alex90lilb
2013-12-04, 02:12 PM
Hey all. I'm building this setting for a game this winter and I'd love some suggestions. I know the PCs read this site so I won't spoil any plot arc details, but I'd love some suggestions.
Dragon Crusade
The Great Prestige
At first, the Dragons fought over land. Then, they fought over gold. But today, dragons now compete by enslaving entire nations, and converting it’s people to the worship them as a living god. The lands to the south have been completely conquered. Now, as we speak, the dragon Angrethall sails his legion of slaves across the sea to conquer and enslave everything in his path.
Venin:
The huge, mountains lands of the red dragons. vast, dusty and rugged, few of its denizens have seen the ocean. It dominates the majority of the continent (a southwestern landmass called Drenoth) with the Blood Hills to the north separating it from the more temperate, lush lands of Seepa and the great Sandslaughter desert separating it from the tropical south, a land where the blue dragons reign.
Venin's crown jewel, the city of Angranox, is where our story begins. Although it was not the first city to be conquered by Angrethall, it is the biggest, and the envy of all dragons across the world. Tales of it's previous gods and kings have been wiped from memory. Run almost exclusively by Angrethall's clergy (powerful dragon-blooded sorcerers) its red spires reach towards the clouds, is monuments to its dragon-god elaborate and beautiful.
The human settlements and cites of Venin are practically all converted. The Blood Hills to the north, where the Ogres have proven difficult to circumvent, are the natural end of the Angrethalls territory as it stands. Angrethall, always hungry for more territory and worshipers, has his eyes set not on the fertile lands of the north, but across the sea to the enormous human city of Amaranthine, where he hopes to establish a foothold for a campaign in the east.
Although Angrethall is by far the most powerful of the red dragons, two others are powerful enough to escape his wrath directly: Manu and Teeranox. Manu controls a large and particularly mountianlus patch of land to the west, where his armies continue to march on The old dwarf kingdom. Almost entirely converted or exterminated, the dwarves are pushed further and further back into their ancestral homelands every generation. Teeranox controls the lands to the south, near the Sandslaughter. She is more concerned about her standing with the Blue Dragon Seeranello, and their alliance has stopped Angrethall from assaulting her lands directly.
Information:
Sorcerers:
When a dragon conquers a kingdom, it tends to mate a great deal with the royalty. Whereas Black and Green dragons tend to do so my trickery, and Blue and White dragons by sheer charm, Reds are forceful, violent and make sure to seed many offspring. While these children are always sorcerers in their own right, the draconic blood stays dominant in the bloodline, and the gene of sorcery can flare up among almost anyone in the conquered lands. These individuals are always regarded with esteem (and sometimes jealousy) among their peers. Once recognized, Sorcerers are usually put on the fast track to luxurious posts or cloistered to develop their powers. Although these are the most common avenues, few people tell sorcerers what to do in the dragon lands. Particularly powerful sorcerers, especially those serving their dragon-god directly, flirt with being above the law.
Gods:
In the dragon lands, no one without a point in Knowledge (Religion) will know about any gods other than the dragons. They might know what gods are, but wouldn't know of any in particular. For example, it is know the Ogres worship over 1000 gods, all with names that are variations on the word "Krull" but scholarship on these gods is extremely sparse. The small exception is Karath, a beneficent oasis god of sun and water the south. The Blue Dragons have found is difficult to eradicate this belief entirely since his followers have taken to roaming the desert.
The Great Prestige:
Since time immemorial, Dragons have competed in the unending game of egotistical esteem known as 'The Great Prestige.' To a dragon, their standing among other dragons is the only thing that matters. Once attaining adulthood, a dragon feels the intense urge to amass prestige, which, since there are almost always bigger dragons around, means their either vassalage or death. To those who have met a young adult dragon, they know death is the most common route, since serving another dragon annihilates your prestige.
Non-Humans
Humans have no patron god, and as such, have proven easier converts to the draconic religions. The elven kingdom to the north, far across the Blood Hills, is in a constant, losing state of war with the Great Green Wyrm Mizzixalplix, and the dwarves have been driven to near extinction by Manu and his fanatical followers. Hafling bands around the Blood Hills are under no protection from the Ogres, and are slowly dwindling away. Some moved to the dragon cities to sustain their families, but city life is usually destitute and bleak for a non-human immigrant. Although most non-human races have suffered greatly as a result of the Dragon Crusade, Orcs and Drow are the stark exceptions. In the swamps and subterranean lands of the north, Groglenell the Black has replaced the Drow's spider god as it's supreme ruler. The orc tribes to the west worship Manu exclusively, and love to ravage the surrounding villages (not to mention raid dwarven outposts) in his name.
Dragon Crusade
The Great Prestige
At first, the Dragons fought over land. Then, they fought over gold. But today, dragons now compete by enslaving entire nations, and converting it’s people to the worship them as a living god. The lands to the south have been completely conquered. Now, as we speak, the dragon Angrethall sails his legion of slaves across the sea to conquer and enslave everything in his path.
Venin:
The huge, mountains lands of the red dragons. vast, dusty and rugged, few of its denizens have seen the ocean. It dominates the majority of the continent (a southwestern landmass called Drenoth) with the Blood Hills to the north separating it from the more temperate, lush lands of Seepa and the great Sandslaughter desert separating it from the tropical south, a land where the blue dragons reign.
Venin's crown jewel, the city of Angranox, is where our story begins. Although it was not the first city to be conquered by Angrethall, it is the biggest, and the envy of all dragons across the world. Tales of it's previous gods and kings have been wiped from memory. Run almost exclusively by Angrethall's clergy (powerful dragon-blooded sorcerers) its red spires reach towards the clouds, is monuments to its dragon-god elaborate and beautiful.
The human settlements and cites of Venin are practically all converted. The Blood Hills to the north, where the Ogres have proven difficult to circumvent, are the natural end of the Angrethalls territory as it stands. Angrethall, always hungry for more territory and worshipers, has his eyes set not on the fertile lands of the north, but across the sea to the enormous human city of Amaranthine, where he hopes to establish a foothold for a campaign in the east.
Although Angrethall is by far the most powerful of the red dragons, two others are powerful enough to escape his wrath directly: Manu and Teeranox. Manu controls a large and particularly mountianlus patch of land to the west, where his armies continue to march on The old dwarf kingdom. Almost entirely converted or exterminated, the dwarves are pushed further and further back into their ancestral homelands every generation. Teeranox controls the lands to the south, near the Sandslaughter. She is more concerned about her standing with the Blue Dragon Seeranello, and their alliance has stopped Angrethall from assaulting her lands directly.
Information:
Sorcerers:
When a dragon conquers a kingdom, it tends to mate a great deal with the royalty. Whereas Black and Green dragons tend to do so my trickery, and Blue and White dragons by sheer charm, Reds are forceful, violent and make sure to seed many offspring. While these children are always sorcerers in their own right, the draconic blood stays dominant in the bloodline, and the gene of sorcery can flare up among almost anyone in the conquered lands. These individuals are always regarded with esteem (and sometimes jealousy) among their peers. Once recognized, Sorcerers are usually put on the fast track to luxurious posts or cloistered to develop their powers. Although these are the most common avenues, few people tell sorcerers what to do in the dragon lands. Particularly powerful sorcerers, especially those serving their dragon-god directly, flirt with being above the law.
Gods:
In the dragon lands, no one without a point in Knowledge (Religion) will know about any gods other than the dragons. They might know what gods are, but wouldn't know of any in particular. For example, it is know the Ogres worship over 1000 gods, all with names that are variations on the word "Krull" but scholarship on these gods is extremely sparse. The small exception is Karath, a beneficent oasis god of sun and water the south. The Blue Dragons have found is difficult to eradicate this belief entirely since his followers have taken to roaming the desert.
The Great Prestige:
Since time immemorial, Dragons have competed in the unending game of egotistical esteem known as 'The Great Prestige.' To a dragon, their standing among other dragons is the only thing that matters. Once attaining adulthood, a dragon feels the intense urge to amass prestige, which, since there are almost always bigger dragons around, means their either vassalage or death. To those who have met a young adult dragon, they know death is the most common route, since serving another dragon annihilates your prestige.
Non-Humans
Humans have no patron god, and as such, have proven easier converts to the draconic religions. The elven kingdom to the north, far across the Blood Hills, is in a constant, losing state of war with the Great Green Wyrm Mizzixalplix, and the dwarves have been driven to near extinction by Manu and his fanatical followers. Hafling bands around the Blood Hills are under no protection from the Ogres, and are slowly dwindling away. Some moved to the dragon cities to sustain their families, but city life is usually destitute and bleak for a non-human immigrant. Although most non-human races have suffered greatly as a result of the Dragon Crusade, Orcs and Drow are the stark exceptions. In the swamps and subterranean lands of the north, Groglenell the Black has replaced the Drow's spider god as it's supreme ruler. The orc tribes to the west worship Manu exclusively, and love to ravage the surrounding villages (not to mention raid dwarven outposts) in his name.