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View Full Version : Love's Labours - Reimagining Bytopia



Tragak
2014-01-21, 11:13 AM
I have read - time and time again, from forum to forum - that most people consider the Planes of 3.5, as drafted by for-profit businessmen in California, to be too boring to play without major changes. I have also read Celestial Realms got even less attention than the others. As such, I would like to start working on fleshing out the possibilities in one of those Celestial Realms, and I welcome anybody who would like to add their own contributions.

Today, I am starting with...


Bytopia:

A world perhaps best resembling what the ideal Material world would look like if pain, need, and destruction were actively minimized by all, as opposed to the other Celestial Realms whose environments (the raves of Ysgard and Arborea, the non-communities of Elysium and The Beastlands, the rigid bureaucracies of Arcadia and Mount Celestia) depend on the fact that there is already very little pain, need, or destruction to worry about. This is a world where everybody wants to work as hard as possible, with as many people as possible and with as much innovation as possible, to ensure that everybody else is as well off as possible.



In life, these people believed that structure and discipline were simply very important to ensuring the best for everybody, rather than all-important; that hard work was the most important thing in life, while too much regulation and minutiae just made it harder to start anything. So too in death are they allowed to build a world of streamlined societies where everyone gladly works as efficiently as possible to help everybody else without becoming overly rigid.


"From each according to his abilities, and to each according to his needs."

Neutral (Lawful tendencies): loyal, but not completely devoted, to the strong
Chaotic characters take a -1 penalty to INT/WIS/CHA-based checks

Good: completely devoted to the weak.
Good characters gain a +2 bonus to INT/WIS/CHA-based checks, Evil characters take a -2 penalty
Good characters cast spells at +1 caster level, Evil characters cast spells at -1 caster level
Good spells are cast at +1 caster level, Evil spells are cast at -1 caster level

The Exemplars most comfortable here would be the somewhat-less-lawful Archons (LG) and the somewhat-more-lawful Guardinals (NG).

Modrons, Formians (LN), and most Archons would be uncomfortable in a world where people give so much to each other directly, instead of to a more “enlightened” authoritarian middle-man who would make “better” decisions about who gets what.

Any that come to Bytopia – more likely Dothion than Shurrock – will generally be:

*Seeking aid against the forces of Chaos
*Trying to convert the “welfare-parasites” to a philosophy of “accountability”
*Settling a personal matter that could just as easily have happened anywhere else
*…

Eladrin (CG) and most Guardinals would be uncomfortable in a world where people are so willing to be told what to do without "defending" themselves against "repression."

Any that come to Bytopia – more likely Shurrock than Dothion – will generally be:

*Seeking aid against the forces of Evil
*Trying to convert the “conformists” to a philosophy of “independence”
*Settling a personal matter that could just as easily have happened anywhere else
*…

Dothion: the slightly more Lawful Good side of Bytopia, with more Archons than Guardinals. Civilization here is strong, but not exceptionally elaborate; certainly less so than in Arcadia or Mount Celestia.

This side will be actively Lawful, but not as dramatically so as Mount Celestia. They will put a lot of effort into a strong system of government that will show people how to take care of one another as efficiently as possible. However, they won’t go out of their way make their systems as intricate as would the legalists of Mount Celestia, as they prefer to fight for people than to fight for authorities.

Potential NPCs:
*The Tinkerer: an artificer whose logging company utilizes thousands of Modrons, trying to bring them to the side of Good before any Devils can take advantage of them. What might happen if it doesn't work?

Potential Conflicts:
*An Eladrin cabal is secretly funding a Ysgardian war-tournament by swindling Bytopian civic leaders. Can the conflict be resolved peacefully, or should the PCs take a side?

Centerspire: Connecting the two sub-planes is double mountain. At the neck of land connecting what would otherwise have been separate peaks, gravity is pointed towards the axis of the mountain(s) rather than towards one end or the other, and when one leaves the nexus for one sub-planes or the other, gravity changes to point instead along the axis in the direction of the sub-plane associated with that part of the mountain(s).

The skies immediately surrounding the mountain(s) can be seen swarming with clans of adamantine dragons, all ready to save imperiled climbers from falling to their deaths. However, there are so many travellers in need of rescue at any given time that most of the dragons do not risk spending time on those who do not need help. As such, anybody caught in the air is returned to the mountain(s) as quickly as possible – however far they fell, they are expected to make up the lost distance for themselves by climbing again – while anybody seen to jump willingly from the mountain(s) is trusted to have already made his own arrangements for a safe landing. Likewise, it can be very difficult for travellers to persuade a dragon to fly them directly from sub-plane to sub-plane, as they are generally expected to climb the mountain(s) for themselves.

Potential NPCs:
*The Gatekeepers: travellers from the Dothion – who are assumed to be more Lawful – must demonstrate either their tolerance of or their preference for Shurrock’s Neutrality in order to be allowed passage, and vice versa. How might they request that you do so?

Potential Conflicts:
*Formians from Dothion and Eladrin from Shurrock are trying to kill each other, and any peaceful travellers nearby are in danger of being hit by the crossfire. Can the conflict be resolved peacefully, or should the PCs take a side?

Shurrock: the slightly more Neutral Good side of Bytopia, with more Guardinals than Archons. Civilization is noticeable here - certainly more so than in Elysium or The Beastlands - but only barely so.

This side will be more Lawful than Elysium, but only passively so rather than by active design. They don’t fear strong government as strongly as do the doubters of Elysium, as they prefer to fight for people than to fight against authorities. However, while their organizations would naturally become efficient and streamlined, they would rather not put any noticeable effort into making those same systems explicit or detailed.

Potential NPCs:
*Princess Falchion: an adamantine dragon who “rules” - very informally - one of Shurrock’s most plentiful canyons, training would-be Druids/Rangers and ensuring that as little wildlife is killed as possible. What threats might be grave enough that even she would need help?

Potential Conflicts:
*A Formian invasion force is burning down an important forest, and the local firefighters and militia are being overwhelmed. Will the PCs work on the fires so that the natives can fight the invaders, will they work on the invaders so that the natives can douse the fires, or will they join with the invaders?

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New Feats:

Tireless Student

You have devoted so much of your time and energy into training for your endeavors that your skill surpasses even that of the prodigies with greater natural talent than yourself.

Prerequisites:
CON 18
Knowledge (Planes) 5 ranks
Affinity for Bytopia (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=17048470#post17048470)

Whenever you perform a Skill Check for a skill in which you have at least 5 ranks, you may choose to use 1/2 of your CON modifier (rounded down) in place of the modifier listed in the skill description.

Healer of the Forged

You have dedicated your life to healing constructs, the patients with the fewest physicians in the worlds that know how to heal them.

Prerequisites:
Craft Construct feat
Knowledge (Planes) 5 ranks, Craft (any) 5 ranks
Affinity for Bytopia (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=17048470#post17048470)

Select one Craft skill with which you have the prerequisite number of skill ranks. When repairing damage to constructs that you need the same Craft skill in order to build, you can repair an extra number of hit points per day equal to your character level x2, and each hit point costs 20% less gp to repair.

Special: This feat may be taken more than once. Each time, you select a new Craft skill for this feat to apply to.

----------

So what does everybody else here think? Do you have any suggestions for possible NPCs, organizations, conflicts, locations, feats?

Eldan
2014-01-22, 08:59 AM
You PMed me and I'd just like to say this: good idea, the planes need some love, but I have no idea whatsoever to add. Bytopia has always been a plane that baffled any attempt I ever made at making it interesting.

Vedhin
2014-01-22, 10:13 AM
You PMed me and I'd just like to say this: good idea, the planes need some love, but I have no idea whatsoever to add. Bytopia has always been a plane that baffled any attempt I ever made at making it interesting.

Same here. I'm still going to try though.
The main problem is that Bytopia is almost boring by design. The basic philosophy of the plane tends to lessen the need for adventurers.

Also, Hourglass Mountain is called Centerspire. Jascar, the Suel god of Hills and Mountains dwells within.

There's The Wandering Treant Inn, a walking tree with a three-story building. Specifically, the treant Stoutrunk.

There's the Baku's Graveyard, where baku (elephant-like cratures) go to die.


I think I might do something with Epimetheus, and his Ridiculous Tower.

Hope this helped!

Also, I dredged up a 4e conversion of some planes: here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=15223005#top)

Tragak
2014-01-22, 06:22 PM
the planes need some love, but I have no idea whatsoever to add. Bytopia has always been a plane that baffled any attempt I ever made at making it interesting.
Same here. I'm still going to try though.
The main problem is that Bytopia is almost boring by design. The basic philosophy of the plane tends to lessen the need for adventurers. There is certainly that. Evil vs. Evil conflicts within an Evil Plane tend to escalate wildly out of control, but Good vs. Good conflicts within a Good Plane tend to be as reserved as possible.

The vast majority of interesting stories would have to be based on outside forces like Demons, Devils, or Formians, and it's difficult to make a "Formians invade Bytopia" story into something Bytopia-specific, something uniquely different from what a "Formians invade any other Celestial Realm" story would look like.

Perhaps a plot to separate the LG and the NG halves? Or a conspiracy of Slaadi, Rilmani, and Yugoloth Druids to kidnap the Guardinal Druids of Shurrock in an attempt to stop them from becoming too Lawful?


Also, Hourglass Mountain is called Centerspire. You know, now that I have a word to put into the "Search" bar, I'm seeing Centerspire on a lot of my original Bytopia sources, and I'm wondering how I kept missing it until now :smallredface: Thanks!

Any ideas on what could happen there, as opposed to the two "surfaces"?

Tragak
2014-02-02, 05:52 PM
I just thought to come up with some feats to go with my expansion. Would anybody like me to also try coming up with entire races and classes?