Babale
2012-01-11, 03:24 AM
Hey guys! I'm about to run a campaign for two players, one who has played D&D for many years and one who has never played D&D before (except for a short one-shot to get a hang of the rules, also run by me). I decided that, since I've never played in or DMed a perfectly stereotypical D&D setting, this would be the perfect chance. The veteran player would get to experience what he considers "classic" D&D, and the new player would get a taste of what everyone thinks D&D is!
So, I decided to make a world that's as close to vanilla as possible. I put in a few twists (Like my Orcs as Vikings instead of Orcs as Mooks, and Elves as Exotic Foreigners instead of Exotic Hippies) but overall, I think it's pretty stereotypical. I lifted things from many different sources (From OotS, I took the idea for geographical pantheons, along with the 12 Chinese Animals as a pantheon) which should make this even more stereotypical and fun.
So, here's my world... Tell me what you guys think! If there's a way to make it more stereotypical, tell me! The thing is, I know I want to go with a classic plotline, but I haven't decided on which one yet (Demon Invasion? Epic Lich? Dragonslaying? Expedition to an unknown jungle? So many choices!) I still have lots and lots of time (The campaign will start at level 1) but I want to make sure my setting hasn't inadvertently blocked any classic. So if you think it has, please tell me!
The Northern Continent: Filbernan
This continent is by far the largest in the world. The continent is divided into three kingdoms: Schale, Frieren, and the Namara Union.
Frieren is a human kingdom that runs along the northern edge of the continent, and is heavily influenced by the Orcish raiders who come from the archipelago in the Northern Waters. The kingdom is made up of a few small, heavily fortified stone cities, with numerous villages in between. Constant snow covers the ground in much of the land. For many years, Frieren was ruled by a human Jarl, and still has a large human majority. Thirty years ago, however, Jarl Walrag married an Orcish woman, who gave birth to a son. Following a brief civil war, Jarl Walrag declared the half-Orc his heir, and established Orcs as equal citizens. Since then, Jarl Oklaf, the half-Orc, took power. Frieren is the only kingdom to recognize Orcs as equal to humans. Since Oklaf was declared heir, many nobles brought their previously-illegitimate half-orc sons back to their courts, in order to win favor. Today, four of the cities are ruled by half-orc governers, and one other has a half-orc as the direct sucessor.
The Schale Confederation is the largest and most powerful kingdom in Filbernan. The city is ruled by King Henrik Dragonslayer, a wise and old warrior who earned his title four separate times. Schale is made up of eight independent city-states, of which the capital is most powerful. All but the weakest of the cities, however, is more than strong enough to hold its own against the other armies on the continent. Schale controls the fertile central area of the continent, along with the mountains in the center, where most of the ore on the continent comes from.
The Namara Union is the smallest country on the continent. It is made of three Dwarven Underhalls, and doesn't include the land between them. Unlike the other two nations, The Union elects its leader, known as the Undermaster, who then rules for life, or until impeached. The Council of Elders, a council of one hundred dwarves who are also elected by the citizens, has the power to impeach the Undermaster. This is very rare, however, and has only happened once in recorded history.
There are other minor independent city-states, but the three main kingdoms are the only ones with any real power.
The Eastern Continent
The eastern continent is nearly completely unknown. It is ruled by Elves and Drow, but no one from any of the other continents has ever gone there and back. The elves keep their continent sealed away, as they believe themselves to be far superior to the other races.
Trade with the Eastern Continent is handled from a large port city (named Chiran) on a small island halfway through Filbernan and the Eastern continent, which is under control of the elves. The elves sell spices, silk, and other luxury goods, while the Central Continent sells weapons and other metallic goods, which the elves cannot produce themselves.
The Eastern Continent has no proper name in Common, since its Elven name is unpronounceable.
The Northern Sea
North of Filbernan, the ocean is always cold and stormy. In these dangerous seas, a series of islands make up the homeland of the Orcs. The climate is far too cold for large-scale agriculture, so Orcs depend mostly on fishing and hunting for food, along with whatever they bring back from their raids on Filbernan's coastal settlements. While many Orcs have settled down for civilized lives in Frieren, many other continue sailing their longships on their deadly raids.
Traditional Orcish helmets have a pair of twisted, ram-like horns on them. This leads many people from the southern regions of Filbernan, where the only orcs seen are the occasional raiding party, to believe that orcs naturally have horns growing out of their heads.
The Southern Continent (Daerom)
Daerom is a large desert continent, which lies south of Filbernan. Most of it is inhospitable and empty, except for various wandering herds of animals, and the humanoids who follow them. The only real civilization is the Mitzram Empire, in the fertile Kilus Valley, which lies along the Kilus River that flows from the mountains in the south of the continent to the ocean to the north.
The Mitzram Empire, along with about three fourths of the humanoids who live in this land, is made up of reptilian humanoids. The desert that makes up the rest of the continent, along with the jungle farther to the south, is filled with herds of dinosaurs, who wander from oasis to oasis. The Mitzram Empire is made up of about 50% Lizardfolk, 30% Troglodytes, and 20% Yuan-Ti. The Yuan-Ti make up the clergy and ruler classes. The empire is ruled by a Yuan-Ti Pharaoh, who claims to be a god-king. Dead pharaohs are buried in huge pyramids, which the reptiles build using their domesticated dinosaurs.
The reptilian rulers of Daerom view non-reptilian humanoids with disdain. Until about fifty years ago, they enslaved and even fed on such humanoids, but recently, they adopted a policy that gave humanoids rudimentary rights, although not full citizenship.
Dragons originally hail from Daerom, although in the years that have passed dragon species have adapted to every type of environment.
The Western Continent (Bayet)
Not much is known of Bayet, the Western continent, except that it is the original homeland of humans. Some calamity must have destroyed the civilization that originated in Bayet, as no known sentient race currently occupies it. Ancient human ruins that dwarf even the most amazing of modern human architecture, however, dot the landscape. Bayet's temperate landscape is inhabited by powerful monsters, from dragons to chimeras to hydras, so expeditions there are considered dangerous.
Religion and the Planes
The cosmology of this setting is the standard d&d cosmology, as detailed in the Planar Handbook. Religion, however, is quite different.
The world is divided between four five pantheons, each of whom controls a certain area of the world. Pantheons can grant spells to followers who are outside of the pantheon's area of power, but certain spells (Most notably Miracle, Commune, and the various Raise Dead spells) do not work. In addition, Divine Casters outside of their native lands must take an extra hour when resting in order to prepare spells, as they must build an altar to their patrons in order to bring temporarily bring a small area into their patron's sphere of influence.
The islands in the Northern Sea are the domain of the Asgardian Pantheon, followed by the Orcs. In fact, as Orcs migrated south and integrated into Frieren, that area of Filbernan became Asgardian ground.
Daerom, the Southern Continent, is the domain of the Pharaohnic Pantheon, of which the empire's king is part. Along with the Pharohnic dieties, a few other dieties have power. These “outcast” deities are only worshiped by the “softskins”, however; the reptilian majority of Daerom follows the Pantheon. Those who worship the “outcast” deities must do so in secret, as the reptilians abhor these deities.
Bayet, the cradle of human civilization, seems to have no gods. In fact, divine spellcasting is nearly impossible there; in order to cast a spell, a cleric must succeed on a DC 10+Spell Level Caster Level check. For example, if a Cleric tries to cast Cure Moderate Wounds, he must succeed on a DC 12 Caster Level check; if he tries to cast Summon Monster V, the DC is 15. In addition, spell resistance is harder to overcome when using divine spells (+5 to spell resistance) and divine casters must rest for three extra hours in order to prepare spells. It is rumored that Bayet has its own pantheon, but whether the pantheon was destroyed, simply forgotten, or if the rumor is complete rubbish is unknown.
The Eastern Continent has its own pantheon of 12 gods, who are the 12 Chinese calender animals. Little is known about these gods, as the elves are very distrustful of outsiders. However, it is known that elves do not have trouble casting divine spells on the central continent.
Filbernan is different from the Southern or Northern continents. In the North, the only native civilization is that of the Orcs, so a unified pantheon exists. In the South, the reptilians have always served their pantheon, and are very intolerant of other religions or misinterpretation of their own religion. As a result, the pantheons are very unified and solid. Filbernan, on the other hand, is filled with hundreds of separate nations and ethnic groups, each of whom worships their own gods in their own way. As a result, the Central Continent has no unified pantheon, and has many times as many deities as the other pantheons. It is likely that many of these deities are, in fact, simply different aspects of the same god; but as long as these gods grant spells to clerics who worship them in any of their forms, it is impossible to know for certain exactly how many gods exist on the Central Continent.
So, I decided to make a world that's as close to vanilla as possible. I put in a few twists (Like my Orcs as Vikings instead of Orcs as Mooks, and Elves as Exotic Foreigners instead of Exotic Hippies) but overall, I think it's pretty stereotypical. I lifted things from many different sources (From OotS, I took the idea for geographical pantheons, along with the 12 Chinese Animals as a pantheon) which should make this even more stereotypical and fun.
So, here's my world... Tell me what you guys think! If there's a way to make it more stereotypical, tell me! The thing is, I know I want to go with a classic plotline, but I haven't decided on which one yet (Demon Invasion? Epic Lich? Dragonslaying? Expedition to an unknown jungle? So many choices!) I still have lots and lots of time (The campaign will start at level 1) but I want to make sure my setting hasn't inadvertently blocked any classic. So if you think it has, please tell me!
The Northern Continent: Filbernan
This continent is by far the largest in the world. The continent is divided into three kingdoms: Schale, Frieren, and the Namara Union.
Frieren is a human kingdom that runs along the northern edge of the continent, and is heavily influenced by the Orcish raiders who come from the archipelago in the Northern Waters. The kingdom is made up of a few small, heavily fortified stone cities, with numerous villages in between. Constant snow covers the ground in much of the land. For many years, Frieren was ruled by a human Jarl, and still has a large human majority. Thirty years ago, however, Jarl Walrag married an Orcish woman, who gave birth to a son. Following a brief civil war, Jarl Walrag declared the half-Orc his heir, and established Orcs as equal citizens. Since then, Jarl Oklaf, the half-Orc, took power. Frieren is the only kingdom to recognize Orcs as equal to humans. Since Oklaf was declared heir, many nobles brought their previously-illegitimate half-orc sons back to their courts, in order to win favor. Today, four of the cities are ruled by half-orc governers, and one other has a half-orc as the direct sucessor.
The Schale Confederation is the largest and most powerful kingdom in Filbernan. The city is ruled by King Henrik Dragonslayer, a wise and old warrior who earned his title four separate times. Schale is made up of eight independent city-states, of which the capital is most powerful. All but the weakest of the cities, however, is more than strong enough to hold its own against the other armies on the continent. Schale controls the fertile central area of the continent, along with the mountains in the center, where most of the ore on the continent comes from.
The Namara Union is the smallest country on the continent. It is made of three Dwarven Underhalls, and doesn't include the land between them. Unlike the other two nations, The Union elects its leader, known as the Undermaster, who then rules for life, or until impeached. The Council of Elders, a council of one hundred dwarves who are also elected by the citizens, has the power to impeach the Undermaster. This is very rare, however, and has only happened once in recorded history.
There are other minor independent city-states, but the three main kingdoms are the only ones with any real power.
The Eastern Continent
The eastern continent is nearly completely unknown. It is ruled by Elves and Drow, but no one from any of the other continents has ever gone there and back. The elves keep their continent sealed away, as they believe themselves to be far superior to the other races.
Trade with the Eastern Continent is handled from a large port city (named Chiran) on a small island halfway through Filbernan and the Eastern continent, which is under control of the elves. The elves sell spices, silk, and other luxury goods, while the Central Continent sells weapons and other metallic goods, which the elves cannot produce themselves.
The Eastern Continent has no proper name in Common, since its Elven name is unpronounceable.
The Northern Sea
North of Filbernan, the ocean is always cold and stormy. In these dangerous seas, a series of islands make up the homeland of the Orcs. The climate is far too cold for large-scale agriculture, so Orcs depend mostly on fishing and hunting for food, along with whatever they bring back from their raids on Filbernan's coastal settlements. While many Orcs have settled down for civilized lives in Frieren, many other continue sailing their longships on their deadly raids.
Traditional Orcish helmets have a pair of twisted, ram-like horns on them. This leads many people from the southern regions of Filbernan, where the only orcs seen are the occasional raiding party, to believe that orcs naturally have horns growing out of their heads.
The Southern Continent (Daerom)
Daerom is a large desert continent, which lies south of Filbernan. Most of it is inhospitable and empty, except for various wandering herds of animals, and the humanoids who follow them. The only real civilization is the Mitzram Empire, in the fertile Kilus Valley, which lies along the Kilus River that flows from the mountains in the south of the continent to the ocean to the north.
The Mitzram Empire, along with about three fourths of the humanoids who live in this land, is made up of reptilian humanoids. The desert that makes up the rest of the continent, along with the jungle farther to the south, is filled with herds of dinosaurs, who wander from oasis to oasis. The Mitzram Empire is made up of about 50% Lizardfolk, 30% Troglodytes, and 20% Yuan-Ti. The Yuan-Ti make up the clergy and ruler classes. The empire is ruled by a Yuan-Ti Pharaoh, who claims to be a god-king. Dead pharaohs are buried in huge pyramids, which the reptiles build using their domesticated dinosaurs.
The reptilian rulers of Daerom view non-reptilian humanoids with disdain. Until about fifty years ago, they enslaved and even fed on such humanoids, but recently, they adopted a policy that gave humanoids rudimentary rights, although not full citizenship.
Dragons originally hail from Daerom, although in the years that have passed dragon species have adapted to every type of environment.
The Western Continent (Bayet)
Not much is known of Bayet, the Western continent, except that it is the original homeland of humans. Some calamity must have destroyed the civilization that originated in Bayet, as no known sentient race currently occupies it. Ancient human ruins that dwarf even the most amazing of modern human architecture, however, dot the landscape. Bayet's temperate landscape is inhabited by powerful monsters, from dragons to chimeras to hydras, so expeditions there are considered dangerous.
Religion and the Planes
The cosmology of this setting is the standard d&d cosmology, as detailed in the Planar Handbook. Religion, however, is quite different.
The world is divided between four five pantheons, each of whom controls a certain area of the world. Pantheons can grant spells to followers who are outside of the pantheon's area of power, but certain spells (Most notably Miracle, Commune, and the various Raise Dead spells) do not work. In addition, Divine Casters outside of their native lands must take an extra hour when resting in order to prepare spells, as they must build an altar to their patrons in order to bring temporarily bring a small area into their patron's sphere of influence.
The islands in the Northern Sea are the domain of the Asgardian Pantheon, followed by the Orcs. In fact, as Orcs migrated south and integrated into Frieren, that area of Filbernan became Asgardian ground.
Daerom, the Southern Continent, is the domain of the Pharaohnic Pantheon, of which the empire's king is part. Along with the Pharohnic dieties, a few other dieties have power. These “outcast” deities are only worshiped by the “softskins”, however; the reptilian majority of Daerom follows the Pantheon. Those who worship the “outcast” deities must do so in secret, as the reptilians abhor these deities.
Bayet, the cradle of human civilization, seems to have no gods. In fact, divine spellcasting is nearly impossible there; in order to cast a spell, a cleric must succeed on a DC 10+Spell Level Caster Level check. For example, if a Cleric tries to cast Cure Moderate Wounds, he must succeed on a DC 12 Caster Level check; if he tries to cast Summon Monster V, the DC is 15. In addition, spell resistance is harder to overcome when using divine spells (+5 to spell resistance) and divine casters must rest for three extra hours in order to prepare spells. It is rumored that Bayet has its own pantheon, but whether the pantheon was destroyed, simply forgotten, or if the rumor is complete rubbish is unknown.
The Eastern Continent has its own pantheon of 12 gods, who are the 12 Chinese calender animals. Little is known about these gods, as the elves are very distrustful of outsiders. However, it is known that elves do not have trouble casting divine spells on the central continent.
Filbernan is different from the Southern or Northern continents. In the North, the only native civilization is that of the Orcs, so a unified pantheon exists. In the South, the reptilians have always served their pantheon, and are very intolerant of other religions or misinterpretation of their own religion. As a result, the pantheons are very unified and solid. Filbernan, on the other hand, is filled with hundreds of separate nations and ethnic groups, each of whom worships their own gods in their own way. As a result, the Central Continent has no unified pantheon, and has many times as many deities as the other pantheons. It is likely that many of these deities are, in fact, simply different aspects of the same god; but as long as these gods grant spells to clerics who worship them in any of their forms, it is impossible to know for certain exactly how many gods exist on the Central Continent.