AsuroftheStair
2008-12-24, 03:10 PM
I'm creating a campaign setting in which nearly three thousand years ago, a powerful cleric averted world destruction by binding the world with magic law (becoming a martyr in the process). The 'original' world order emerged (though the magic was not powerful enough to recreate dead gods), and the magic persisted until just recently (when humans, part of a semi-secret organization called the Black Knights, raided the site of the cleric's death). Dominated by five human noble houses, other races exist only at the border of human consciousness.
Currently I'm focusing on a base class (I hope to playtest it this Sunday), so feel free to instead go down to the Fire Duke, a fighter variant, since I'm concerned with the class' balance.
Basic World Information:
Typical High Fantasy/PHB Tech Level and Culture
5 Human Houses rule most of the world (House Themes: Fire/War, Exploration/anything, Religion, Necromancy/Evil/Assassination, and Nature)
For at least 2,500 years an organization called the Black Knights has existed, trying to overturn the world order so they could "regain their proper place" (more chaotic people in this organization, but the organization as a whole is either TN or LN)
Since the primordial Sun, Moon, and Earth deities were destroyed over 3,000 years ago, and Fasadon (the martyr cleric) is dead, people typically worship Saints. Certain Saints are worshiped everywhere and their clerics can cast spells with out any problem, while other Clerics worship regional or village saints, meaning that normally their spellcasting is limited (see below).
As of now I've not decided about spellcasting systems, acid, sonic, and force are almost unknown. Any Earth Spells & Abilities instead concentrate on Bludgeoning damage? Will have other spell changes, hopefully compiled into one post.
The worlds beyond are almost unknown. There is a Spiritual Realm (based on the Manual of the Plane's Spirit Realm) where the pious (in the Latin sense) dead go to and the Saints live, and a Fey Realm which contains primordial beings (fay and elves). There may be other realms, but almost no one knows what they could be or have the means to do so.
No one knows what lies beyond the oceans and mountains of the known world, for no one who has tried has ever returned. However, in the mountains to the south it is known that strange earth-beings who are fantastic smiths (1/2 earth elemental dwarves) thought to be dwelling in relative peace, trading with the Fiery House. In the Northern Mountains, humans who fled North when Fasadon sacrificed himself live barbarian lives.
http://www.thefinalstair.net/bh/world/GeoMap.png http://www.thefinalstair.net/bh/world/HousesS.jpg
White: House Shiron (the Religious House)
Black: House Umber (Necromancy/Evil/Assassination, mortal enemies of Shiron)
Green: House Vert (Nature)
Blue: House of Explorers (Exploration/anything)
Red: House of Fiery Dukes (Fire/War)
These are the game-elements which I'm thinking of creating & pulling into this campaign (though I'm totally open to suggestions):
A Fire Duke Base Class. One of the names of the fire/war nobility is "The House of Fiery Dukes", so it's appropriate to have this as a base class.
Similar to 3.0 Oriental Adventures, Humans from the Great Houses have favored classes but certain skills always as class-skills.
Druid Variants, as from Dragon 311
Astrology & Master Astrologer from Dragon 340 (probably in House of Explorers)
It would be nice to develop ley line magic, though I haven't begun to think about how to implement this.
Clerics that worship local Saints have to take a feat to be able to cast magic outside their Saint's domain. The current main advantage is that a character talking with the DM is able to create his own saint with a custom set-up of domains, though I was thinking that the feat also gave a +1 to Will Saves.
ACTUAL SPOILER Beyond the world is a torrent of Chaos (akin to Limbo and possibly unfortunately to 4.0, except more crazy), and one solidified drop of alien intellect is attempting to destroy the known world. Thus, Chaos Template/s and Chaos Magic (possibly as from Spells & Spellcraft) for NPCs, and possibly PCs who want to destroy the world.
Since I'm using material from Dragon Magazines, should I post that info here or should I post in the Gaming D20 forum?
Currently I'm focusing on a base class (I hope to playtest it this Sunday), so feel free to instead go down to the Fire Duke, a fighter variant, since I'm concerned with the class' balance.
Basic World Information:
Typical High Fantasy/PHB Tech Level and Culture
5 Human Houses rule most of the world (House Themes: Fire/War, Exploration/anything, Religion, Necromancy/Evil/Assassination, and Nature)
For at least 2,500 years an organization called the Black Knights has existed, trying to overturn the world order so they could "regain their proper place" (more chaotic people in this organization, but the organization as a whole is either TN or LN)
Since the primordial Sun, Moon, and Earth deities were destroyed over 3,000 years ago, and Fasadon (the martyr cleric) is dead, people typically worship Saints. Certain Saints are worshiped everywhere and their clerics can cast spells with out any problem, while other Clerics worship regional or village saints, meaning that normally their spellcasting is limited (see below).
As of now I've not decided about spellcasting systems, acid, sonic, and force are almost unknown. Any Earth Spells & Abilities instead concentrate on Bludgeoning damage? Will have other spell changes, hopefully compiled into one post.
The worlds beyond are almost unknown. There is a Spiritual Realm (based on the Manual of the Plane's Spirit Realm) where the pious (in the Latin sense) dead go to and the Saints live, and a Fey Realm which contains primordial beings (fay and elves). There may be other realms, but almost no one knows what they could be or have the means to do so.
No one knows what lies beyond the oceans and mountains of the known world, for no one who has tried has ever returned. However, in the mountains to the south it is known that strange earth-beings who are fantastic smiths (1/2 earth elemental dwarves) thought to be dwelling in relative peace, trading with the Fiery House. In the Northern Mountains, humans who fled North when Fasadon sacrificed himself live barbarian lives.
http://www.thefinalstair.net/bh/world/GeoMap.png http://www.thefinalstair.net/bh/world/HousesS.jpg
White: House Shiron (the Religious House)
Black: House Umber (Necromancy/Evil/Assassination, mortal enemies of Shiron)
Green: House Vert (Nature)
Blue: House of Explorers (Exploration/anything)
Red: House of Fiery Dukes (Fire/War)
These are the game-elements which I'm thinking of creating & pulling into this campaign (though I'm totally open to suggestions):
A Fire Duke Base Class. One of the names of the fire/war nobility is "The House of Fiery Dukes", so it's appropriate to have this as a base class.
Similar to 3.0 Oriental Adventures, Humans from the Great Houses have favored classes but certain skills always as class-skills.
Druid Variants, as from Dragon 311
Astrology & Master Astrologer from Dragon 340 (probably in House of Explorers)
It would be nice to develop ley line magic, though I haven't begun to think about how to implement this.
Clerics that worship local Saints have to take a feat to be able to cast magic outside their Saint's domain. The current main advantage is that a character talking with the DM is able to create his own saint with a custom set-up of domains, though I was thinking that the feat also gave a +1 to Will Saves.
ACTUAL SPOILER Beyond the world is a torrent of Chaos (akin to Limbo and possibly unfortunately to 4.0, except more crazy), and one solidified drop of alien intellect is attempting to destroy the known world. Thus, Chaos Template/s and Chaos Magic (possibly as from Spells & Spellcraft) for NPCs, and possibly PCs who want to destroy the world.
Since I'm using material from Dragon Magazines, should I post that info here or should I post in the Gaming D20 forum?