PDA

View Full Version : Homebrewing Wolrd and Would LIKE HELP.



Meirnon
2009-05-21, 04:31 PM
Heya, my name's Meirnon, my friends call me Meir... well... not really. They call me by my real name, but Meir's fine. Anways, I've been homebrewing a 3.5e world for use with my friends and I was hoping that I could get some help here from all the playgrounders. Heck, if you like it, you can use it. I've got most of the basics down, including a huge world map I hand-drew. I'll try to find a way to scan it and post it if I can... haven't quite figured that out yet. But anyways, here's the basics. (I am quite open to renamings and help with cultures).
Zedasia- A mountainous country flanked by the Northlands, Redan, Kandeen and Harper. It's cold, hostile, and filled with monsters. The capital is Zedercrest, which is high upon the the peak of the tallest mountain (called mount Zedas... yeah, smart, I know). It's a LN magocracy based on arcane power, and wizards are quite at home in the mountains. For the basic idea of this place, think mountain strongholds and towers wrought from single blocks of magically called granite and reinforced with steel. The nation itself is none-too-friendly, and harbors little relations. The fact they're in the mountains disturbs the native dwarves who live on the coast, and are only further perturbed by the fact it's ran by mages. It's the furthest to the Northwest on the main continent, and most of it's southern edges are coastal lines to the Black Gulf.
Junos- A peaceful agricultural society. Mostly vast plains and small villages, with it's two biggest cities as centers of culture. It's capital is Junos City, and it's second largest (and most varied culturally) is Valeloft. They have one port town on the black coast, flanked by Hafwood, Adapan, Gedos, Polypheneos, & Lufoad. I based this off of the entire idea of a peaceful farming village, just increased to an entire nation. It's a NG monarchy with a half-elf as king (no real name yet). It is essentially in the middle of the land that connects the two parts of the continent separated by the Black Gulf.
Arganyos- Think of old Greece and you've pretty much got Arganyos. The knights are called Myrmidons, and wear Tile Armor (homebrew armor similar to a more rigid scale-mail). It's a TN democracy with more good tendencies. It is comprised of small islands and a large island in the Black Gulf. It has two other smaller islands to the west called Pyroneas and Cryoneas. One of it's smaller islands is also home to an angelic race of immortals called the Uthenians and their extraplanar deity Requiem (which takes the form of a pillar of blinding light inside his high-temple. NG deity, I'll explain more about it later.) They are naval rivals with the Island nation of Polypheneos.
Lufoad- No real ideas for this place yet. Flanked by Junos, Etast, Gedos, Adapan, and Nomad. It's one of he easternmost nations.
Northlands- All I've got for this is the generic "frigid northlands" stuff. It's flanked by Zedasia, Redan, lavata, Hafwood, and Dragateara. It's got basic town names like Jutonheim and Alfheim, and is under no real single ruler.
Redplains- A Savanna-like vast plain that covers much of the southern part of the map. It has no unification, and no country really wants it's dry soil. Few towns exist, although the trade-roads are well guarded so exotic good from Ahreim can be transported safely. (The water routs across the black gulf are threatened by pirates, so land is safer but longer). Flanked by Tori, Ahreim, Etast, Seduut, and Gedos.
Gedos- No real ideas. Basically a filler nation for in between Junos and Redplains. Much of it's north-eastern edge is a coastline for the Black Gulf.
Ahreim- Exotic desert nation, with many valuable goods. A Lawful Neutral sheikdom with a dark underground thieves guild (think Calimport... Also, I found out about Calimport by reading the Legend of Drizzt series AFTER I made up Ahreim. Much after, actually.) It's surrounded by the Black Gulf to the north and the Stygian Ocean to the east and south-east. Flanked by Redplains, Gaerth, Tori, and Seduut.
Etast- Thinking somewhere along the lines of the tropical-rain-forest-ish nation for this one. Been a bit difficult coming up with alot of this one. It's flanked by Redplains, Lufoad, and the island of Bajara.
Bajara- A tropical island mostly inhabited by anthropomorphic, 4-eyed snake-people called Dayvle. It is a theo-matriarchy, in service to Tur-Sepia, the 100-eyed Mother (TN deity, more on her later), although males are considered equal in service.
Gaerth- A ruined wasteland that used to be a great clockwork nation before the psuedo-moons Phobos and Deimos crashed into it, reducing the land it once was to the desert of Ahreim and what it is now. Still, there are a few of the surviving natives, highly intelligent people who augmented themselves with clockworks for greater ability and longevity, calling themselves Machina. There is only one city left, called Efrat, and is a single magnificent bronze clockwork tower. LN alignment.
Adapan- Kind of the eastern mixing point of the frigidness of the northlands and the steppes of Nomad. Almost coniferous, I guess. Ideas aren't a whole lot clear at this point. Flanked by Dragateara, Junos, Hafwood, Nomad, and Lufoad.
Hafwood- A coniferous forest mixing point between the plains of Junos and the Northlands. I've pretty much left this area out for now, deciding to finish it's flanking nations to entirely decide it's place. It's flanked by Lavata, The Northlands, Dragateara, Adapan, Junos, and Polypheneos.

Polypheneos- Thinking of making this the antithesis of Arganyos. Still around the Greek style, but trying to think of something more appropriate. It conquered some shoreline and now owns a profitable chunk of port towns. The island itself is fairly small, dwarfed by the island of Arganyos. It's powerful navy and shipsages aren't appreciated much by sailors, as they double as military and pirating vessels. Thinking around a NE alignment, probably a Dictatorship, and strong enough to hold off numerous invasions and attacks (kind of like Cuba? But... y'know, evil). Flanked by Adapan, Junos, and Gedos. The capital is Daedalus. I just had to tell you that because I think it's appropriate.
Lavata- The cold pine-woods like nation. Inhabited by elves, humans and barbarian tribes and such. Not entirely got a handle on it, but it's been forming in some gaming sessions I've had with some friends. It's turned out friendly, but cautious during our RP, so... NG maybe? Also, it hates Giants because of raiding parties from The Northlands. (this caused some problems for our Half-Giant party member).
Tori- Pretty much a port nation that is kind of like the Apartheid of southern Africa. I was thinking of just making it part of Polypheneos, cause it seems like something they'd do. But everytime I think of it, it turns out more... British(?) in my head. Maybe it's just the name. Bah... It's flanked by Ahreim and Redplains.
Seduut- Think of this as the more traditional African idea. Not a whole lot besides that thought up, but is kind of a mix of the Savannah, Desert, and tropical forests that surround it. Has some well established towns on it's northern border, and the rest is uncharted (as in I didn't draw it and won't) to the South. It's flanked by Ahreim and Redplains, with Etast not too far away on the north-east east.
Dragateara- The more mountainous and less plains-ey likeness of The Northlands. It's also forested in some parts, especially to the south. It's inhabited by and evil race of ice creatures in the northernmost reaches that constantly threaten the surrounding nations of Adapan and Lufoad, as well as the few settlers in Dragateara. Not exactly sure what to call these creatures, how to form their society, or even the complete details of their actual abilities are. Thinking kind of like a more draconic and Ice-like race of Thri-Kreens, although the draconic part can be thrown out of the window at any time. Maybe they're basic shape is Thri-Kreenish, but are seemingly made up of ice-crystals? Maybe they're an offshoot race of Thri-Kreen? I dunno yet. Some help, please?
Nomad- Pretty much the eastern and uncharted lands that go off to the side of the map. For this I was thinking kind of like Mongolia, with steppes and a frigid winter but a warm summer.
Kandeen- Originally Zedasia, but I wanted the Nords to be represented here, seeing as how a good portion of me (20-something percent I think... that's more than most of everything else I am. Seriously, I'm a mutt. Only thing I'm NOT is Asian and French). It's pretty much a large Island (kind of like Greenland) off the coast of Zedasia. Still wondering if it should be more united or tribalistic.
Anyways, that's the world as it sits for now. I might edit in some stuff later if I forgot a nation. Thanks for your help! I'll be active on this forum whenever I can, so don't feel like I'm gonna let it set. I'll probably do a post soon including the new races Uthenian, Machina, and Dayvle. I'm gonna keep LA to a minimum, and I'll include their patron (or matron) deities. Probably in the format in Deities & Demigods. I'll also include some extra ones. I'll leave the development of the Ice-people open for now for suggestions. If you feel like posting what you think would be appropriate stats for a 1st level warrior a-la monster manual, I'd greatly appreciate it, although it might not make the final cut. THANKS!
EDIT: Added spoilers. Thanks for the hypertext tags. Din't know what they were.

Harperfan7
2009-05-21, 06:09 PM
What was Harper?

Also, you've given lands for the good races, but not about your cosmology, evil races, things that make your world unique, theme, or anything else. Lay it ALL down and you'll probably get more of a response. So far, theres not much to comment on.

Faerun has a bunch of power groups fighting each other in a high magic background. What is your world about?

Meirnon
2009-05-21, 06:55 PM
GAH! Forgot about Harper!
Harper is pretty much an innocent bystander nation that's sitting just below Zedasia on the coast of the Black Gulf. It's got a fair trade as a port nation, and is often a target for Polyphenian pirates. I was thinking of putting it up as a constitutional monarchy or republic with a neutral alignment. Pretty much think about it as the guy who is highly defensive and takes to his own.

As for the Evil races...
Most of the Goblinoids and Giants take refuge in the northern nations like Lavata, The Northlands, Dragateara, Hafwood and such, although many goblinoids are further south.

Gnolls and creatures like them take to the Savannahs of Redplains. (Subrace, maybe? Based more on Hyenas than the others. Smaller, faster, but weaker?) If you have any suggestions as to where the evil races should be, I'd HIGHLY appreciate it. I'm actually new to DM'ing, and this world kinda just popped into my head over a couple months.

Also, the name of the world is Balekatheir. I can't do accent marks on this, so I'll just make out the pronunciation as such: Bael-kuh-theer.

I'm in the middle of making the guilds and such. There are obvious ones, like the assassin's guild and the thieve's guilds, but I was thinking of a few more.

Since I HOPE paladins will be more prominent in this campaign world, there's going to be a Brotherhood of the Shield. It's pretty much a monastic order of Paladins centered in Valeloft, Junos.

There's also a specialized mages guild called The Arcane Eye. They focus on Divination, Illusion, and Enchantment. Still working everything out.

I think it's also important that I devised a magic wheel about how different schools of magic relate to eachother. It's pretty basic now, going by relations in general type. It goes

Divination->Illusion->Enchantment->Transmutation->Necromancy->Conjuration->Evocation->Abjuration-> back to divination, with Universal in the middle.
If you want, I'll explain further why I put it in this order, just ask and I'll clarify.

So far, I was gonna take Cosmology last, so I've left it as the generic one covered in the DMG so far. I'll get the new races and deities up next when I find my notes. ^^;
Thanks for your reply, though. I'd appreciate it if you'd critique my current certainties in my campaign world. Any suggestions or ideas for new names would be welcomed, although please no saying stuff like "that's stupid"... I'm really trying my best. I've only been playing for 3 years and I'm only 16 ><...

Meirnon
2009-05-21, 07:02 PM
What is your world about?

I was thinking that the world would center around the ancient artifacts in the world before the Cataclysm. That's pretty much when the moons Phobos and Deimos crashed into Gaerth. I neglected to mention that it'd have transnational side-effects cause I thought something like that would be a little obvious if it turned an entire nation into a desert... >.>

But anywas, I do realize that I also neglected to mention the premise behind it. Pretty much, there are artifacts of the high-magic clockwork world from the age before, and the world is just now coming back into a better age after the de-evolution of society. These artifacts are pretty much anywheres from clocks to clockwork pistols, rifles, and slug-guns (kind of like crossbows, so they're not THAT powerful...) to magical generators that nations fight wars over for their enormous potential in political and military dealings.

Kind of a lame world plot, I know... but it's all I could come up with while in school while daydreaming. I think it should open up some options to new classes and prestige classes, and also lend some believability to the Machina.

I'll get the races and deities up soon!

Meirnon
2009-05-22, 03:22 PM
Well... I feel kinda bad right now.:smallfrown: This thread's getting alot of views, but no one's even posting a single suggestion. I'm wondering if I should take that as a good thing and keep going with it or if I should ask a mod to have the thread canned. I'd really like help, and I really would appreciate suggestions anyone has on what the campaign world will become. Nothing is "definitely final" yet, and I'd like some posts besides my own...

PumpkinEater
2009-05-22, 05:22 PM
Try putting some of your stuff in the first post in spoilers...

... like this!

A lot of people are put off by all that text! (Even I skipped it! I'm going to go read it now, though)

... Okay, so I read it. It seems nice :D But I really don't know what else to say... ):

I mean, I guess the names are good. I always have trouble coming up with names! :smalltongue:

Kornaki
2009-05-22, 05:29 PM
Most of the Goblinoids and Giants take refuge

Are they being hunted to extinction or something?

Meirnon
2009-05-22, 05:39 PM
Well, first, refuge is just another word for an informal home (such as a cave or a forest...), but that... may be a good idea O.O

I mean, I want paladins to be common (well more common than in most campaigns)... and maybe, they take their role in society too seriously and hunt down goblinoids and giants? I think that could work as a catch. Maybe all goblins and giants aren't as evil as people make them, and the paladins are just over-zealous.

Also, I don't know how to do spoilers ><. Thanks for the compliment, though. (Notice I'm still a Pixie and this is probably my 3rd or 4th day on the playground..)

PumpkinEater
2009-05-22, 05:43 PM
Well, first, refuge is just another word for an informal home (such as a cave or a forest...), but that... may be a good idea O.O

I mean, I want paladins to be common (well more common than in most campaigns)... and maybe, they take their role in society too seriously and hunt down goblinoids and giants? I think that could work as a catch. Maybe all goblins and giants aren't as evil as people make them, and the paladins are just over-zealous.

Also, I don't know how to do spoilers ><. Thanks for the compliment, though. (Notice I'm still a Pixie and this is probably my 3rd or 4th day on the playground..)

Notice that... I am also a Pixie, and this is my 2nd or 3rd week on the playground :P

Spoilers = SPOILER blahblahblah /SPOILER

blahblahblah

Add brackets "[ ]" around "SPOILER" and "/SPOILER"

Kornaki
2009-05-22, 05:46 PM
Spoilers: type [spoiler*] and [/spoiler*] around what you want to be spoilered, without the *s of course.

Most people would probably interpret refuge as taking shelter from a specific thing, not just a place for shelter, but whatever. It would certainly make sense if the paladins are a large transnational organization that the evil races have to hide in the corners of the world that they can find; however it's a bit cliched for the paladins to be overzealous and hunt everyone down. Something better story-wise, like they lost a war and got kicked out of their original homeland or something similar would add more flavor to the world (they could even officially still be at war, like North and South Korea are today) and give you easy opportunities for political tension, especially between nations that are more aligned with the paladins and want to finish off the job, and the more neutral nations that figure the war is over and they should let bygones be bygones (and of course the evil race nations, which don't want to be wiped off the map)

Meirnon
2009-05-22, 06:01 PM
Thanks, I got spoilers down now
see? =3

Anyways... I like that idea. Maybe... turn Dragateara and The Northlands into the battle-grounds? It gives Lavata an excuse to be moody, and it makes sets up what Hafwood is (a zealous Theocracy to Rakkas, who is the LN god of Justice in Balekathier. More on his sphere later... still looking for my notes ><). Strongholds and posts all over Dragateara and The Northlands create a hostile atmosphere. And as for the Gnolls and more warm-climate acclimated monster races have fleed to Redplains and Seduut (maybe Gedos?) So now they're raiding caravans on their way from Ahreim, which is drawing attention from the Brotherhood of the Shield and the nations who are buying the goods.
As for the national tensions, I was thinking that Polypheneos would be an aggrivator and Zedasia would be more non-compliant and openly hostile if pushed even a little bit. Thanks for the suggestions, keep them coming! ^_^

Harperfan7
2009-05-22, 09:59 PM
How do people get by in Zedasia? Is it mostly wizards? If not, how do normal people get food/clothes/whatever? Also, why don't dwarves live in the mountains?

Lufoad could be a coastal fishing culture known for its skilled sailors? Maybe it has special fish that are economically important?

Gedos could be arid steppes with mounted raiders who are born and raised with horses and are damn good at mounted archery (think native americans/mongolians).

Etast could be a central american incan/aztec nation where gold is abundant, the best weapons are obsidian tipped spears and war clubs, and where shamans have powerful
astrology based divination magic augmented by star aligned ziggurats. Why hasn't it been completely sacked by better equipped gold hunters? Difficult terrain, heat, sun, wet weather (causing rust), rampant disease, poisonous insects, rivers swarming with pirahna, easy to get lost, giant snakes, were-panthers, and bad juju curses. Hell, throw in some dinosaurs and lizardfolk.

Polypheneos - LE Sparta with boats? Hobgoblins?

Tori - Spices and slave trading (from Redplains and Seduut) for Polypheneos. Rich amoral merchants who have powerful mercenary guard-armies and hired wizards and whatnot.
Maybe they pay black gulf pirates for captured slaves? Maybe they hire privateers to hunt down pirates (and sea monsters)? Make them and Polypheneos at war with sahuagin.

Dragateara - no ice monsters, kinda cheesy and they would melt, also, insects don't thrive in cold weather. How about a necropolis with skeleton armies? Also, yetis.

Nomad - eh, needs a better name. Maybe you could move this idea over to Gedos and instead make it a vast forbidding flat salt-plains desert without end (except it does have an end very far away that hides a magical utopia, but the desert is roamed by giant carniverous worms? - kinda seems cool to me)

Kandeen - sounds like the northlands, why not combine them? Also, trolls. ...yeah, barbaric dwarves exiled from their arctic holds by hordes of goblinoids, orcs, & giants. Now they are nordic style chainmail-at-best wearing, foe hunting, urgrosh wielding badasses who hunt trolls for sport and fight ice dragons as a rite of passage to man-dwarf-hood. Maybe they even have viking style boats?

Harper - doesn't sound like a country's name, also it's like the 4th port nation. How about a strong LG medieval europe style kingdom with castles and knights and dragons and
whatever? Doesn't seem like you have one of those yet (actually fits the name Harper, to me at least). Make it famous for its mounted knights.

My homebrew gnolls have +2 Str & Dex, 10ft. reach, 35ft. speed, and automatic proficiency with greatbows.

Meirnon
2009-05-22, 10:44 PM
How do people get by in Zedasia? Is it mostly wizards? If not, how do normal people get food/clothes/whatever? Also, why don't dwarves live in the mountains?

Lufoad could be a coastal fishing culture known for its skilled sailors? Maybe it has special fish that are economically important?

Gedos could be arid steppes with mounted raiders who are born and raised with horses and are damn good at mounted archery (think native americans/mongolians).

Etast could be a central american incan/aztec nation where gold is abundant, the best weapons are obsidian tipped spears and war clubs, and where shamans have powerful
astrology based divination magic augmented by star aligned ziggurats. Why hasn't it been completely sacked by better equipped gold hunters? Difficult terrain, heat, sun, wet weather (causing rust), rampant disease, poisonous insects, rivers swarming with pirahna, easy to get lost, giant snakes, were-panthers, and bad juju curses. Hell, throw in some dinosaurs and lizardfolk.

Polypheneos - LE Sparta with boats? Hobgoblins?

Tori - Spices and slave trading (from Redplains and Seduut) for Polypheneos. Rich amoral merchants who have powerful mercenary guard-armies and hired wizards and whatnot.
Maybe they pay black gulf pirates for captured slaves? Maybe they hire privateers to hunt down pirates (and sea monsters)? Make them and Polypheneos at war with sahuagin.

Dragateara - no ice monsters, kinda cheesy and they would melt, also, insects don't thrive in cold weather. How about a necropolis with skeleton armies? Also, yetis.

Nomad - eh, needs a better name. Maybe you could move this idea over to Gedos and instead make it a vast forbidding flat salt-plains desert without end (except it does have an end very far away that hides a magical utopia, but the desert is roamed by giant carniverous worms? - kinda seems cool to me)

Kandeen - sounds like the northlands, why not combine them? Also, trolls. ...yeah, barbaric dwarves exiled from their arctic holds by hordes of goblinoids, orcs, & giants. Now they are nordic style chainmail-at-best wearing, foe hunting, urgrosh wielding badasses who hunt trolls for sport and fight ice dragons as a rite of passage to man-dwarf-hood. Maybe they even have viking style boats?

Harper - doesn't sound like a country's name, also it's like the 4th port nation. How about a strong LG medieval europe style kingdom with castles and knights and dragons and
whatever? Doesn't seem like you have one of those yet (actually fits the name Harper, to me at least). Make it famous for its mounted knights.

My homebrew gnolls have +2 Str & Dex, 10ft. reach, 35ft. speed, and automatic proficiency with greatbows.

Great ideas for one. Really great. I've been thinking about the economy of Zedasia... and in my original campaign, while they were wizards, the peak also held a dimensional door to the Outlands city of Sigil (city of doors). Since they're wizards, I think it'd be conceivable that they trade magic for goods through planar travel, maybe. They're neutral, so they could act for any plane that comes to have emissaries. Abyssal, Angelic, it doesn't matter to them. Magic is power, and they have plenty. The commoners... If this nation is highly magic, then most commoners have access to a few cantrips (custom commoner class for npc's?). They make their living doing services for higher up wizards. Feudal system almost? I think it'd work.

As for the dwarves, they USED to live in the mountains. Then the Zedasians came along and took it over. There's still on the far east coast, and their brethren moved to Kandeen. Sounds good. I like the whole Warhammer-esque idea of them, but I still want them to be stoic and lawful. Maybe only the ones on the coast are much like their old culture, and the ones from Kandeen have been so far removed that they're more chaotic. Maybe different racial bonuses? Maybe they've changed in appearance, even, taking on a more feral, muscular build. I like that.

Lufoad... It doesn't touch the Black Gulf's coast at all. Maybe switch it with Harper? It has the position to be a knight-bound nation, right below Junos and to the east of Gedos. So... now Lufoad is Harper and Harper is Lufoad. Sounds nice. A bit of a radical change, but maybe it'd work.

Gedos is right above redplains, so... The outriders idea isn't the best, but I'll consider how to make it work... Strange mounts? The idea of steppes in between plains and a coast... might work. Mountains near the coast, and it's almost terraced as it goes down on the side inland.

I'll get back to Etast as the time comes... Aztec-ish might not be the best... It's close to Seduut, so maybe more of Madagascar feel? Maybe something that has the feeling of Kurast in Diablo II. Ancient, almost mid/south-american, but obviously a bit of an African/Indian tint. Shamans are a good idea, and astrology for divinations are good. Maybe the culture's NE, bent on the apocalypse? Dayvle have strained relations with them, and Etast is what's keeping them from ever moving inland.

Polypheneos- I was thinking Sparta, but maybe... with a bit of a more, I unno, exotic feel? Almsot like Persian. Maybe they're more than a little influenced by Tori, and have a bit of an Alexandrian look? Something with beauty to belittle it's vileness. As for the Hobgoblin part, maybe a mixed race. Humans and Hobgoblins living together under a Totalitarian rule. Are Humans considered second-class citizens to the Hobgoblins, though? if not, are they integrated, or separated by racial prejudice? The former does cause a bit of a clash with the idea of Polypheneos. It's supposed to be the humans at their worst, not from any race that's naturally like that. Maybe Hobgoblins are the elite warriors, secluded from society and only used in great conflicts. Could give a gradient of enemies in CR when it comes to any adventure based on Polypheneos. A party too powerful for the normal humans? Send the Hobgoblins *citizens gasp, of course*.

Dragateara- I wasn't really thinking of them AS Thri-Kreen, although the possibility of that could be real. And they were seemingly made of ice. The idea of them is that they're alien and terrifying. Not understandable. Maybe... not even evil? Kind of like in Ender's Game. The buggers weren't evil, but they weren't understood, so a war started. Maybe. Yetis are a must, though, and the idea of a necropolis isn't totally unconceivable. Where would an insane necromancer escape to to have his studies in peace? But then there's the fact that there's no bodies in the nearly uninhabited lands. Necromancy wouldn't exactly be efficient without a supply of corpses. I unno, I'll sit on it for now.

Nomad- I got the name from the fact that Mongolians are nomads. The "civilized" people don't know much about them and they don't know their name, so they call the steppes "Nomad" after them. Could change the name though. Open to suggestions.

I'm seriously thinking Hafwood to be overzealous, and Lavata being annoyed by Hafwood's constant crusades to wipe the goblin "menace" from the earth. Maybe they're not Paladins anymore? They believe too much in their own self-righteousness and have become too much law for it to be good. New class: Hammer of Rakkas? Think Shadowbane Inquisitor with the smite corruption ability, but with a more conservative viewpoint, thinking anyone who isn't one of them a "heretic". They would smite commoners if they felt like it, maybe.

Once again, I'm going to say that I'll get my custom race/class/deity notes up soon enough. I need to find/revise/format them first. >.>

Thanks for the suggestions, keep them comming. Things are becoming more 'real'.

EDIT: Oh, yeah. And the reason there's alot of port nations is because the map focuses around the Black Gulf. It's essentially a large body of water that cuts into the continent, with Zedasia to the northern shore and Tori to the southern shore.

The Mentalist
2009-05-23, 12:00 AM
Would you like someone to write myths for you?

Meirnon
2009-05-23, 12:18 AM
Hmmm.... maybe. I'm a little tired now, seeing as how it's past midnight in Nebraska, but if you think you can come up with something good that fits the setting, which I don't doubt, it'd be greatly appreciated.

The Mentalist
2009-05-23, 12:19 AM
I'll gladly give it a shot.

Meirnon
2009-05-23, 01:30 AM
Son of a dryad hooker, I completely forgot the nation of Redan! Crap!
Well... I didn't have any real ideas for it yet, so I suppose it's okay. It's in between Zedasia and Lavata, with it's southern borders making up the inner northern coasts of the Black Gulf. The Northlands touch it's top, and it's south-eastern borders are shared with Hafwood. Wonder what this place should be, then.

Also, back to Nomad...

The idea of large carnivorous worms reminds me a little of Dune's sandworms, and the idea of a far off city hidden by magic doesn't hit the right cord I want for Nomad. These are supposed to be like Mongolians. Outriders who are deadly nomads who traverse the steps. It's perfectly acceptable for a DM who decides that he wants to use this world after we're done building it to make up whatever he wants for the lands beyond Nomad (And Seduut, seeing as how it goes off the map, too). If you want to create an eastern nation for an Oriental Adventure, that's fine. In fact, I might take it upon myself to expand upon it if the need and opportunity strike at the same time. I really wouldn't mind making them after I'm done with the Black Gulf region.

sebsmith
2009-05-23, 04:54 AM
I'm not sure why, but your description of Polypheneos made me think of Carthage. Your description of its rival sounds more like Athens then greek culture as a whole, so you could also set up as a sort of pre-Peloponnesian War climate between them.

Another way to include evil and conflict in your campaign world would be to have a region were some lawful evil group came in and restored order by basically butchering anyone who didn't do what they wanted. Immediately after the cataclysm this would have been viewed as a good thing; since it gets rid of trouble makers and makes sure local food can be grown and harvested. Now the locals are going to start thinking they no longer need protection and can depose the lawful evil group since civilization is starting to pick up again. Of course the lawful evil group instead thinks it has a stable support base and wants to expand.

Meirnon
2009-05-23, 10:00 PM
Thanks for the suggestions on the cultures of Polypheneos and Arganyos. I was thinking more of Athens for it, but I didn't want to expand that to a national level like I did with the "farming village" idea.

Also... If there's a lawful evil place, where should I put it? Gedos? Maybe Redan? Neither of them are entirely sure about their cultures. The problem though, is "would it work in their position?" With that taken into account, Gedos is the most likely, but not a great fit.

Meirnon
2009-05-26, 08:00 AM
Hmm... I was debating with myself over the possibility of airships. I don't really want to put them in, not only for their immediate association with Final Fantasy, but because it changes the entire world dynamic. If I do that, then there's no more fear from Pirates in the Black Gulf than there is on the Redplains trade-ways.

But, I also know that with the idea of an ancient society wrought with magical clockworks is going to evoke images of flying steam-ships. So, is the possible alternative going to be maybe land-skiffs? Horseless carriages, pretty much. And then how much would it be in the ratio of steam/clockwork/magic? I'm not sure a steam-punk setting is what I'm going for, so I might just cut that out completely. Maybe there's no land-skiffs, just clockwork Caravels and Schooners and such, along with the normal ones. They're powered by artifacts, and are more resilient. So, any opinions on skiffs/ships/airships?

After them, what kind of on-board weapons would they have. I was thinking something like clockwork ballistas that are kind of like slug-guns. They fire large metal poles that burst hulls. I think about the fast twitch of gears spinning and firing that large slug 100 yards into an opposing ship's hull and the back of my neck kinda tingles. What else will there be? Catapaults sound good, but really seem to take up deck-room. Also, are there any kinds of cogs that come out of the ship's sides that could make useful ramming weapons? They could collide and tear the hull right off the frame. Does anyone have any guidelines for rules, because after thinking it outloud(-ish) I really like the idea of clockwork caravels and schooners, especially because the setting focuses on the Black Gulf.

Harperfan7
2009-05-27, 01:27 AM
Faerun has airships that don't ruin trade. They're super freaking expensive and only owned by powerful spellcasters.

Meirnon
2009-05-27, 06:54 AM
I dunno... The very fact that they're available kind of devalues the idea of magical clockwork three-masts. They wouldn't be limited to wizards because they'd be powered by clockwork generators...
I think that the only balance to them would be they'd be limited to the amount of artifacts, which in and of themselves are expensive and seemingly irreplicable. Suppose that there are airships, but only very few per country at most. And I also suppose that they'd be more like flying fortresses than anything else if a country's going to really invest in their most powerful weapons. This kind of kills the purpose of airships, though. If you're an adventuring party, wouldn't it be cool to have an airship? Hell yeah! But can you have an airship? Hell no! Urgh... my brain's been hurting for an entire day... I think I'll stop thinking about this for a little while...

Harperfan7
2009-05-28, 03:04 AM
So make them minor artifacts and only let the pcs have one at level 20 (if they are capable enough to actually get one).

BooNL
2009-05-28, 03:54 AM
Wow... just wow...

That's a lot of regions, with a lot of backstory and a lot of races...

So basically, this is generic world X where every creature/class/prc/spell printed in a splashbook has a place? I'm not trying to be mean, but that's how I see it.

You've done a lot of work already and have a nice outline for your world. What I'm suggesting is focusing on one or two aspects and working them out in detail. Maybe a specific region or island.
This will give you a chance to start adventuring in that region, writing fluff for the other parts of your world as you go along.

I think it's great you're focusing on the meta-plot, the world plot. This way you open up your world for multiple campaigns instead of just a one trick world where everything revolves around the PC's actions. However, most of these lands and regions will never come into play in the first months of a campaign, so you should be able to let them stay a bit undeveloped. This also gives you a chance to later write in cool ideas as your stories progress and new ideas spring to mnd.

For my own world (still building) I'm focusing on a single continent, which only houses 3 or 4 races. The world is pretty big though and there might be plenty more races and other goodness but I don't know yet, as I haven't written anything for that yet.
The theme of this continent is somewhat low-magic, where magic is ancient and impossible to study. This means all spell casters are spontaneous, either due to coming in contact with ancient artifacts or (possibly) communing with the Pantheon.
But maybe the creators of those magic artifacts aren't long gone, maybe they live just a continent away. This way, if I ever feel like doing a higher magic campaign, I'm able to write that into the world seamlessly.

So, in short:
You're off to a very nice start, but try focusing on just a couple of regions. Have them "playable" before you finish the rest of your world.

Meirnon
2009-05-28, 07:11 AM
No insult taken, but I don't think I'd take it as a region for a class/race/alignment, but rather a region BECAUSE of a class/race/alignment. They got their land simply from being there. The mages of Zedasia kicked out the dwarves. The dwarves are exiled to Kandeen. The Hammers of Rakkas (not gonna go with Paladins I don't think) are where they are because of the proximity to The Northlands, but aren't closer because there's a well-established country. The Northlands itself is just a forest/tundra with no real establishment.
Also, I don't want to limit any region to one race/class. I want it to be highly mixed.

In my campaigns, though, the two regions that work really well for campaigns are Junos and Zedasia. I've even made an entire 1st level adventure centered around Valeloft in Junos that was about an abandoned monastery of Rakkas. It worked when I ran it on my test-runs of my world, and had the "pre-made" feel to it. Zedasia itself simply works because there's so many ways you can hook in adventure. So, I think that it'd be prudent that I focus on those two... for now. While fluff is nice, these are all just smaller regions in a fair-sized region itself, going just past the effective equator (about 20-30 degrees at most). It's all around, like I said before, the Black Gulf. I think that if there were two ideas that you'd have to build the region plot around, it'd be the artifacts and the pirates. I do think that if I want to make my world's flavor, it'd be around those two, but with enough room to make an inland campaign, or if a particular GM wants to expand on Nomad, even an Oriental one. I've had some ideas for particular ships and their clockwork components. One that sits profoundly is a ship with two rather large and thin gear-rings that act as both propellers and shredders in close combat.

I do feel that I'd have had to redraw the maps or even lose some countries by now... seriously, if you don't think something fits in, then please tell me. I usually don't do anything without confirmation, and I don't propose things normally... mostly because I take all things into consideration.

Estanov
2009-05-28, 07:24 AM
If you want paladins to be plentifull, you need to have a reasom for players to be one. Sure, overzealous paladins are really cool as npcs or enemies, but if you really want players to take paladins, make a few terrifying and mysterious dark forces and give the paladins the possibility to fight them.

A story line in which the brotherhood of the shield saves parts of the world by fighting an ancient evil would be nice. or maybe there is a dark cult that tries to harm the world through the entire course of history and the brotherhood of the shield is its archnemesis, thwarting the cult's plans at every step.

Most homebrew worlds make palladins more at fault, try making them important and loved by the people.

Meirnon
2009-05-28, 07:32 PM
I do plan on paladins being loved, not shunned. That's why I've decided to refer to the overzealous ones as Hammers of Rakkas. They aren't Paladins (anymore), so I do think that the Brotherhood of the Shield is going to be re-centered in Valeloft.

I'd like the paladins to tie into the world story. I think something along the lines of destroying evil remnants from before the current era, or even as just serving as elite knights, seeing as how they embody the meaning of good, honor, and chivalry. In my test campaign that went on through the northlands, I put in some Lovecraftian elements and had a dark cult that summoned a cosmic horror.
Maybe I should keep them going, although I do doubt that having cosmic horror elements is the way to go, although it'd be a nice break against the regular demons/devils/daemons that cultists normally summon. Maybe instead of them being evil, they're just devoted to chaos, although some evil would be a given. Seeing as how Paladins are lawful, that'd give them ample reason to crusade against them, and it would also give them a grudging need to team up with their more fanatic cousins, the Hammers.

boomwolf
2009-05-28, 09:33 PM
Some sort of map, even a general one, will be great help in understanding the WTFIGO (What The **** Is Going On), but it all seems nice, and well thought-of, I just have problems following the WTFIGO.

Lappy9000
2009-05-28, 09:51 PM
Keep in mind the attention span of the average gamer.
...
...
...
That's right. It's not so good :smalltongue:

What you want to do, is separate the information into easy-to-digest pieces.
Try This:

[Insert Totally-Awesome Picture/Map Segment Here]

Zedasia
Alignment: LN
Capital: Zedercrest
Government: Mageocracy
Population: 200,000 (or whatever) Dwarves, etc., etc.

A mountainous country flanked by the Northlands, Redan, Kandeen and Harper, Zedasia is a cold, hostile land filled with Monsters. A nation of mountain strongholds and steel-wrought towers of arcane infused granite, the wizarding inhabitants of Zedasia harbor little hospitality towards neighboring nations. Indeed, even the natives of Zedasia war amongst themselves, with the coast-dwelling dwarves clashing with the mages of the mountains.Short, punchy, and informative. Add lots of plot hooks into the descriptions.

Set
2009-05-28, 10:11 PM
Places like Gedos and Lufoad that you don't have any big ideas for yet might be best served as completely uncivilized stretches of wilderness or something, or used to make room for a non-human civilization.

Depending on how many core races you want to use, you'll likely want at least a few token elven, dwarven, gnomish and / or halfling-dominated areas, and not fall back on the fairly Greyhawkian/Realmsish trope of the world being 99% human, with some elves 'in the woods somewhere' and some dwarves 'in the mountains somewhere' and 'gnomes and halflings don't have any lands of their own, but live in human communities...'

There's also the issue of the NPC or 'monster' races. Ideally, if the people of the world have to deal with attacks by orcs, goblins, hobgoblins, bugbears, kobolds, lizardfolk, sahuagin, giants, gnolls, trolls, troglodytes, etc., you'll want to set aside some land for them to inhabit, and it's possible that some of them, such as the hobgoblins in particular, might have their own city-states or even nations (although there's no reason why the orcs, goblins, gnolls, etc. can't have their own city-states, even if goblin, gnoll and kobold cities and nations are non-existent in most other settings!). Depending on the nature of the setting, you might even want to have more 'uncivilized' land, with camps and towns and communities of these 'monster races,' making it more of a 'points of light' setting where the human (and demihuman) communities aren't exactly running the place, like in most settings.

Even if you don't want to have a whole nation of hobgoblins, like in Tellene (Kingdoms of Kalamar setting) or a sort of hodge-podge 'humanoid ghetto' nation of orcs, goblins, hobgoblins, etc. like Darguun and Droam (Eberron setting), you could still have the ruins of an ancient Egyptian-esque civilization that is now dominated entirely by extremely civilized (and Anubis-looking) Gnolls, or a strange fidgety 'clockwork city' that is jointy shared by Goblins and Gnomes, taking races that never (or very, very rarely) have any sorts of cities or nations of their own in traditional settings and giving them their own place in the world. The Scarred Lands even went so far as to make a nation that was heavily populated by half-orcs (~30% of the population, IIRC), the vast majority of whom where the products of a half-orc mommy and a half-orc daddy who may or may not have loved each other very much, but completely bypassing the 'traditional' harf-orc origin story as a product of sexual violence by creating a nation with a large population of second, third and fourth generation half-orcs.

Other races you might wish to use, such as some of the 'Races of' races, like the goliath, killorian, raptorans, etc. or races from other settings like xvarts or fey'ri or serpentfolk or warforged or dragonborn or thri-kreen or civilized Krynn-style minotaurs, will just call for even more 'open' territory to be freed up from human control. (Obviously, flooding the world with all of these options runs the risk of turning the setting into a Star Wars cantina, complete with whacky music and arguments about whether or not Han shot first. Less is more, and a world that is all-human, with different cultures taking on the roles typically assigned to demihumans and humanoids, is also an option.)

And then there's the places where building a city or establishing a nation would be a death sentence, where the red dragon overlord has established his own nation of fire giants, fire hobgoblin slave-soldiers (from UA) and red wyrmkin kobolds, along with his cohort efreeti and retinue of azer slave-smiths or the decadent 'singing woods' where an immortal queen rules a nation of dissipated elven hedonists and sycophants, who while the decades away with games of courtly intrigue and social brinksmanship, unaware of the sinister nature of their beloved monarch, who is not and never has been any sort of elf... Places where even the stone giants of Steinketl fear to tread.

Meirnon
2009-05-29, 07:28 AM
[Insert Totally-Awesome Picture/Map Segment Here]

Zedasia
Alignment: LN
Capital: Zedercrest
Government: Mageocracy
Population: 200,000 (or whatever) Dwarves, etc., etc.

A mountainous country flanked by the Northlands, Redan, Kandeen and Harper, Zedasia is a cold, hostile land filled with Monsters. A nation of mountain strongholds and steel-wrought towers of arcane infused granite, the wizarding inhabitants of Zedasia harbor little hospitality towards neighboring nations. Indeed, even the natives of Zedasia war amongst themselves, with the coast-dwelling dwarves clashing with the mages of the mountains.[/Spoiler]

I want to hug you...

As for the races, I really don't want to have pockets of races spread out in a myriad pattern. I do think that Humans should be the majority race (really, we're like rabbits), but I hate campaigns that say that humans are not only a vast majority, but an almost complete majority. I play in a campaign where the DM only let's 2 people ever play something different than the "Human Fighter" that his campaign pretty much limits you to. One player can play a dwarf whenever he wants, and one player can play a wizard whenever he wants. The rest of us get the shaft, and have to play generics. It wouldn't be so bad if we were allowed to join the campaign as characters of the same level, or even live long enough to level up... or if Mike would calculate experience the way it was meant to and have balanced encounters. All people get the same experience, regardless of level, and a party of 5th level adventurers are expected to not only survive, but obliterate a horde (yes, a horde... at least 10 per encounter) of monsters with an AC of 22, 50 something Hp, an attack bonus of +10, and constantly do 4d8+8 damage, 1d8+2 if you're lucky enough not to be hit by both claws, thus starting rake damage. This is all in a campaign where there is hardly any magic (except for Josh), and breastplate is the most powerful armor allowed. Also, I hate Mike for killing my Squire. The other campaign isn't so bad, but humans do make up more than I'd like.

Anyways, sorry for whining about Mike, but it really pizzes me off.
For the ones that I don't know about entirely yet, I'm gonna try NOT to make them inhospitable lands so much as just less-populated civilized ones. This is resemblant of Europe in the scale that the Black Gulf is almost like the Mediterranean... just rounder and with a bigger opening. Maybe we should represent the Turks and the Ottomans a little bit in this, because a similar culture may very well have formed. Maybe Harper, seeing as how far east it is (now that I switched it's place with Lufoad), could be something like a Turkish cavalry. I do believe that that would work. Now my head's hurting and I'm tired as hell thanks to a case of I-can't-go-to-sleep-for-an-hour-or-so-after-I-lay-down and loud people getting up early, so I'm gonna wait until tomorrow before I entirely think this out... maybe then I won't be so deprived and can actually think about it.

Lappy9000
2009-05-30, 06:34 PM
I want to hug you...I see you've even guessed my fee :smallbiggrin:

I'm assuming you've read the Giant's articled on World-Building, yes? [link (http://www.giantitp.com/articles/YPgbz2j3PckGjjviJU5.html)]
This thing right here is fantastic, although it's a lot to take in. [link (http://www.sfwa.org/writing/worldbuilding1.htm)]

If you need some inspiration, check out Krimm Blackleaf's Nation of the Dead (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=38868) which is, in my opinion, one of the greatest completed homebrew campaign settings ever.

Then The Dustlands (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=46752), which, sadly has yet to be finished.

There's another awesome one that takes place in a gigantic library; very surreal and almost entirely devoid of mechanics, but I can't for the life of me remember what it's called...
*************************
But, yes, I'm a fan of worlds with lots of races. In fact, the last campaign and the current campaign that my groups is playing in don't have any human PC's.

Meirnon
2009-05-30, 08:54 PM
Of course I read the Giant's articles. That's where I got alot of my inspiration to even START my own world. As for the other link, I'll look into it right away. Thanks, Lappy! *hugs*

Meirnon
2009-06-01, 09:17 AM
urgh... been having trouble deciding something...
I know that I want paladins and pirates and clockworks... but they don't seem to go very well together (well, at least not the first two; the 1st and 3rd/2nd and 3rd could actually get along well), so I'm trying to decide what I should make the theme of the world be. It's centered around a gulf, so pirates are going to be not only believable, but almost expected. The paladins are supposed to be a staple of fantasy, and I want them to be the noble, chivalrous, honorable, and ultimately exalted knights they're supposed to be. Should I just cut down on them, then, and leave them to the players? Or should I make a variant paladin that has to do with clockworks. I've been thinking, since these artifacts are from a world past, it's quite possible that they've taken religious importance, and so Paladins may consider it their duty to collect, protect, and operate them as the holy warriors they are.

I've also thought of moving the elves to a more urban place. I really don't like the idea of High-Elves being in the forest, as it should belong to the Wild-Elves. I think that high-elves actually belong in urban centers, where magic is not only useful but is desired and has a constant supply of material components. You really won't find all the components you see for spells in the forests where the elven wizards are "supposed" to be. So, urban elves mixed with the human population sounds nice. Any thoughts?

Meirnon
2009-06-03, 05:17 PM
... I think... that I lost my notes on the dayvle and uthenians... Luckily, I can remember them well enough to remake them. Should get them up in a day or two. Same with the deities.

Harperfan7
2009-06-04, 12:48 AM
Personally, I like what 4th did with elves. You should make a 3.5 version of them and use that.

Lappy9000
2009-06-04, 01:07 AM
urgh... been having trouble deciding something...
I know that I want paladins and pirates and clockworks... but they don't seem to go very well together (well, at least not the first two; the 1st and 3rd/2nd and 3rd could actually get along well), so I'm trying to decide what I should make the theme of the world be. It's centered around a gulf, so pirates are going to be not only believable, but almost expected. The paladins are supposed to be a staple of fantasy, and I want them to be the noble, chivalrous, honorable, and ultimately exalted knights they're supposed to be. Should I just cut down on them, then, and leave them to the players? Or should I make a variant paladin that has to do with clockworks. I've been thinking, since these artifacts are from a world past, it's quite possible that they've taken religious importance, and so Paladins may consider it their duty to collect, protect, and operate them as the holy warriors they are.Why not focus more on the Lawful aspects of paladins? Perhaps make them more Lawful than Good (although not necessarily). Pirates could make an excellent foil as the Chaos to the paladin's Law. Make both promient forces of power in the world, and presto, you've even got that Law/Chaos theme that everyone loves so much.


I've also thought of moving the elves to a more urban place. I really don't like the idea of High-Elves being in the forest, as it should belong to the Wild-Elves. I think that high-elves actually belong in urban centers, where magic is not only useful but is desired and has a constant supply of material components. You really won't find all the components you see for spells in the forests where the elven wizards are "supposed" to be. So, urban elves mixed with the human population sounds nice. Any thoughts?Eberron did something like this with Khorvaire elves. Make them the artificers and creators of the world, although keep in mind that such an idea's stepping into gnome territory (if you're even using gnomes).

Edit: Oh! How about the Lawful and Chaotic aspects of technology? The paladins stress the automatic processes that keep the cogs running smoothly, while the pirates are gung-ho about radical technological innovation. Depending on how far you wanna go with this, you could even get living Inevitables (supreme paladins) and mechanically grafted superhumans (ultimate pirates).

Meirnon
2009-06-04, 07:53 AM
I'm not sure I really like 4e's version of elves. Splitting it up into Elves and Elves 2.0 just doesn't sound right to me. Just a personal opinion. And crud-on-a-cracker... I really don't want to do anything that another campaign world has it's own flavor. Heck, the way I came up with this world was with DMing for some friends. What they did is pretty much what made the world the way it was (the cataclysm, most soundly). So... yeah... :smallfrown:

Also, the law-chaos aspect isn't so bad... but I think I already covered the law aspect with the Hammers. Maybe I should just rid of paladins and stick with Hammers? Or just replace them with knights. I don't like the PHB2 rendition of the knight, though, so I'm thinking something more ranger-ish in the way you can choose between 2 branches: Cavalry, and Infantry. I think I'll use the Cavalier class as a basis for the class, but what should I use for the infantry branch as a base guideline?

So, Hammers are not only psychopaths, but also mechanically empowered psychopaths... well, at least the worst ones will be. I do believe that there is plenty of room for normal ones, in fact there SHOULD be quite a big chunk of normal ones. The point being, is that... maybe I should make Rakkas' sphere to include clockworks, or to have the Hammers revere a deity of clockworks also. Anyways, I'd think then that the clockwork part came about from the Machina. A crusade to Gaerth? Or a machina joined the Hammers and is secretly in a position of power. Perhaps. I'll keep thinking. Today's the last day of school, so I can start to actually work on this more actively. Really only being able to think about it on my freetime is annoying to me, and I suspect since you're putting interest in this, you.

Meirnon
2009-06-29, 11:38 PM
So... I've seemingly given up on this homebrew world... well, not really. Over the past few weeks, I've decided to take this world in a different direction...Away from D&D. I've had a recent creative burst... and it told me to make a comic, as I am an able artist and I've been wanting to make a hand-drawn comic on my own for a couple years now. And since I'm going to be making this world for my fantasy comic, I'm going to repost a new thread in the more general threads.

Anyways, as it's being taken away from D&D, it will have less and less D&D inspired aspects (although I'm not going to take it too far away from it's roots). I'm going to stick to the world-scheme, the pirates, the paladins, (maybe) the hammers, and most importantly the steam-punk clockwork aspect of it. I think it would all work very well as a fantasy comic with some reworking, and even after it's reworked it could put a place as a really original D&D setting, or even be tailored into a new, custom-made system. Thanks for all your help, but right now the "campaign setting" is on hold for the "fantasy comic setting". :smallsmile: