Qwertystop
2011-10-09, 08:02 PM
I had an idea for a homebrew world. Unfortunately, I'm not very good at putting rules to ideas. So I turn to you for help with:
Patchwork World
Backstory:
The gods made the world. Unfortunately, they forgot a lot of things. What they had was a basic structure of bland, wire-frame landscape, with something wandering it that was a generic idea of life. They wanted a bit more, so they added the Semicoterminous Planes. These were planes that extended infinitely, just like the Structural Plane. In some places, they overlapped, and in those places, the wireframe was filled in. Where the Plane of Water overlapped the Structural, there were oceans, lakes, and streams. Where the Plane of Earth overlapped it, the generic ground grew hills and mountains, became dirt, mud, stone, and other things, instead of simply a broad flat surface. Where Fire overlapped, there were flames, and where Air overlapped... you get the idea. :smallbiggrin:
They then added more... "nonconventional" Planes. The Planes of Color and Light added their namesakes to a drab gray landscape. The Planes of Free Will, Inspiration, and Thought gave life more than just instincts. The Plane of Arcanum added a source of power beyond the Gods (they were bored, okay?).
Howver, this new plane weakened the rest. When the newly intelligent life discovered how to hrness Aracne Magic, it quickly became apparent that the shoddy patchwork of planes could be pulled apart. Overuse of Darkness spells weakened the connection of Color and Light in otherwise bright places. Various compulsions weakened Free Will, Thought, and Inspiration. Assorted elemental spells pulled Fire, Water, Earth, and Air into the Structural in odd places, or pushed them away in others. This went unnoticed for a long time, as it took thousands of spells to make even the smallest dents, but those dents were made.
Without as much fluff:
The world is made of overlapping planes. These planes make the world more than just an even gray block with the idea of life drifting through it. Enormous amounts of arcane magic mess with the overlapping. In an area where the overlapping is changed, so is the world. For example, if the plane of Light is absent from an area, the area will be dim, with no deep shadows or brightly lit areas.
Magic items can be made that will bind a plane to a small area around them, or force it out. This involves a 9th-level variant of Plane Shift (7th for Clerics, but no gods are willing to shift the planes for reasons other than to fix the problems caused by arcanum). To extend the above example, a wizard might bind a 5-foot sphere of overlap to the Plane of Light to a belt. In that case, if the wearer of the belt went into an area stripped of Light, they would still have a 5-foot bubble of normal lighting around them. These items are often used by Clerics to fix areas with anomalies in the overlapping, by fixing the items in the middle of the areas.
So, can anyone help me flesh this out a bit?
Patchwork World
Backstory:
The gods made the world. Unfortunately, they forgot a lot of things. What they had was a basic structure of bland, wire-frame landscape, with something wandering it that was a generic idea of life. They wanted a bit more, so they added the Semicoterminous Planes. These were planes that extended infinitely, just like the Structural Plane. In some places, they overlapped, and in those places, the wireframe was filled in. Where the Plane of Water overlapped the Structural, there were oceans, lakes, and streams. Where the Plane of Earth overlapped it, the generic ground grew hills and mountains, became dirt, mud, stone, and other things, instead of simply a broad flat surface. Where Fire overlapped, there were flames, and where Air overlapped... you get the idea. :smallbiggrin:
They then added more... "nonconventional" Planes. The Planes of Color and Light added their namesakes to a drab gray landscape. The Planes of Free Will, Inspiration, and Thought gave life more than just instincts. The Plane of Arcanum added a source of power beyond the Gods (they were bored, okay?).
Howver, this new plane weakened the rest. When the newly intelligent life discovered how to hrness Aracne Magic, it quickly became apparent that the shoddy patchwork of planes could be pulled apart. Overuse of Darkness spells weakened the connection of Color and Light in otherwise bright places. Various compulsions weakened Free Will, Thought, and Inspiration. Assorted elemental spells pulled Fire, Water, Earth, and Air into the Structural in odd places, or pushed them away in others. This went unnoticed for a long time, as it took thousands of spells to make even the smallest dents, but those dents were made.
Without as much fluff:
The world is made of overlapping planes. These planes make the world more than just an even gray block with the idea of life drifting through it. Enormous amounts of arcane magic mess with the overlapping. In an area where the overlapping is changed, so is the world. For example, if the plane of Light is absent from an area, the area will be dim, with no deep shadows or brightly lit areas.
Magic items can be made that will bind a plane to a small area around them, or force it out. This involves a 9th-level variant of Plane Shift (7th for Clerics, but no gods are willing to shift the planes for reasons other than to fix the problems caused by arcanum). To extend the above example, a wizard might bind a 5-foot sphere of overlap to the Plane of Light to a belt. In that case, if the wearer of the belt went into an area stripped of Light, they would still have a 5-foot bubble of normal lighting around them. These items are often used by Clerics to fix areas with anomalies in the overlapping, by fixing the items in the middle of the areas.
So, can anyone help me flesh this out a bit?