Xorthon: after the fall

[fireinthedust]

Here's an idea I've been wanting to do ever since I read about Xen'drik in the Eberron setting, and creating a homebrew world using Arcana Evolved along with 3.5 sounds fun:

I really like the idea of the Giants of olden times being the AE Giant race. They make good fighters, so a Giant Empire seems likely. They came across the ocean (a la the Normans) and set up a big empire. Their own homeland is this southern jungle (read Xen'drik).
The do lots of infusion-type magical things, and Socerers in the setting would be descended from "lesser races" they gave limited spellcasting ability to. I like the idea of Drow being what giants did to the elves, adding powerful abilities to their race.
Their continent was shattered in ye-big-war when they enhanced themselves with ceremonial magic and summoned elementals: the giants in the MM are what came out of that.
So you've got the traditional setting, with a continent that's got afew city-states run by giants (with Sibbecai, etc.), but their homeland Xen'drik is just gone to pot. Ruins, monsters, giant tribes perhaps, and Drow running around the jungle.

Now I'm trying to think of interesting things to do with this, as a setting. Like, use dwarves and elves and humans (obviously), and make an AE setting that's not Monte Cook's.

any suggestions?

[fireinthedust]

here's where I need the advice: what rules should I use, and does anyone have any... suggestions for what would go nicely in this setting?

I intend to use 3.5 dnd core as the base. races will include giants, sibeccai and a varient couple of litorian races that I've made up (I'll put the initial ideas tomorrow-ish). feats and skills will also include AE.
Other rules I'm thinking are from a lot of FR books I've got, and the Secrets of Xen'drik book (which isn't too bad, actually!)

Ok, so the set up is like this:

elves, dwarves and humans are basically the same.

elves live in the high forest with a high queen who's kinda like a demi-god. I want them to have templar knights like in dark sun; they're emissaries of the queen, not priests or anything, but they gain spells through their contact with the queen. I'm not sure what domains to use. they had their own magic based on song, so lots of bards and clerics, wizards in a traditional way, yadda-yadda.

dwarves are essentially the same, being the only race to seriously hold off the giants of old.

humans are sort of a middle race: they like everyone else were servants under the giants' conquest, but built themselves up because of commerce when the giants fell. they've always been really good with money and expansions. after a thousand years they've got a number of titled nobles. they'll probably be really medieval, I'm thinking, but in a sort of byzantine way.

giants had their civilization's power base knocked out from under them when their homeland, xen'drik, went silent. any giant fleets going back disappeared, and the jungle continent became overgrown. those on the continent were stranded, and eventually their power waned. Now they've got several city states that are independent of one another (tensions, political intrigue, etc.).
so PC giants would be from these city states, or elsewhere.
sibeccai would be slightly different. I'm thinking there would be the giant-bred ones, and then the wild ones: the wolf-like ones that live in the wild woods of (well, I guess the north. not too original, but it sounds cool).

for the main plot I'm thinking the PCs would be investigating the reason for the fall of the giants.

[Thomar_of_Uointer]

Eberron is somebody's intellectual property, you know. Just don't try to laud it as your own work and you should be fine.

Half-giants (from the XPH, also in the SRD) would work well as a playable giant race.

Hmm... I don't have the timeline in front of me to see what goes on after the fall of the giants. This looks interesting enough. However, you should note that Khovarie at this time is overrun with savage monstrous humanoids, and I think that humans are still just discovering fire over in Sarlona.

[fireinthedust]

Eberron is somebody's intellectual property, you know. Just don't try to laud it as your own work and you should be fine.

Eberron? A published setting owned by someone? Brilliant, this is exactly the kind of thing I need to be reminded of! :)

It's for a home game, I'm just trying to think up some original stuff. using AE and Eberron (and FR rules) as a base.


Hmm... I don't have the timeline in front of me to see what goes on after the fall of the giants. This looks interesting enough. However, you should note that Khovarie at this time is overrun with savage monstrous humanoids, and I think that humans are still just discovering fire over in Sarlona.


timeline: not Khorvaire. It'll be more fast and loose. think city states. Kinda like Palladium (if you remember) with the Elves being a former super power that's fallen... except it's the AE giants and the legacy of all the templates they've added.

On top of that I do want to rip the Lords of Dust idea, having celebs like ORcus and Lloth as the Rajas.

Here's something I'm playing with: changing the Clerics to Emissaries: having the gods as powerful beings that live "just off" the material plane, kinda like Olympus and Asgard are placed.

The Rajas would be like the Titans, jailed in the Underworld by the gods.

[fireinthedust]

sorry about the pause: at work and all!

Ok, here's a timeline for you:

early time:
Universe exists, first races on it in different continents (the campaign should have some travel at least). The gods arn't going to be entities on some other plane. I'm going for more of a sorcerer-kings from dark sun for them.
Initial races include the Elves: high-queen is their ruler, but she's powerful and grants spells to "emissaries" (rather than clerics) of the elven people.

Great War: titans/old ones imprisoned for crimes: they corrupted the first races that already existed (humans, giants, sibbecai; not elves) and turned them into servants (orcs, trolls, gnolls; all my favourites!); the gods (who arn't necessarily good) fought them and trapped them in the Underworld, a prison deep beneath the Underdark.

Giants' era: On their own continent they expanded their civilization and moved onto the elven/dwarven/human one.

Giants' fall: their continent goes silent; cities on "mainworld" decline.

Current Era: Humans expand as they're the best merchants. Kingdoms and free cities are the norm. The rest is wilderness. Elves stay in their one forest; Dwarves stay in their mountains. Giants run armies but as the humans have the gold... well, there's a small conflict, but I'll figure it out later.


Eberron: you've got a really good point, of course, and you're right (it's a home game right now, so not an issue). I like the idea of Xen'drik, or actually of Chult from FR: lost jungle continents seem cool. New Worlds seem cool. And I like the idea of the Giants of Xen'drik and their creating the drow-thing.

BUT: I do want to take a spin with this. It's a springboard to what I want to do.

Here's an idea: how can I make the lost continent different? Vary the environment? Forget the Drow? Make something worse?!

[fireinthedust]

Elves: new trait: Ageless. The elves are essentially immortal in that they don't age naturally. Granted, they can be aged by magic (like in a Tomb of Horrors trap), and then they'll use their regular years. However, once they reach the adult age category they stop. No ability score modifications until they're aged magically, or they gain xp levels, that sort of thing.
This leads those entering elven lands to really see them as ageless places. new elves may come occasionally, but the first generation of High elves is still there (the elven court, including the High Queen; not "high elves" as a subrace).

Cursed Elves: these are elves who've for some reason lost their "ageless" trait. Crimes against elven kind OR having half-elf children, among other things (taint from the Titans) causes an elf to loose the trait and age like in the PHB. It's still a long time, but that's nothing for a race that lives millenia!

Subraces:

1) wood elves: regular PHB, favoured class changed to Ranger.
2) Starlit Elves: -2 con, +2 int, favoured class wizard (or emissary/cleric). Think elrond.
3) Song/Lyric elves: -2 con, +2 cha; favoured class (of course) Bard.

more later.