Trobby
2009-12-13, 08:02 PM
Okay, I'm a little tired here right now, but I'm going to do my best to explain my situation.
I've been playing DnD for awhile now, and I want to try my hand at starting a campaign. It's going to be an original setting and plot, complete with altered attitudes for the standard 3.5 races, and new deities.
But...that's just it. I have a massive collection of ideas, many of which I could probably start roleplaying as a free-form right now, but nothing solid. No sheets, almost no maps, basically just a sketch of the land, a good idea of how the world works and operates, and how each major species relates to one another.
Now I don't intend to change any of the basic mechanics of 3.5, but I do intend to make a world that is fairly unique from the usual setting. So...how do I go about turning my creative concepts into a solid 3.5 Campaign?
Edit: I guess I should describe the world a bit...well, I'll describe it as best I can without spoiling anything.
The world I'm creating is pretty small, and mostly ocean. There's a large island with a North and West beach, some small towns scattered about, large port cities near each shore that are far more technologically advanced, and the South and East parts basically being untamed wilderness.
This, however, is a small part of the world compared to the stretch of land to the North and West, creating a rough "C" shape around the central island. This stretch of land, dawrfing the central island (this, by the way, is the canonical name for the island) has a coast on either end from which ships sail to the central island. A little bit further in along the "C" at the North is a range of mountains that lead into a massive uninhabitable desert (The very edge on either side of the desert is a sheer fall into the ocean), where the Orcs live. They are not, as in usual settings, inherently evil, but they DO host raiding parties on caravans trying to pass through the desert, and the desert itself is riddled with extremely deadly monsters.
Down off the mountains the land becomes extremely fertile due to water flow, and this is where most of the world's food comes from. South of here is a densely-packed forest, where much of the lumber of the world comes from.
Unique to the world is the attitude of each basic race. Already I've pointed out how the Orcs are different. Humans are not the dominant species in this world; most of them tend to farms in the fertile plains, while most of the rest run independent establishments or smaller farms on the central island.
The chief leaders of the world are, remarkably enough, Gnomes. The reason for this is the bizarre tidal patterns of the world. The ocean between the central island and the C continent is huge, and the tides at mid-sea are so massive that no regular boat could even hope to pass through it. But gnomes, with their natural ability to create unusual devices, developed a method of transport that can cross the waterway, and built entire cities based on this new dependence on water, creating cities with phenomenally advanced plumbing. This was easy enough for most races to accept, as the abundance of water in the world has caused the deity of water to become extremely popular and important. In fact, water is so important, that the key feature of most adventuring parties, the tavern, is here replaced by bath houses, which serve patrons as a tavern would, but the major importance of them is the act of social bathing. The adventure actually starts in a bath house (with more self-conscious players being allowed to give their character bathing suits), and the first encounter forces the player to work under the stress of having to either retrieve their equipment, or deal with the situation with minimal tools.
As for the rest of the races, Dwarves operate the major mining operation of the world, with massive mines at the North end of the C continent, and caravans that take travellers across the barren desert. Elves own the forests, and are a bit more open about giving away their trees, so long as the desire for wood does not encroach upon their sacred lands deep within the forests. Halflings have not changed much, but are more well-integrated into society due to the prominent social position of Gnomes.
Note that despite there being a focus on water, this is not primarily an ocean adventure. The intent here is to lead the player through most of the world, giving them the impression that the central island is the major focus of the world, before bringing them to the massive C-continent, and having them interact with each major race, before finally delving into a mysterious underdark. There will be bandits, there will be dragons, and there may even be dragon bandits.
I've been playing DnD for awhile now, and I want to try my hand at starting a campaign. It's going to be an original setting and plot, complete with altered attitudes for the standard 3.5 races, and new deities.
But...that's just it. I have a massive collection of ideas, many of which I could probably start roleplaying as a free-form right now, but nothing solid. No sheets, almost no maps, basically just a sketch of the land, a good idea of how the world works and operates, and how each major species relates to one another.
Now I don't intend to change any of the basic mechanics of 3.5, but I do intend to make a world that is fairly unique from the usual setting. So...how do I go about turning my creative concepts into a solid 3.5 Campaign?
Edit: I guess I should describe the world a bit...well, I'll describe it as best I can without spoiling anything.
The world I'm creating is pretty small, and mostly ocean. There's a large island with a North and West beach, some small towns scattered about, large port cities near each shore that are far more technologically advanced, and the South and East parts basically being untamed wilderness.
This, however, is a small part of the world compared to the stretch of land to the North and West, creating a rough "C" shape around the central island. This stretch of land, dawrfing the central island (this, by the way, is the canonical name for the island) has a coast on either end from which ships sail to the central island. A little bit further in along the "C" at the North is a range of mountains that lead into a massive uninhabitable desert (The very edge on either side of the desert is a sheer fall into the ocean), where the Orcs live. They are not, as in usual settings, inherently evil, but they DO host raiding parties on caravans trying to pass through the desert, and the desert itself is riddled with extremely deadly monsters.
Down off the mountains the land becomes extremely fertile due to water flow, and this is where most of the world's food comes from. South of here is a densely-packed forest, where much of the lumber of the world comes from.
Unique to the world is the attitude of each basic race. Already I've pointed out how the Orcs are different. Humans are not the dominant species in this world; most of them tend to farms in the fertile plains, while most of the rest run independent establishments or smaller farms on the central island.
The chief leaders of the world are, remarkably enough, Gnomes. The reason for this is the bizarre tidal patterns of the world. The ocean between the central island and the C continent is huge, and the tides at mid-sea are so massive that no regular boat could even hope to pass through it. But gnomes, with their natural ability to create unusual devices, developed a method of transport that can cross the waterway, and built entire cities based on this new dependence on water, creating cities with phenomenally advanced plumbing. This was easy enough for most races to accept, as the abundance of water in the world has caused the deity of water to become extremely popular and important. In fact, water is so important, that the key feature of most adventuring parties, the tavern, is here replaced by bath houses, which serve patrons as a tavern would, but the major importance of them is the act of social bathing. The adventure actually starts in a bath house (with more self-conscious players being allowed to give their character bathing suits), and the first encounter forces the player to work under the stress of having to either retrieve their equipment, or deal with the situation with minimal tools.
As for the rest of the races, Dwarves operate the major mining operation of the world, with massive mines at the North end of the C continent, and caravans that take travellers across the barren desert. Elves own the forests, and are a bit more open about giving away their trees, so long as the desire for wood does not encroach upon their sacred lands deep within the forests. Halflings have not changed much, but are more well-integrated into society due to the prominent social position of Gnomes.
Note that despite there being a focus on water, this is not primarily an ocean adventure. The intent here is to lead the player through most of the world, giving them the impression that the central island is the major focus of the world, before bringing them to the massive C-continent, and having them interact with each major race, before finally delving into a mysterious underdark. There will be bandits, there will be dragons, and there may even be dragon bandits.