Sir_Chivalry
2012-02-09, 05:00 PM
Hello all. I've been running this world I am about to post in one RL and two pbp games for a little while now. I've decided, now that my players are leaving the first three levels of play in the RL game, that it's time to invest in this world.
So, how to start? Well, let's do an overview of racial changes quickly in a spoiler and then get to fluff
•Elves that live in a caste-based system, with grey elf priests at the top, followed by high elf warriors, star elf (along with sea and winged) commoners, wild elf and wood elf slaves and the outcast (and embittered) dark elves. Elven gods are merely powerful figures from their history, exalted to divinity after death. Stats remain functionally the same.
•Dwarves that are sea-faring and ship-builders, fighting underwater races instead of orcs and goblins. Heavy armour still stays, but they are aware of the limitations it puts on their survival in water, so only the most rich wear it, as they can afford modifications and special craftsmenship to make the armour less heavy or more water-friendly. Racial boni changed to attack bonus against creatures from any aquatic enviroment, and dodge bonus against dragons (both the sea serpent variety and their winged cousins). Craft bonus changed to wood and metal, stonecunning becomes metalcunning (or maybe woodcunning?)
•Gnomes that take the dwarves place as masters of rock, earth and stone, ruling both hill and mountain, a xenophobic and untrusting race that when forced out into the world, adopts a facade of geniality and friendliness to confuse and mislead others. Racial boni change to attack bonus against reptilian enemies, though dodge bonus remains agaisnt giants.
•Halflings that are the great keepers of magical lore, but instead of it being a written history stored in books and keep in towers, it is an oral history, one that reveals secrets of the oldest artifacts and the most ancient of heroes, but only if you can find someone who knows that particular story. Gain the illumians' floating sigils, but must take feats to access anything beyond "glowy candles" effect.
•Orcs that live in the north and organize themselves into mercenary houses, selling entire clans as additional fighting forces to the greedy and warring humans to the south. A strict code of honour binds them to their employers, and they just as often go to war with other clans as the enemies of their employers. Half-orcs are also generally like this, and are looked upon neutrally by their larger brothers. Stats the same
•Goblinoids as the great originators of democracy and republics as a system of government. The three monster manual goblinoids are all as smart as humans overall, so they could easily make a society that wasn't grubbing and war-based. Plus I liked the idea of all the other races still being more authoritarian in their governments, but the goblins have democracy. Stats the same
•Half-elves come in two varieties. There are the half-human/half-elf variety, who are products of the elves interbreeding with humans. This mainly was used as a trade tactic between the human kingdoms and the elven nation. There's also the Qu'mari, functionally half-elves, but remain a true breeding race of elves who broke off from the elven nation years ago and are slowly losing their magical natures, both from breeding with nearby humans and from a slow loss of magic from their homeland.
•Reptilian humanoids take the place of the traditional orcs and goblinoids, as low-level humanoid opponents, raiding and attacking outlying human settlements. They favour an evil alignmentm for those that don't already, and generally work as servants and forces for the dragons, who are also antagonistic to humanoids (including the metallic ones)
•For other races, I'll touch on them as they come up. Illumians don't exist (never liked em), and the raptoran and goliaths are considered a single race (or sometimes a master race and slave race) known as the Vashar, who are mainly contained and fought by those nations bordering their lands. Changelings remain basically the same, though I have some musings on their origins. Warforged are also pretty much the same. Shifters, I was toying with the idea of them being modified humans (like, experimental soldiers) instead of lycanthropes.
Thoughts?
Backstory of the world
Long ago, the world was divided into four groups. There were the Highborn, who were great reptilian beasts, favoured of the gods, who had the power of creation and the sacred flame of life within them, allowing them to create others to worship them as they worshiped the gods. There were the Lowborn, those mortal beings who the gods did not favour but had placed in the world to serve the Highborn, who had within them the power to become whatever they wished, each choosing a path for himself in the world watched over by the Highborn. Also in the world there were the Midborn, like the Lowborn in shape and appearance, but great in size like the Highborn, and gifted similarly with powers of magic, creation and foresight. And finally there were the Horrors, those who stood outside the others and looked upon their works with jealousy. They sought, with horrible powers and eldritch minds, to corrupt the Low and Midborn and turn them against the Highborn. These abominations of nature even managed to corrupt some of the Highborn and their children, turning the favoured of the gods from the divine light.
Among the Lowborn at this time, a hero arose, one called Itzal. Itzal looked upon the works of the Horrors and what they were doing to the Highborn and he struck back, using the Horrors' own eldritch power against them, wielding a weapon known as the Lance of Twlight. For his valour and service, the Highborn did gift upon the house of Itzal a parcel of land near their own sacred realm, and gave forth a law that all Lowborn would obey him as if he were king. Also, at his request, a wife was created for him from the flames of life, and was given the name Izar.
Itzal and Izar ruled their fellow Lowborn for four lifetimes, and were beloved by all and blessed by magical gifts from both Highborn and Midborn allies. But it was decreed, when the Highborn saw that the Lowborn were beginning to worship Itzal as a god, that he would not rule a fifth lifetime, and the Highborn came to Itzal to tell him he was to relinquish his rule of the Lowborn. He was given one turning of the moon to give word to his subjects that he was no longer their king. When the Highborn returned after one month, Itzal bowed before their majesty and spoke that we was no longer king, but that he had invoked an ancient law. His two children Eguski and Hilargi had been given the throne, which was Itzal's won in blood, and would be their's when he died, as was his right as a warrior.
The Highborn, angered that Itzal had tricked them, struck the Lowborn king down in fury, tearing with claw and tooth and breathing the flame of life upon him. The king simply stood there, and called out to his children that their inheritance was at hand. The two rushed to their father's side, trying to spare him the wrath of the gods' chosen, but their power was too great. However, as the Highborn turned to vent their fury upon Itzal's children, the gods intervened. Itzal had wronged the Highborn, this was true, but his children's inheritance was protected by ancient law, and would be upheld unto oblivion by the gods.
The Midborn at this time did step in and present a contest to Itzal's will, that in their consideration of the divine law, only one Lowborn could hold power over all, and Itzal had given his throne to two. They offered to hold judgement over a contest in which the two children would compete for who would hold sovereignty over the Lowborn. The two agreed to the contest, and were given until the the start of the year to prepare. On the eve of the contest, Eguski fasted and prayed in solitude while Hilargi attended a feast held in her honour and gourged and quaffed and dallied such that she overslept. While the Midborn and Lowborn awaited her arrival, Eguski continued to pray and fast, and his devotion won him the favour of the gods, who gave him victory in the seven tasks set forth by the Midborn.
When she lost, Hilargi was so angry that she fled the land, taking with her the servants loyal to her and all the magic her father had left her. Eguski, bearing a heavy heart at the loss of his sister, had all portrayals of her removed from his sight, and took Izar as his queen, ruling the Lowborn with the steady hand of his father, though he was stern and and lacking the true divine spirit of Itzal.
Hilargi returned many moons later, with an army of Horrors at her command, and horrible monsters that had once been her servants, now changed into eldritch abominations. Though the battle was fierce, when the dust and fog of the brilliant battle settled, only two remained standing, locked in mortal combat. Eguski, his mail shining radiantly and his spear glinting, fought his sister Hilargi, cloaked in black, her white locks and pale face obscured, her daggers black and caked with the blood of Lowborn. Her darkness blotted out her brother's light, but only served to make his aura brighter by as much, and after a few desperate moments, the Midborn and Highborn watching witnessed Eguski strike down Hilargi and claim her head, roaring like a lion.
When the war against Hilargi had ended, the war against the Highborn began. Emboldened by his victory against the Horrors, Eguski made an alliance with the Midborn and fought to over throw the Highborn from power. Powerful outsiders, of a race known as the Irasti, did lend their aid to the alliance, powerful armies clashing against the divine elemental angels of the gods known as Ealue. As the servants of the outside powers clashed above their heads, the Lowborn and Midborn armies fought against the Highborn and their children, the battlefields running thick and deep with blood infused by both the Highborn flames of life and the Midborn wellspring of magic alike. Those chief among the Irasti pierced the divine realm itself, slaying the gods in bitter duels and absorbing their powers, and as this occured the Highborn lost the favour of the gods, their gods, as those deities plummeted to the material world, crashing into the earth. When all was finished, Eguski stood victorious over the body of Nealtheame, the last of the lords of the Highborn, though the battle had cost him his mother-queen Izar.
The house of Eguski ruled the Lowborn for many ages, but the sorrow of the war between the siblings left a curse upon the house not even the gods could dissolve. For just as Eguski and Hilargi fought, so too did their ancestors, and each would leave the other, both diminished for the exchange. The Lowborn, subjects of Itzal, forgot who they had been, and became the Elves of Esdia, who seek to attain some lost divinity, the Dwarves who rule the seas, and lay claim to the isles of Ultrian, the distrustful Gnomes of Itzalak, the great tunnels and caverns beneath the earth, the mystical Halflings of Vera, shrouded in fog, the Orcs of Dirkland, who seek a purpose in gold and influence where the gods once sat, the Goblins of the Fharan desert, who seek to have no mortal as their lord, each being his own, and the many and varied kingdoms of Humans, who more than any of their brothers, desire strife and war.
So, how to start? Well, let's do an overview of racial changes quickly in a spoiler and then get to fluff
•Elves that live in a caste-based system, with grey elf priests at the top, followed by high elf warriors, star elf (along with sea and winged) commoners, wild elf and wood elf slaves and the outcast (and embittered) dark elves. Elven gods are merely powerful figures from their history, exalted to divinity after death. Stats remain functionally the same.
•Dwarves that are sea-faring and ship-builders, fighting underwater races instead of orcs and goblins. Heavy armour still stays, but they are aware of the limitations it puts on their survival in water, so only the most rich wear it, as they can afford modifications and special craftsmenship to make the armour less heavy or more water-friendly. Racial boni changed to attack bonus against creatures from any aquatic enviroment, and dodge bonus against dragons (both the sea serpent variety and their winged cousins). Craft bonus changed to wood and metal, stonecunning becomes metalcunning (or maybe woodcunning?)
•Gnomes that take the dwarves place as masters of rock, earth and stone, ruling both hill and mountain, a xenophobic and untrusting race that when forced out into the world, adopts a facade of geniality and friendliness to confuse and mislead others. Racial boni change to attack bonus against reptilian enemies, though dodge bonus remains agaisnt giants.
•Halflings that are the great keepers of magical lore, but instead of it being a written history stored in books and keep in towers, it is an oral history, one that reveals secrets of the oldest artifacts and the most ancient of heroes, but only if you can find someone who knows that particular story. Gain the illumians' floating sigils, but must take feats to access anything beyond "glowy candles" effect.
•Orcs that live in the north and organize themselves into mercenary houses, selling entire clans as additional fighting forces to the greedy and warring humans to the south. A strict code of honour binds them to their employers, and they just as often go to war with other clans as the enemies of their employers. Half-orcs are also generally like this, and are looked upon neutrally by their larger brothers. Stats the same
•Goblinoids as the great originators of democracy and republics as a system of government. The three monster manual goblinoids are all as smart as humans overall, so they could easily make a society that wasn't grubbing and war-based. Plus I liked the idea of all the other races still being more authoritarian in their governments, but the goblins have democracy. Stats the same
•Half-elves come in two varieties. There are the half-human/half-elf variety, who are products of the elves interbreeding with humans. This mainly was used as a trade tactic between the human kingdoms and the elven nation. There's also the Qu'mari, functionally half-elves, but remain a true breeding race of elves who broke off from the elven nation years ago and are slowly losing their magical natures, both from breeding with nearby humans and from a slow loss of magic from their homeland.
•Reptilian humanoids take the place of the traditional orcs and goblinoids, as low-level humanoid opponents, raiding and attacking outlying human settlements. They favour an evil alignmentm for those that don't already, and generally work as servants and forces for the dragons, who are also antagonistic to humanoids (including the metallic ones)
•For other races, I'll touch on them as they come up. Illumians don't exist (never liked em), and the raptoran and goliaths are considered a single race (or sometimes a master race and slave race) known as the Vashar, who are mainly contained and fought by those nations bordering their lands. Changelings remain basically the same, though I have some musings on their origins. Warforged are also pretty much the same. Shifters, I was toying with the idea of them being modified humans (like, experimental soldiers) instead of lycanthropes.
Thoughts?
Backstory of the world
Long ago, the world was divided into four groups. There were the Highborn, who were great reptilian beasts, favoured of the gods, who had the power of creation and the sacred flame of life within them, allowing them to create others to worship them as they worshiped the gods. There were the Lowborn, those mortal beings who the gods did not favour but had placed in the world to serve the Highborn, who had within them the power to become whatever they wished, each choosing a path for himself in the world watched over by the Highborn. Also in the world there were the Midborn, like the Lowborn in shape and appearance, but great in size like the Highborn, and gifted similarly with powers of magic, creation and foresight. And finally there were the Horrors, those who stood outside the others and looked upon their works with jealousy. They sought, with horrible powers and eldritch minds, to corrupt the Low and Midborn and turn them against the Highborn. These abominations of nature even managed to corrupt some of the Highborn and their children, turning the favoured of the gods from the divine light.
Among the Lowborn at this time, a hero arose, one called Itzal. Itzal looked upon the works of the Horrors and what they were doing to the Highborn and he struck back, using the Horrors' own eldritch power against them, wielding a weapon known as the Lance of Twlight. For his valour and service, the Highborn did gift upon the house of Itzal a parcel of land near their own sacred realm, and gave forth a law that all Lowborn would obey him as if he were king. Also, at his request, a wife was created for him from the flames of life, and was given the name Izar.
Itzal and Izar ruled their fellow Lowborn for four lifetimes, and were beloved by all and blessed by magical gifts from both Highborn and Midborn allies. But it was decreed, when the Highborn saw that the Lowborn were beginning to worship Itzal as a god, that he would not rule a fifth lifetime, and the Highborn came to Itzal to tell him he was to relinquish his rule of the Lowborn. He was given one turning of the moon to give word to his subjects that he was no longer their king. When the Highborn returned after one month, Itzal bowed before their majesty and spoke that we was no longer king, but that he had invoked an ancient law. His two children Eguski and Hilargi had been given the throne, which was Itzal's won in blood, and would be their's when he died, as was his right as a warrior.
The Highborn, angered that Itzal had tricked them, struck the Lowborn king down in fury, tearing with claw and tooth and breathing the flame of life upon him. The king simply stood there, and called out to his children that their inheritance was at hand. The two rushed to their father's side, trying to spare him the wrath of the gods' chosen, but their power was too great. However, as the Highborn turned to vent their fury upon Itzal's children, the gods intervened. Itzal had wronged the Highborn, this was true, but his children's inheritance was protected by ancient law, and would be upheld unto oblivion by the gods.
The Midborn at this time did step in and present a contest to Itzal's will, that in their consideration of the divine law, only one Lowborn could hold power over all, and Itzal had given his throne to two. They offered to hold judgement over a contest in which the two children would compete for who would hold sovereignty over the Lowborn. The two agreed to the contest, and were given until the the start of the year to prepare. On the eve of the contest, Eguski fasted and prayed in solitude while Hilargi attended a feast held in her honour and gourged and quaffed and dallied such that she overslept. While the Midborn and Lowborn awaited her arrival, Eguski continued to pray and fast, and his devotion won him the favour of the gods, who gave him victory in the seven tasks set forth by the Midborn.
When she lost, Hilargi was so angry that she fled the land, taking with her the servants loyal to her and all the magic her father had left her. Eguski, bearing a heavy heart at the loss of his sister, had all portrayals of her removed from his sight, and took Izar as his queen, ruling the Lowborn with the steady hand of his father, though he was stern and and lacking the true divine spirit of Itzal.
Hilargi returned many moons later, with an army of Horrors at her command, and horrible monsters that had once been her servants, now changed into eldritch abominations. Though the battle was fierce, when the dust and fog of the brilliant battle settled, only two remained standing, locked in mortal combat. Eguski, his mail shining radiantly and his spear glinting, fought his sister Hilargi, cloaked in black, her white locks and pale face obscured, her daggers black and caked with the blood of Lowborn. Her darkness blotted out her brother's light, but only served to make his aura brighter by as much, and after a few desperate moments, the Midborn and Highborn watching witnessed Eguski strike down Hilargi and claim her head, roaring like a lion.
When the war against Hilargi had ended, the war against the Highborn began. Emboldened by his victory against the Horrors, Eguski made an alliance with the Midborn and fought to over throw the Highborn from power. Powerful outsiders, of a race known as the Irasti, did lend their aid to the alliance, powerful armies clashing against the divine elemental angels of the gods known as Ealue. As the servants of the outside powers clashed above their heads, the Lowborn and Midborn armies fought against the Highborn and their children, the battlefields running thick and deep with blood infused by both the Highborn flames of life and the Midborn wellspring of magic alike. Those chief among the Irasti pierced the divine realm itself, slaying the gods in bitter duels and absorbing their powers, and as this occured the Highborn lost the favour of the gods, their gods, as those deities plummeted to the material world, crashing into the earth. When all was finished, Eguski stood victorious over the body of Nealtheame, the last of the lords of the Highborn, though the battle had cost him his mother-queen Izar.
The house of Eguski ruled the Lowborn for many ages, but the sorrow of the war between the siblings left a curse upon the house not even the gods could dissolve. For just as Eguski and Hilargi fought, so too did their ancestors, and each would leave the other, both diminished for the exchange. The Lowborn, subjects of Itzal, forgot who they had been, and became the Elves of Esdia, who seek to attain some lost divinity, the Dwarves who rule the seas, and lay claim to the isles of Ultrian, the distrustful Gnomes of Itzalak, the great tunnels and caverns beneath the earth, the mystical Halflings of Vera, shrouded in fog, the Orcs of Dirkland, who seek a purpose in gold and influence where the gods once sat, the Goblins of the Fharan desert, who seek to have no mortal as their lord, each being his own, and the many and varied kingdoms of Humans, who more than any of their brothers, desire strife and war.