger', and whether they enjoy it or not, they accept is as a part of their lifestyle, since the alternative is either nonexistent, exceedingly boring, or some other such thing.
|
|
#
?
Feb 6, 2021 21:54
|
|
|
It is a little over two decades since the War of Wood and Stone ended. The Dwarvish Empire of Anvilmar and the northern peoples have mostly moved on from old hatreds. The cities of Anvilmar have become centers of trade and culture. Peace is not absolute however. Bands of thieves, pirates, and fierce creatures roam the coasts and countryside. The lands to the west are free from giant influence for the first time in recorded memory. For those willing to face these perils there is plenty of dangerous but lucrative work to be had. One such band of adventurers finds itself in the city of Blackshield on the southern coast of Anvilmar. A traveling trio of a drow, a teifling and one of the lizardfolk found itself teaming up with a prophetic goblin and a good old boy halfing. Uniting to clean up the remnants of an undead outbreak, they relax and spend some hard earned reward money at a local dive bar... Thus started my current campaign in my homebrew world. Entria is a fantasy take on our own ancient world. The dwarves of Anvilmar are Romans. Drow of Upper Drowlat are magically advanced Persians. Tieflings of Kemet are necromancy gifted Egyptians. Dragonborn are the Greeks who lord over their Lizardfolk underclass. Elves come from the mist shrouded isle of Albionora. Tritons are Atlanteans. I have been slowly writing lore snippets of the various races and lands for my game’s discord. The players have enjoyed the entries I write and it’s pretty fun to just fill out the world. I will admit I heavily borrow from all sorts of sources.
|
|
#
?
Mar 26, 2021 02:56
|
|
|
aldantefax posted:Part of answer those fiddly questions like "why wazzard school in the first place" is probably pretty key on this to make such a setting cohesive. This could be expanded to any major institution that is featured in any setting since it also provides a foundation for how people grow up in that society and treat the world around them (potentially, anyway). My DM and I are doing what this thread is about since he wants to expand on his setting and keep using it for any campaign he runs. There's a disclaimer, though. How "boringly realistic" do you want to be, and how much are politics allowed to enter the discussion? I'm asking because our discussion about "organizations which regulate and teach magic" hit pretty soon a particular point of discussion - magic without strings attached is a tool to exercise power. Such a tool, used at the whim of individuals, is going to create huge social inequality. Therefore it's pretty logical to assume any society which values equality would heavily regulate magic... and that's without even entering into the domain of what a "monopoly on violence" is. That partially answers "why wizard school in the first place" - but, as I said, it really depends on how much you're willing to let political sciences enter the setting. We went further on from this point, but that was an interesting milestone. Char fucked around with this message at 16:44 on Mar 26, 2021 |
|
#
?
Mar 26, 2021 10:46
|
|
|
For doing terraforming in a fantasy exploreable space ala Spelljammer, I've been thinking about using standing portals to the Elemental Plane of Water or the Demiplane of Mud (which I'm pretty sure is real, because everything is real if you read enough sourcebooks). Just glugging out useable muck and fresh water (if you placed it correctly) onto some planar surface somewhere. I'm currently reinventing the wheel on fantasy spaceflight nonsense, plus doing portal adventure shenanigans (there's an old setting my players used for episodic adventurers that relied heavily on a portal network, so I'm recreating the fact in a new fiction) and having an astral plane that's full of the remains of dead gods and haunted-house demiplanes of wizards who have long since died, blossoming protodeities and planar excursions in the form of steadily expanding stellate spheres of various materials is a good playground to let them roll around in. I'm also freely pilfering other settings so I think that the biomechanical cannibal halflings of ancient Athas will end up in the mix, as well as thri-kreen of either devoutly alien or extremely French disposition. spider bethlehem fucked around with this message at 00:10 on Mar 27, 2021 |
|
#
?
Mar 27, 2021 00:08
|
|
|
Char posted:My DM and I are doing what this thread is about since he wants to expand on his setting and keep using it for any campaign he runs. I think being realistic isn't boring at all. You can mine some fantastic ideas from the real world and part of the ideas of things like wazzard school will always have abstractions - you're not going to run a fantasy school in real time minute by minute, so things like the downtime of walking from one class to another or compiling lesson plans, funding requests, PTA meetings etc. could be considered boring... ...Or could they be opportunities? I'm being a bit cheeky here because the more you attempt to inject realism into something inherently unrealistic such as magic you will end up finding interesting questions. Part of urban fantasy as a genre is the intersection between modern sensibilities and mundane things and the fantastical. You can replace wizard school with a home for gifted individuals with superpowers. X-Men awaits. Or maybe you want to more rigorously define the selection criteria such that only wizards can go to it and it's kept obscured from the normal world - there's stuff out there which does exactly this! In scoping a setting it's also a consideration to understand the intent of what the setting is for. If it's for something that will go on to spawn multimedia works like books, movies, music, etc. you likely would want to have more structures around your core concept of "wizard school". Thus, thinking through seemingly mundane details might be useful. However, if it is for a private game world for a singular group, then maybe you don't need to answer that. If you are indeed interested in specifically magic and how it interacts with societies in somewhat plausible fictional settings for gameplay, I would recommend checking out GURPS Thaumatology and Thaumatology: Age of Gold. These offer some applied ways of thinking about using magic in a setting where not everybody has access to magic. Similarly, GURPS Fantasy also has a treatment on the different types of magic and its accessibility. Even if you don't use the game rules therein, they provide valuable insight on these topics for setting building. You can also just arbitrarily pick the answer to the "why" and start diving into that more, like say "why a wizard school to contain wizards?" "because wizards are dangerous unhinged assholes with no regard for morality or societal ethics, so schools actually are more like prisons". Then you can start asking following questions as long as they're of interest to the original goal of whatever the setting is serving.
|
|
#
?
Mar 27, 2021 02:42
|
|
|
Replying late on this, but there's another collateral meta-question that came up in our setting discussion - what is the role of the Divine with regards to the setting? We found the starting answers to be less specific because we still don't have distinct answers - we also found that anything the DM says about religion is going to set up more political tones, but basically, the opening salvo included "what is a god", "what does a god do", "how are gods made", "why does a god do what they do". Also, we found out that answering with too many details could dissolve too much of the mysterious and unfathomable nature of gods - and without mystery, they're not gods: they are superpowered self-inserts. We didn't have the chance to discuss religions yet, but I expect that to be another philosophy-vs-rule of cool deep dive.
|
|
#
?
Apr 1, 2021 14:19
|
|
|
King of Solomon posted:My big issue with using an Aerostat Venus strategy in this setting is I'm a big worried it's a bit too similar to the space colonies. I do want there to be a meaningful distinction between the terrestrial humans and the people living in the space colony chain.
|
|
#
?
Apr 1, 2021 22:14
|
|
|
Char posted:My DM and I are doing what this thread is about since he wants to expand on his setting and keep using it for any campaign he runs. You can think of the wizard schools as an exercise in soft power. The King (or whoever is running the society) has two ways that he can deal with the fact that random scrubs keep getting born with the ability to burn his kingdom to the ground. Option one is to ruthlessly hunt down and exterminate every magical child prodigy he can find. A lot of work, and all it does is create more sentiment against him. Option two is that every magical prodigy gets enrolled in the School of Magic, for free! They go on a marvellous journey away from their parents and family, are given soft beds and smart uniforms and big meals, and spend their childhood not only being taught how to use their power, but also taught how good and wise the king is, how they have a responsibility to use their power wisely, and how important it is that the kingdom is protected from the many threats that surround it. At that point, you have no need to enforce a system of magic licensing -- because all the mages are doing what you want them to do already, and "I saw through the Wizard School's propaganda for what it was" is a great hook for a player character to start off with.
|
|
#
?
Apr 3, 2021 11:29
|
|
|
Whybird posted:You can think of the wizard schools as an exercise in soft power. The King (or whoever is running the society) has two ways that he can deal with the fact that random scrubs keep getting born with the ability to burn his kingdom to the ground. Option one is to ruthlessly hunt down and exterminate every magical child prodigy he can find. A lot of work, and all it does is create more sentiment against him. Pure ideology!
|
|
#
?
Apr 6, 2021 22:13
|
|
|
King of Solomon posted:My big issue with using an Aerostat Venus strategy in this setting is I'm a big worried it's a bit too similar to the space colonies. I do want there to be a meaningful distinction between the terrestrial humans and the people living in the space colony chain. Venusians are seen as a somewhat neutral third party because they're "halfway" between the orbital colonists and grounded Martians or Martians and Europans get along relatively well because they're both planetsiders, orbitals and Legally Distinct Belters get along relatively well because they both live in space, but nobody trusts the Venusians because each side sees them as being more like the others than to themselves. Meanwhile the Venusians are trying to set up shop on the gas giants but everyone else is freaking out at the "other side" gaining ground.
|
|
#
?
Apr 6, 2021 23:31
|
|
|
Thinking up a new wild space system for spelljammer called Jetspace. Originally it was some sort of inhospitable area as the only planet is a volcanic wasteland, but after a large Ark like colony ship spelljammer crashed the people had no choice but to adapt and rough it. They settled in an area of an asteroid field called the freckled fields and managed eke out an existence there. I like the idea that various towns and cities dot the fields asterouds like islands, with one big asteroid being the capital.  The rose nebula is a dangerous area of pirates and brigands The Rime Expanse is a cold zone where the colonies get ice for water but it can be dangerous The Fire Bough is hot and terrible, with magma lakes, volcanoes, and generally extreme temperatures, but rumors say there are strange structures that hint that it was once inhabited... The Ark Graves are the old debris of the ships that brought people here 100s of years ago, mostly stripped bare but sometimes they hide great treasure.
|
|
#
?
Sep 3, 2022 21:10
|
|
|
Hihohe posted:Thinking up a new wild space system for spelljammer called Jetspace. I like the simplicity of it. A lot of good sci-fi is pretty straight-forward. trapstar fucked around with this message at 08:49 on Sep 4, 2022 |
|
#
?
Sep 4, 2022 08:25
|
|
|
I've only made a couple settings but this is the one I ran the most and like The Isle of Somas  A Greek island adventure Somas is a laid back island paradise mainly inhabited by humans, elves, half orcs and merfolk. They are threatened by a militarised horde of shark people. CITIES Humans   The island is dominated by "democratic" human city states and small villages with technology around the iron age or earlier. They have recently made contact with the greater world who are at regular DnD level tech and have brought a lot of new things and new gods with them. The native humans worship a Zeus type god called Chelydra nobody else has heard of or can contact, which the Somasi thought was normal until recently. There are tensions between the largest native settlements, the religious traditional capital of Kardia vs the cosmopolitan wealthy cat-infested Kefali. Elves   Down to the south there are the twin elf cities of Podia and Skelos, they fled from a Acheminid style elf empire on a southern continent. They brought the first horses with them making them quite fearsome but were immediately too concerned with squabbling with eachother to have any aggressive designs on the island. They intermarry frequently with the other populations but not between cities. They make really nice clothes that everyone likes apart from the Kardians who think theyr obscene. The elves are usually embroiled in a low intensity ritualised civil war over a religious issue no one else understands. Half orcs   The fortress city of Bratos is essentially half orc sparta minus the helots, obsessed with physical fitness and drilling for wars that usually dont happen, they have a strict class system and are the only city to still have a royal monarch. Their warriors have a varangian vibe and are the scariest infantry but their stratified society fucks them over. They're known to be very friendly and accommodating when outside their city among other people, then fight about caste if they run into eachother. Mer   The Merfolk live in the city of Siren, which is by far the most advanced known civilisation in the region and ruled by sorcerers. Practically speaking land dwellers can only visit the city with the permission of the Mer since they need magic to survive in the underwater city, while the amphibious Mer go where they please on land. Their pride got severely battered when they nearly got razed in the War Beneath the Waves and had to turn to the terrestrial cities for help. THREAT   The main threat to the island appears to be the Karcharans or Sharkmen, stone age humanoid sharks who swarm in giant feeding frenzies once their population hits a certain point. They are considered animals but are clearly somewhat intelligent and its little known they are controlled psychically by gigantic queens who are peaceful but lose control of them once they hit a certain number. The poor queens then sing a big lament while waiting for them to calm down. They were meant to have been defeated and exterminated 20 years ago, with all their queens massacred, in the appallingly bloody War Beneath the Waves by a coalition of all the cities plus the Mer. ...but recently they have been sighted again, what's more there are reports of speaking Karcharans, even ones who use magic! SECRET DM KNOWLEDGE If you know any Greek you might have figured it out but none of my party did, the island is called Body and all its cities are named after body parts. The island is actually a giant demonic snapping turtle who was slain ages ago in a divine battle and lies dormant and this is the god Chelydra they have all been worshipping. The ancient Mer formed their city to protect his body and dominated the primitive human settlers who washed up there.  The Karcharans are being organised by the one surviving Queen, called Terrible Mother, who is a gigantic mutant shark sorceress and is trying to uplift the species to be more capable of organising and defending itself. She has forseen the awakening of Chelydra and is trying to stop it. Other than Chelydra the real threat are the Mer, they've been the dominant power in the region until contact with the greater world was established and they want that position back. They made sure that the terrestrial coalition that united the island in the War Beneath the Waves didn't last and made sure the unifying Lord died in battle. They have an exceptional spy service and have infiltrated almost every city. They are trying to cause a big incident between Somas and the outside world to cut Somas off again. They mainly just want money and power but a young noble merwoman is actually a Chelydra cultist who knows what he is and wants to wake him up. The Mer aren't even the most advanced underwater kingdom, that's the crab kingdom of Carapathia. Theyr seen as entirely mythical but actually they just trapped themselves in their own magical barrier and can't figure out a way out. (Mainly a joke but I did a one shot involving this place where a player ended up marrying a crab princess in a ceremony to release the barrier and it owned) e: added some midjourney pics, man this stuff rules for campaign concepts even if its hard to get it to do a shark man e2: added some of my own pics i managed to dig up for a couple things Communist Thoughts fucked around with this message at 21:10 on Sep 4, 2022 |
|
#
?
Sep 4, 2022 20:17
|
|
|
Been watching a lot of Primal and a setting thats more an early iron age, Swords and sandals style is really interesting to me. I want cavemen fighting with ancient Greeks, giant Babylonian style cities, more mythological style creatures.
Hihohe fucked around with this message at 02:24 on Sep 5, 2022 |
|
#
?
Sep 5, 2022 01:05
|
|
|
Holy crap that island homebrew owns. I always like to see how other people take the usual dnd races and twist them to their own settings.
|
|
#
?
Sep 5, 2022 02:59
|
|
|
Nash posted:Holy crap that island homebrew owns. I always like to see how other people take the usual dnd races and twist them to their own settings. New takes on fantasy races are great. Races and Species(and thier respective cultures) in general make up a setting so i figure they belong here too. I gotta race of little goat people that grow throughout thier lives by adulthood theyre like halfling size and by the time they are elders they are more goliath sized Hihohe fucked around with this message at 04:20 on Sep 5, 2022 |
|
#
?
Sep 5, 2022 04:06
|
|
|
This is a neat little video on Hard and Soft Worldbuilding https://youtu.be/gcyrrTud3x4
|
|
#
?
Sep 6, 2022 13:22
|
|
|
Since we are throwing our dnd race ideas out I’ll throw a few from my homebrew out. Generally these were written for my own players only so some dumb jokes or references were written specifically because I knew they would work for my group. I mashed together ideas from all sorts of sources. My elves are heavily inspired by Warhammer wood elves for example. The setting is taking dnd back from Middle Ages fantasy back to an ancient world mishmash with a fantasy layering over it. Dwarves are Romans, dragonborn are Greeks kinda thing. Map is vaguely Mediterranean Europe in the same manner as Warhammer fantasy is vaguely the map of our world. ATLANTEANS (Tritons) Atlantean skin is blue and their hair is usually a shade of green, although other colors of hair do exist. The lighter the shade of the skin blue, the more that person has spent out of water. Atlanteans surfacing for the first time have skin that is near black the shade is so dark. Many Atlanteans that work on docks or ships have much lighter skin tone. Atlanteans were once normal humans that hailed from Atlantis, a large island to the south of Anvilmar. Their skill as sailors and navigators was unsurpassed. In their pride they mocked Poseidon, declaring they were the masters of the seas. It did not end well. The island of Atlantis was shattered and most of it sunk beneath the waves. The people themselves were changed into the fish folk of today. They worship Poseidon with equal measures of fear and devotion. The Lord of Fathoms serves as both monarch and high priest over worship of Poseidon. Due to the fact that Atlanteans will get ill if they are away from water too long, they don't ever seek to the conquer or maintain massive land holdings. The vast majority of Atlantean towns and cities are deep underwater, but most larger ports and dockyards will have an Atlantean presence close to shore. Traces of pre-deluge Atlantean architecture can be found in the Shattered Islands here and there, but most of it is in ruins. The Atlanteans collect a fee from larger trade vessels as they leave port. The Atlanteans collect this fee to offset the costs of protecting the trade vessels in deeper waters. While many view this fee as extortion, the Atlanteans maintain without them the loss of trade goods and lives to undersea threats would be enormous. Atlanteans tend to focus on storm, wind, and elemental magic. Some who are fully devoted to Poseidon become zealot barbarians, showing their piety through rage that mimics that of their god. Many Atlantean fighters tend to focus on thrusting rather than slashing style weapons due to their environment. Heavy spears and dexterity based swords are common among Atlantean fighters. ORCS Orc clans inhabit the wide open grasslands to the east of Gallia. Traveling in clans of various sizes, the orcs of the Uruk steppe wander the wide open plains. The movement and lives of the orcs revolve around their relationship with the great dinosaurs that make the steppe their home. Most orc clans domesticate and use clawfoot raptors in the same manner as other people use horses. The clawfoot will be used as riding mounts only. For heavier wagons and hauling, clans will use a variety of larger dinosaurs. While no one clan will have exclusive use of a certain type of dinosaur, some clans are known and named for the dinosaurs that they primarily use and breed. Large predatory dinosaurs are a rarity to be tamed. A warrior that can tame a powerful predator will usually be seen as being marked for greatness and will almost certainly become a powerful war leader. The orcs of the steppe are unique in that they do not actively worship the gods. They see the gods of the various lands as fickle and dangerous. The only beings worthy of respect and reverence are the great leaders of the past. Orcs primarily focus on ancestor worship, as such their views on the gods of others can range from indifference to mockery. Among orcs one of the most revered positions is that of lorespeaker. These orcs are tasked with recounting the tales of heroic orcs in ages past. An orc lorespeaker can recount the past in numerous ways. Simple morality tales to the younger members of a clan help to reinforce the sense of community. A lorespeaker might be called upon to be a judge of sorts over conflicts, using the solutions of past issues to settle between parties. To outsiders though, nothing can compare to a lorespeaker who is called upon to perform at a Remembrance. These meetings are the closest thing orcs have to religious festivals. Massive meetings that last a week, the orcs come together to focus on past heroes to help guide their future. A Remembrance ceremony is equal parts war dance, storytelling, call and response. A human who watched one remarked "I was so overcome that I headbutted my dog. We both screamed" ELVES The elves in the northern forests first came from the island of Albionora. This island is perpetually overcast and gloomy. It is the source of the elves in this part of the world. While a human and an elf can give birth to half elves, two elves never conceive. Young elves (around 100 years old) come from the island periodically and live in the forests and plains of Gallia. When elves near the age of 1000, they head back to the island to die. Elves that are terribly injured or are deathly ill will also do this, if able. An elf will never willingly die away from the island. Elves tend to look toward powerful druids as their judges, leaders, and healers all in one. These druids have almost absolute authority among elvish communities. Elves tend to follow the seasons when it comes to general temperament. In the depths of winter a community will tend toward inward contemplation and bitterness. Autumn sees elves be more open and giving toward all. Spring brings joy and laughter, a lightheartedness after the blahs of winter. Summer elves tend to be on the short tempered side of things. Major decisions affecting many elves might see several Arch Druids come together to make decisions, such as the growing of the Hedge between the lands of Gallia and Anvilmar The elves that live on Albionora and the forests of Gallia tend to be seen by most as savage and a bit unnerving. Having a lifespan of 1000 years tends to give them a much different view of things. Elven settlements tend to blend into the natural surroundings. Elven druids will weave their magic and cause the trees and rocks to grow and shift into dwellings. If one isn't familiar with elven dwellings it's possible to just walk right through a settlment and not be aware. Elves that come from Albionora usually are around 100 years old. After living on the mainland of Entria for another 100 years, they will be ritually tattooed. The tattoos are usually a bright blue. Reds and greens are uncommon but not unheard of. These tattoos convey identity and background, but only elves are able to understand the meanings. Elven communities are the main unit of organization for elves. The concept of spouses and immediate families are not practiced among the elves. Gender roles are non existent. A druid that leads a community, the warriors who defend a village, the artisans of a village have equal chance of being a male or a female. Elven spellcasters are primarily druids, but clerics of nature gods do exist as well. Some magically and physically gifted elves will study ancient tomes written by druids of the past. These "wardancers" will combine magic and swordplay into a deadly dance. The elves who lead warbands tend to usually be paladins of the oath of ancients. These paladins are given the authority and speak on behalf of the druids. Elven healers are known to be among the best in the world, as no elf wants to die away from the shores of Albionora.
|
|
#
?
Sep 7, 2022 03:19
|
|
|
I gotta ask, if two elves cant conceive, how do they make ... uhhh... more?
|
|
#
?
Sep 7, 2022 03:52
|
|
|
To the players it is mystery since there are no child or baby elves. New ones just show up from the island of Albionora (not Britain). DM note version: The farther north you get on the island the more it starts to blend into the Feywild. Elves are born in the Feywild to elven parents. That is the only place two elves can conceive. There are a finite number of elven souls. An elf that dies away from the island will have its soul lost forever. An elf that dies on the island will have its soul reincarnated into a new elf.
|
|
#
?
Sep 7, 2022 04:09
|
|
|
Nice thats a cool bit of hidden lore. Do elf lost souls become angry spirits? or like Revanants ?
Hihohe fucked around with this message at 05:43 on Sep 7, 2022 |
|
#
?
Sep 7, 2022 04:27
|
|
|
To be honest I haven’t really solidified the repercussion other than the elven population slowly is getting smaller. They are still in large numbers overall but an idea that there can be a long term doom to their race. Wars are absolutely brutal to their population.
|
|
#
?
Sep 7, 2022 19:33
|
|
|
I think maybe that elves would basically have special "finders" trained professionals that are meant to locate thought to be dead elves in the outside world and either transport the body back to the homeland or capture the spirit of the dead elf to send back. Could explain some elves reasons for traveling
|
|
#
?
Sep 7, 2022 19:45
|
|
|
Hihohe posted:I gotta ask, if two elves cant conceive, how do they make ... uhhh... more?
|
|
#
?
Sep 7, 2022 22:28
|
|
|
Threlves
|
|
#
?
Sep 7, 2022 22:34
|
|
|
Hihohe posted:I think maybe that elves would basically have special "finders" trained professionals that are meant to locate thought to be dead elves in the outside world and either transport the body back to the homeland or capture the spirit of the dead elf to send back.
|
|
#
?
Sep 7, 2022 23:07
|
|
|
All im saying is you could have elf ghostbusters cleaning up peoples problems caused by ghost elves and then they send the ghost trap back to elfland so they can have a new brother
|
|
#
?
Sep 7, 2022 23:31
|
|
|
The last few posts are why this thread is good. I’m shamelessly stealing some of these ideas.
|
|
#
?
Sep 8, 2022 00:21
|
|
|
So i decided to break out the pen and tablet to make a painting of Red Spire. A settlement where i want my players to start. Red Spire and the surrounding asteroids are rich in iron and other minerals, giving them thier reddish hue. 
|
|
#
?
Sep 8, 2022 04:23
|
|
|
Trying to think of a sort of space ox cart. Spelljammer are pretty expensive so if the average joe wants to visit thier grandma, i figure they get a floating boat thats pulled by some sort of beast of burden.
|
|
#
?
Sep 10, 2022 07:13
|
|
|
Hihohe posted:Trying to think of a sort of space ox cart. Spelljammer are pretty expensive so if the average joe wants to visit thier grandma, i figure they get a floating boat thats pulled by some sort of beast of burden. When you only have one line on them you're going to get pulled around but once you've gotten the next two on the center you can steer them. Best part is that if they overlap your air envelope they can freshen it up with their lightning arcs, and if a small jammer tries to come for you, why, you just steer the doubleheader into 'em. They like that. They seem to eat what they blast. What's really funny of course is that they're just tumbling pieces of crystal, toppling through the void, and sometimes you run into a damaged one, or end up damaging one yourself. They can hit rocks and bust them up if they're small, but sometimes they hit a bigger one and crack - or fall apart. They don't seem to be getting any rarer, though! They say a druid once cast some kind of sorcelation to see what they would say, reasoning that they seemed to be an animal of a sort. Here's what the druid heard: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tr7DLi8GvZI
|
|
#
?
Sep 10, 2022 07:52
|
|
|
I’m picturing a manatee with an ox head because I’m boring like that.
|
|
#
?
Sep 10, 2022 13:00
|
|
|
Hmmm, big crystal entity could workNash posted:I’m picturing a manatee with an ox head because I’m boring like that. https://youtu.be/Z3fr6c9Ek64
|
|
#
?
Sep 10, 2022 14:00
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 9, 2024 19:41 |
|
|
Halflings! The good ol' boys of Anvilmar, halflings are found all over the Anvil, but the biggest concentration of them are to be found in the areas around Greenfields. Most halflings are content to never travel far from home. They like to sit on their front porches at home and talk about the weather, the superiority of their way of life, and the fact they view themselves as the greatest beings in Entria. Why travel when the "real people" of the world are right here at home? Gifted farmers and agriculturalists, halflings are the ones who feed the Anvil. The most fertile farmlands in the Anvil are found around Greenfields, which give halflings a very high opinion of themselves. Halflings are proud to be a part of the Anvilmarish Empire, but view all the cityfolk as not really understanding how life really is. Because of this most halflings have chips on their shoulders as big as they are. In the armies of Anvilmar, many halfings are used as scouts and spies. Rangers and rogues are pretty common among more militant halflings. Many halflings absolutely love blood sports, as many a young halfling will tell you that are going to start training for unarmed arena combat "just as soon as I have time." Warforged! Warforged Created in the last years of the war, Warforged marched alongside dwarven armies. The dwarves created them but never revealed the exact method of creation. Created to serve as infantry, people on both sides of the conflict were shocked to see some Warforged begin to wield magic powers. When the war ended, questions arose what to do with these newly created beings. With the support of the military, Warforged were granted full rights as sentient beings. In the aftermath of the war, some Warforged began to experience a drive toward seemingly random towns and locations. Once they arrive at these places, they feel like they have to remain there. Some take up residence, others shut down into coma like states. Some Warforged have been reported to just wander off into forests, never to be seen again.
|
|
#
?
Sep 13, 2022 03:17
|
|