Lurvia, a World Alive

[Jack_of_Spades]

I like post-apocalyptic worlds; I really do. It's always fun to journey across miles of unforgiving desert terrain in search for water that your village deparately needs to survive for just one more week.

I want to try something new in my next campaign. I want to have it take place in a Eden-like world where resources are everywhere.

Setting

The world is called Lurvia. It is a massive tree wrapped around a globe of water. It has many trunks(though technically they are only branches of Lurvia) that are the size of continents. They reach miles into the sky branching out again and again to form massive networks of branches and leaves, leaves that are large and strong enough to hold an entire town or city. Survival is easy on Lurvia as any needed food can be collected from bushes or vines which cover most of the ground and buildings.

With such an abundance of food around, many animals have evolved to monstrous proportions. Herd animals as large as elephants meander up and down the trunks eating everything in thier path. Of course, carnivors have also evolved to take advantage of this. Dragons, cats, and other beasts prowl among the leaves and sticks waiting to pounce upon an unwary animal or person.

Despite the bounty of food, water, and other neccessities that Luria provides, there is still conflict. Four distinct Kingdoms have risen over the millenia each one controlling vast territories. These territories overlap sometimes, and it is here that most heated battles take place.
The Fairies believe that all races are a part of nature and should live in harmony like pack animals. They are very family oriented and communistic in their society. Fairies don't have any cities, but rather each family has a large territory where they can live in.
The Dwarves delve into the trunks of Lurvia, seeking answers for thier existence and purpose. Patient and curious; they band together as part of a team. A team is more important than a family to dwarves because a Team is chosen while a family is forced upon them. Dwarves can be fierce warriors, but are most known for their magic abilities.
The Elves think nature should be controlled; it is like a work of art to be shaped and crafted how they see fit. Elves are highly individualistic because each one has a different idea of beauty. However, they do band together to defend thier homes from attack, and are renown as fighters.
The Orcs are endlessly hungry. Hungry for more territory, more women, more fire, and they set out to get it. Order, discipline and strength guides most Orcs. Thier drums can be heard from miles away. The chanting of ther armies, n tune to the drums, seem to give them greater strength as they charge across a battlefield.
The Humans just appeared on Lurvia less than three hundred years ago. they have not yet established a kingdom of thier own, but they wander around Lurvia joining with a kingdom which they find agreeable.

Magic exists here in crystalline form. It gathers in pools or hangs like a cocoon from branches. A mage can draw energy out of these crytals and shape it into whatever they need.
There are hundreds of different varieties of crystals and thier energy can be used for many different spells. An crystal that has exhausted its energy can be placed on the ground of Lurvia and be recharged in four hours; the most skilled mages can use the same crystal several times before needing to recharge it again.

Clerics are very close to nature, and as such can draw energy form Lurvia itself. It has many different uses, the easiest of which is healing.

Races

Fairies
As halflings in PHB except as follows.
-2 con -2 str +2 dex
No saving throw bonuses
Fly speed: 20 ft Average
Favored class: Ranger

Elves:
As Elves in PHB except as follows
Int +2 Con -2
+2 to one craft skill
No sword proficiencies
Favored Class: Fighter

Dwarves
As dwarves in PHB except as follows.
They lose thier bonuses relating to stone and giants.
+2 Con
+2 AC while adjacent to a member of his Team. This is only gained after they have spent one full round in contact with each other and is lost whenever they separate for whatever reason. This bonus increases to +4 if he is adjecent to two allies and is reduced to +2 if either ally is separated.

Orcs
As half-orc in PHB except as follows.
+2 Str -2 Int
Favored Class: Bard

Humans
As Humans in PHB except as follows
+2 to handle animal

Other changes I'm thinking about.
Magic is now contained in crystals which a wizard carries around. A single crystal contains one or more spells. When a wizard casts a spell he draws the spell energy out of the crystal and shapes it into the desired effect. This eliminates material components completly, and instead used the crystal as a re-usable focus.
Spells with an XP cost still work the same as the necessary energy is pulled from the caster; the same also applies to magic items that are crated.

Clerics are now combines with druids.
They gain all the druids class abilites at thier appropriate levels and the druid's spell list is added to thier own.
They have a d6 hit die.
Spells per day are gained like a Druids.
They can spontaneously cast Cure or Nature's ally. Evil Cleric's simply drain energy from the victim's of thier inflict spells.



Closing

So, what are your thoughts and advice for my budding brainchild? Any wisdom you wish to impart and see reflected in it's adult form? If you don't have any advice and just want to tell me you like/hate the idea, that's okay too. I'd like whatever feedback you have!

[Fizban]

Used to be you'd change the title iin the OP, don't know if the software change messed with that.

I like it, a world where there's no survival reason to fight, and still people do. Humans are not the dominant race for a change, and the races are much more simplified. I assume you're doing away with most of the half-races and such? The magic concept is beautiful, and could be implemented so many ways, not to mention how common/rare these crystals could be (pick one up on the way to the fight, or spend a day looking under rocks to replace your lost pouch?) full of possibilities.

One thing though: Adding the entire druid list to the Cleric's iis probly not such a good idea. I'd like to suggest along with the simplified feel I'm getting so far, to go with something like the generic classes in UA, except you choose either cleric, druid, or sor/wiz instead of picking from all three at once. Also, I've liked the idea of splitting the druid into two classes: A druidid shaman style caster, and a nature's warrior shapeshifter class. Not that any of this really has anything to do with what you've got, but it's some ideas I've been having that live with the vibe I caught.

Now the question is did I read this all wrong and just invoked major irony? :smallconfused:

[Khantalas]

For the title: Edit your first post in "advanced". It'll let you edit the title there.

What does this have to do with post-apocalyptic worlds, anyway?

[Closet_Skeleton]

For the title: Edit your first post in "advanced". It'll let you edit the title there.

What does this have to do with post-apocalyptic worlds, anyway?

It's about a post-apocalyptic world. Apparently one that realises that ash is a good fertiliser.

[Jack_of_Spades]

What does this have to do with post-apocalyptic worlds, anyway?

It's the fact that it isn't post-apocalyptic. It's actually set in a world with plentiful resources, but people still fight.


The magic concept is beautiful, and could be implemented so many ways, not to mention how common/rare these crystals could be (pick one up on the way to the fight, or spend a day looking under rocks to replace your lost pouch?) full of possibilities.

Well, they're not very hard to find. A character could probably find one every couple of days if he was looking. I'd roll on a random spell chart to see which school of magic and level it had. Some crystals would be more powerful and hold two or three schools of magic; and weaker ones may even have just one spell. Stronger ones are of course much rarer than weak ones. Crystals up to level 5 can be bought in towns for the price it normally costs to add a spell to a spell book.

It's inspired by Final Fantasy 7 and 12 because of how you can buy magic in those games.


I'll think about different ways to split the Druid because that sounds a lot better than what I wanted to do to the cleric.

[YPU]

perhaps use the powerpoint system from unearthed aracana and give a mage his own points and ones granted by crystals?

[Fizban]

It's the fact that it isn't post-apocalyptic. It's actually set in a world with plentiful resources, but people still fight.



Well, they're not very hard to find. A character could probably find one every couple of days if he was looking. I'd roll on a random spell chart to see which school of magic and level it had. Some crystals would be more powerful and hold two or three schools of magic; and weaker ones may even have just one spell. Stronger ones are of course much rarer than weak ones. Crystals up to level 5 can be bought in towns for the price it normally costs to add a spell to a spell book.

It's inspired by Final Fantasy 7 and 12 because of how you can buy magic in those games.


I'll think about different ways to split the Druid because that sounds a lot better than what I wanted to do to the cleric.
Interesting take on materia, I liked that representation too. I'd also suggest a feat like eschew materials to cast weaker when you lose your crystals. But you'll have to finish writing up how it all works first of course....

[Jack_of_Spades]

Interesting take on materia, I liked that representation too. I'd also suggest a feat like eschew materials to cast weaker when you lose your crystals. But you'll have to finish writing up how it all works first of course....

Here's what I have so far on spells. Thanks for the feedback Fizban; I'm surprised you aren't more suspicious of a giant tree. I'm thinking of some variant druids; I'll post those when I've fully developed them.

Obtaining Spells

To cast a spell a mage must first find a crystal of the necessary strength and type.

There are eleven colors of crystals, but only 10 are used for spells.
Universal- Light Blue
Pink- Abjuration
Mint green- Conjuration
Yellow- Divination
Dark Blue- Enchantment
Red- Evocation
Orange- Illusion
Purple- Necromancy
Dark Green- Transmutation
Black- All 0 level spells. ( These are called Shards because they are only pieces of once complete crystals; they have energy from all schools of magic which makes them black.)

Clear- Used for currency. Some crystals are not invested with magical energy and these are used as currancy. Shards are worth the equivalent of 1gp while higher level crystals are worth ten times thier level.


Scribe Scroll, Craft Wand, Craft Staff, and Brew Potion still work the same. A Wizard can draw energy out of a crystal and imbue it into something else. Potions are imbued into foods or drinks that have a faint glow from the magic held within. Scrolls can be scribed onto almost anything and the script glows the same color as the school it's from. Wands and Staves hold a crystal on top to channel spells.


Eschew Crystals
Pre Reqs- Wizard level 5th+

Benefit: You can cast spells without a relevant crystal. Spells cast in this manner are cast at the lowest strength possible.
EX: A fireball cast without a crystal has a DC of 14 and deals 5d6 damage. Magic missile has only one bolt.

[Fizban]

Thanks for the feedback Fizban; I'm surprised you aren't more suspicious of a giant tree.
Arg, this is the second time I've been accused of tree hate, can someone clue me in as to what happened?
Aha!, while typing that, I remembered! A suprisingly minor detail you all seem to be remembering......you're on the trees' side arent you!?!?

..Anyway

So, a caster needs an appropriate level and school of crystal to cast a spell, except for cantrips. Sounds like casters are going to be carrying a lot of crystals to make sure they have enough to be able to change their spells prepared each day and still be able to cast their spells. Especially for sorcerers. I'd maybe suggest a color/type that only spontaneous casters can use, which works for all schools at once (or maybe groups of schools). They still need one for each spell they cast, but this way you don't end up with 20-30 crystals at each level (spells per day at level* number of schools known at said level, extreme cases could reach 40). Also, while a great idea, it has one huge, gaping flaw: the spell component pouch. Unless you nix that item, this whole flavorful system means absolutely nothing, and the Eschew crystals feat becomes even more obsolete than Eschew Materials is now.

And thanks for the thanks on my feedback, I am simply for some reason attracted to this setting :smallsmile:

Edit: although I'm actually not so hot on the tree aspect, it just seems a bit too bland, I'm having trouble imagining any variance of terrain. Assuming gravity is always "towards the great tree*, it could of course get interesting as dirt, pools, and rivers would build up. Ooh, rain falls from the surrounding sky and flows down the trunk in rivers towards the great sphere of water. Back to the dirt, then normal trees and plants could grow, though I just had this idea of there being no metal or stone, with dwarves mining the great tree for wood. Cities are generally separated on their own separate leaves, and stuff could get very 3d between stuff. Though that requires a combination of gravity towards the sphere and gravity towards the tree itself. Though most races would build towards the sun, and even though the world is sphereical the opposite side probly completely shades the undersides of the leaves (assuming the leaves are parrallel to the surface of the water sphere. But then this assumption would put most civilized races living at the top of the canopy leaves, lower levels with larger expanses until you reach a shaded underdark-ish level with huge expanses and giant creatures.

Yay, that was fun to think of, you really need to explain the physics of this world and general workings of the landscape before I spend to much time contemplating it.

[mc skittlez ninja master]

I wanna be a villian in the story make me a villian.

[Jack_of_Spades]

At ground level the world look s like a big ball of wood. A lot like the magic card Wooden Sphere.
http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/2391/spheredz1.jpg

Over the years, leaves, bark, and other debris has collected on the surface and formed into a nutrient rich soil, which has given rise to many more trees and other plants. Fizban got it pretty much correct with the gravity. There is gravitational pull towards the trees, but it's not enough to support a larger than Tiny creature. It does; however, grant a +5 to cling checks and form large rivers of rainwater that flow down to the surface or pool onto leaves farther down the tree. All races hold the belief that when a person dies, thier sould joins with one of these rivers and flows down to the very core of Lurvia to dream forever.


It is very dark at the surface of the world. Dark creatures prowl among the roots and fungi cursing hte creatures above. The drow live here; they were banished from the elven lands for destroying the leaf on which some Orcs were camped. They sent two thousand orcs plummeting to thier deaths, but even worse, they destroyed part of the tree.
Another danger on the surface are the Treants. Down here they have little or no light from which to draw energy and have to get it from other living things. They have become cannibals; feasting on plant and meat alike in order to stay alive.


I'll, of course, post more later. I hope you guys like what's up so far.

[Jack_of_Spades]

Okay, I didn't post more because, well, I didn't get much feedback. I'll be running this setting next week so if someone can suggest something that I should work on, that'd be very helpful.

I have a map, the setting, my two custom classes, and my magic system. Did I forget anything?

[Ultimatum479]

What'd you eventually decide to do with Clerics and Druids? Because combining what are basically the two most powerful pre-Epic classes in the PHB is probably not the best way to give any other classes a fighting chance.

[Jack_of_Spades]

I broke the Druid into two classes. One of which is more combat oriented and can be found on the forums, The Nature Shaper.
I thought of an ability to replace Wild Shape b/c it's broken and I wanted to try and think of something new.

The other druid class is a spell caster. It get's the druid spells and things called "blessings" which are similar to domain powers. I haven't uploaded it here, but I probably will when I get it all edited right.

[Thomar_of_Uointer]

Hmm... What about parasites? If it's all one tree, you immediately have a worldwide niche that a parasite can easily fit into. It could be the basis for an entire campaign, but it is something to think about.

[Fizban]

I'd like to see some more new stuff for the world, more setting stuff. We know how it's shaped, the basic setup of stuff, how about some more details. Made up any new creatures, fantastic plants? Tell us all about it.

[Jack_of_Spades]

Added more detail to the main areas of Lurvia. I'll include plants and animals probably later.

I'm thinking about replacing Humans with Shifters because those skill points and extra feats draw people away from other races.They also fit because I wanted humans to be more attached to Lurvia than the other races, but I'm not sure if this is the way to do it. Do you think that's okay?

The Band of Wood
A large stretch of wood encricles Lurvia in a vague S shape. The energy of Lurvia holds it in the air about halfway up the main trunks and about forty feet above The Tangles.
Dinosaurs of all types inhabit the Band of Wood that circles Lurvia.
These beasts [usually the small ones, but rumer persist of Fairies seen riding across the Band on T-Rexes or Bulletes] are tamed and ridden by nomads comprised of outcasts from all the different races, but most 40% are human. These tribes are small, usually only thirty or so members in a given tribe. They make their living selling spell crystals they find, trading animal furs, and things they make form the bodies of their prey, blankets, cloaks, baskets, and weapons.
These tribes live in fear of a certain T-Rex which they call The Hunger. The Hunger is as old as Lurvia itself, or so the legends say. The Hunger slowly treks across the Band of Wood; many heroes have tried to defeat the beast; they have died. Others have tried to lure it into The Tangles that are close to the Band.
In addition to dinosaurs there are also Owlbears, Howlers, Lycanthropes, Bears, Bulletes, Tigers, and other large predators. There are many herd dinosaurs such as brontosauruses or triceratops.

The Tangles
Stretched around Lurvia are “forests” of small branches and vines which form a dense mesh of wood which can be crossed on foot. This is called The Tangle. Assassin vines are abundant here; there are also spiders, snakes, and several other nimble footed creatures. Fairies roam across The Tangle in search of adventure to calm their wanderlust. There aren’t heavy creatures in The Tangle because their weight may snap the branches and plummet them to the ground.

Travel in The Tangle is hard; speed is reduced to half. Moving faster than this is risky. If a character moves his speed he must make a DC 5 balance check every round. If he fails he must make a DC 15 Balance check or fall twenty feet. After this he must make another DC 15 Reflex save or Climb check [with double armor penalty. Apply normal armor check penalty of the armor to the reflex save]] or fall an additional 40 feet. Then he must make another DC 15 Reflex Save or climb check [dou ble armor check penalty. Apply normal armor check penalty of the armor to the reflex save] or fall 80 feet. Then he must make another DC 15 Reflex save if he fails he falls five thousand feet to the ground.

There are five major trunks on Lurvia.
Illensu is inhabited mostly by Elves. The elves are hesitant to let outsiders into their city. Fairies are tolerated only because there are so many of them; Dwarves are allowed aparingly to search for crystals; orcs are almost never allowed, and if they are, they are never accepted. Humans are the only race able to enter Illensu without hassle because the elves can breed with them to increase their ranks; although, a half elven is rarely viewed as an equal. The capitol of Illensu is Talvis, a metropolis on the highest leaf of Illensu. There are 100,000 people in Talvis with 2/10ths of them living in the central castle. Its graceful towers are considered by all races to be one of the most beautiful sights on Luriva. The elves are graceful and have an eye for beauty unmatched by all others on Lurvia, but their love for art does not extend to the people of Lurvia. They want all Lurvia to be as beautiful as Illensu, and if other races get in their way, they need to be pruned away.

Siln is mostly Orcs. Siln is sparse compared to the other trunks. The orcs cut down branches whenever they feel the need for future housing. However, their ambition tends to get ahead of them, and many towns are never inhabited leaving an empty leaf to support the weight of a ghost town that never lived. But, that is not to say these towns aren’t in use; a number of barnacle like parasites have infested several of these towns. The orcs have tried to fight them off, but there are always more parasites to replace those that are killed. These parasites are called Drunkards because they have a long probiscus that sucks blood out of their victims. The orcs allow other races into Siln as long as they have something to offer the community. Fas a result this there are many other races on Siln. There are even rebel elves filling their ranks.

Tropdoggle is ruled by the fairies, but in only the loosest sense of the word, and only if you ask them. The fairies claim to run Tropdoggle, but they just named it. People are free to live on Tropdoggle however they want. Orcs and Elves battle constantly for control over various branches and leaves on Tropdoggle; occosionally the fairies will declare a certain area “off limits” but this areas usually contain mines or good bars. Both sides are afraid to risk losing these areas so they both concede to let the other side use it. These off limits areas are also common housing areas for those wishing to separate themselves from the battles.

Revenant is largely unexplored. There are many dangerous monsters stalking among its dense leaves, searching for wayward adventurers or small prey. Dragons and Demons battle over control of Revenant leaving entire branches littered with the remains of the fallen. Undead prowl all along the trunk; they can even walk along the trunk as if it were solid ground.

Lurvia is even more mysterious than the other trunks it‘s peak is not even seen because it reaches into the clouds. It is named Lurvia because of the commonly held belief that the souls of the dead rise into the skies and collect in the upper branches of Lurvia. They form a river and runs down the trunk and straight to the very core of Lurvia to nourish Lurvia and become one with the energy that infuses it. There are two guardians that protect Lurvia from intrusion. Occasionally they will carry a child to the top of Lurvia to bathe them in the river of souls and infuse them with knowledge.

There is also the Leaf Seas; here the branches are so sparse or thin that only the lightest creatures can travel across without falling to the ground.

[Thomar_of_Uointer]

Cool. Does it blend?

Okay, got that out of my system... How is dwarvish stonecunning modified? It would be silly for dwarves to be more at home on trees than elves, right?

[Jack_of_Spades]

I took away stone related bonuses because they don't spend a great deal of time mining in stone.

Instead I gave them a decent +2AC when adjacent to an ally ability to compensate for the loss. I also had to remove their +4 AC vs giants to sorta balance it.

More about day to day Lurvia

The general populace of Lurvia are craftspeople. Because survival is not a worry (at least food and water dependancy aren't a problem) the people have a great deal more time to devote to hobbies.
These include sewing, pottery, sculpting, mining, and performing, as well as many others.
There are, however, still farmers on Lurvia.
There are a number of mushrooms which, when treated properly, make excellent alcohols. Demand for the alcohol is so great, especially with orcs and dwarves, that Lurvia's natural abundancy is not abundant enough. fights break out periodically over areas that would be good for farming, but they never last long. After a few hours of fighting, the warriors end up retreating to the safty of a tavern to refresh. Inevitably, one side will refresh faster and claim the land.
There is also a high demand for Sluurgs. Sluurgs are snails roughly six feet long with shells about eight feet high. They are herded, carefully, over the branches of Illensu, Siln, and Tropdoggle, to make sure that they never eat so much of the leaf that they break it off the tree. Sluurg produce eggs twice a week, about four at a time, and each egg has about fifty baby Sluurg. These baby sluurg are promptly killed; their shells are used for helms or armor, thier bodies for meat, and thier eye stalks are used for medicinal purposes. When an old Sluurg dies, its shell is carefully taken apart and shaped into fine armor or weapons. They can even harvest the Sluurgs sticky secretions to make Tanglefoot bags, glue, hair sludge, and a preservative.

[Thomar_of_Uointer]

Instead I gave them a decent +2AC when adjacent to an ally ability to compensate for the loss. I also had to remove their +4 AC vs giants to sorta balance it.

Woah! That's so... dwarvish.

[Jack_of_Spades]

Woah! That's so... dwarvish.

Thanks, I never understood why they got the AC bonus VS giants because not every dwarf trains to fight. And I don't see why it's only against giants when they range form large to colossal. I may end up using this variant in my normal campaigns.


I'm also changing how wizard's crystals work. I tried making an NPC wizard and ended up shaking my head when I realized, "He has four levels of spells; he has at least six schools of the various levels. SO if he had one for each school and level that's...damn.


Edit for magic

To cast a spell a wizard needs a crystal of a strength equal to or greater than the level of the spell and from the school to which it belongs; the amount of energy needed for each spell increases exponentially form level to level so the drain of a 1st level spell on a 4th level crystal is barely noticeable.

[pyrefiend]

I would suggest a power point system for magic if you're using crystals, with the points working just like those of the psionic system. The crystals could work easier that way, so insted of containing spell levels, they just hold 16 points.

[Jack_of_Spades]

Hmmm...that's something I haden't really thought of.

I may end up using that because I want crystals to be important, but not hampering.

Then I could make stronger crystals that hold more points.

But, if the crystals hold the points, what's to stop the wizard from filling a bad of holding and casting fireball for the next two years?

I'll have to find a way around that...

[pyrefiend]

But, if the crystals hold the points, what's to stop the wizard from filling a bad of holding and casting fireball for the next two years?

I'll have to find a way around that...

I would have each crystals "grow" from a sprout or something from anywhere on the tree. When it is plucked off, it begins to die, loosing points each day/hour/minute untill it ceases to have any magical properties at all. That way the crystals can't be hoarded, and the wizard doesn't have to earnestly be searching for crystals every morning.

[Jack_of_Spades]

Yeah, that makes sense with the currency system that I use.

The money is non-magical crystals.

I'll have to give wizards some ability or skill to grow crystals so they don't lose thier normal points per day.

Thank you; this may be the biggest rules related change that I'll have to make for this campaign. Up until this, it's been mostly flavor.

[Jack_of_Spades]

How much should these crystals cost?

I'm probably goibg to use this, but I don't know what to charge for the crystals!