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View Full Version : D&D 5e/Next Magic-Industrial Revolution setting help?



Chd
2014-09-21, 11:11 PM
Hey all, I'm trying to reboot the home-brew universe for D&D 5th ed that I'm currently running, Here's what I Have:


The Citadel of Haven


"The Citadel of Haven" survived the Magister War almost 600 moons ago (50 years ago). This war spurred the "Magical Industrialization" of the means of production, and increased the layman's access to magic. With the mass-production of Magic Items, it has never been cheaper of more convenient to buy a wand/staff/ring with a trigger-able spell, or a printed Scroll, or a brewed potion. Magic is now an everyday luxury.

Mages are still needed to oversee and design the etched sigil circuits (the physical circuits etched to create the magic effects), and work with both Engineers/Tinkers and Alchemists in order to design, build, and maintain the production-line. They maintain the enchantments on the automatons. Mages don't need the technology themselves, but those who cannot use magic, including their patrons, are enamored with the convenience of the technology.

((OOC: Enchantment machines are powered by alchemical fuels, and involve, beating a lot of Oozes via a system of pistons, yielding experience points that are used to mass-enchant batches of wands/staffs/equipment/talismans/scrolls/etc. Potion Machines have timed enchantments that mass-brew potions. and some machines have been made that conjure elementals/beings from X plane, kill them, then harvest the valuable materials. ))

The magic has had some... side effects to the environment; apparently magic combining with the alchemic waste products hastens evolution of the beasts outside the city limits, and even creating threats never before seen...

The walls surrounding the Citadel of Haven have held so-far. Every day, mercenaries are sent to patrol outside the Citadel for threats.

Every day, their reports to the Spire become more and more grim; more casualties, more wounded, and dire projections of the wall's integrity.

Despite the Guardsmen's attempts to suppress these 'rumors', any word about "out-there" spread amongst the civilians like wild-fire, offering no reassurance that their Daily or Nightly toils will be for something.

((OOC: I'm trying to give a crapsack world, where the nobility of the spire are detached from the grime and poverty of the lower-citadel. The Players are going to be Prisoners who are spared the gallows only if they agree to work as some of the 'mercenaries'. The Threats outside pale to the schemes within though.))

That's what I have so far, but how can I expand it?

Zansumkai
2014-10-03, 01:25 AM
Ever since playing Final Fantasy 3 (or 6 if you prefer) I've always loved the idea of magic fueled industrial revolution.

If I were to run this myself, the first thing I'd do is figure out how the players are going to interact with all that fancy magitek. Also, do these magical advancements accelerate or slow down other aspects of the industrial revolution, like cars and advanced firearms?

Personally I'd put the players on a copper standard (give only cp for starting money and what they initially find as treasure) that way the cheap magic items can actually appear like a great bargain for 50gp, but not when you're lucky to scrape together a handful of silver after a job.

From there, if you don't have a set story in mind just let the players gravitate towards whatever part of the setting they find most interesting. If they don't seem interested in carving out some wilderness don't worry about fleshing it out.

If I were a betting man I'd say flesh out the underworld criminal elements and whatever guardsmen oppose them. Those are most likely the factions your players are going to shake up first.

I'll probably dump some less general ideas here after I sleep on it, because this is close enough to setting elements I've made to have really perked my interest.

Zansumkai
2014-10-03, 01:32 AM
Actually this may help. I once had been working on a plotline where warforged (or your setting equivalent) were committing numerous terrorist attacks against the player's city. After rooting out cells of warforged it would be discovered the warforged were dominating nearby wilds to build up their own industrial complex. The whole area would already be a noxious wasteland, and the closer the players came to the main warforged fortress the more advanced the weapons they would face. At the heart of it was the warforged mastermind who had created a sort of localized time loop allowing it to do decades of R&D in a few months.

Chd
2014-10-03, 04:17 AM
Ever since playing Final Fantasy 3 (or 6 if you prefer) I've always loved the idea of magic fueled industrial revolution.

If I were to run this myself, the first thing I'd do is figure out how the players are going to interact with all that fancy magitek. Also, do these magical advancements accelerate or slow down other aspects of the industrial revolution, like cars and advanced firearms?

Personally I'd put the players on a copper standard (give only cp for starting money and what they initially find as treasure) that way the cheap magic items can actually appear like a great bargain for 50gp, but not when you're lucky to scrape together a handful of silver after a job.

From there, if you don't have a set story in mind just let the players gravitate towards whatever part of the setting they find most interesting. If they don't seem interested in carving out some wilderness don't worry about fleshing it out.

If I were a betting man I'd say flesh out the underworld criminal elements and whatever guardsmen oppose them. Those are most likely the factions your players are going to shake up first.

I'll probably dump some less general ideas here after I sleep on it, because this is close enough to setting elements I've made to have really perked my interest.

FF3 and Lost Odyssey inspired the Magical Industrialization/Industrial Revolution, but I'm drawing on the 'Fortified Ivory Tower' overlooking the factories and slums in both Metropolis and Land of the Dead.

Indeed, Copper standard is a given; the 'common workers' would only earn 1sp a day.

The underworld / Lower Citadel is pretty much where a lot of the RP is going to happen, But I'm not sure whether it's Guardsmen, or mercenary/mob factions that are going to be in charge of these lower levels.

The Warforged terror network could be interesting, If only I can justify war-forged not being melted down when they 'defect'.

GorinichSerpant
2014-10-03, 11:23 AM
The Warforged terror network could be interesting, If only I can justify war-forged not being melted down when they 'defect'.

option A. Warforged can do things secretly as well.

option B. They can't scrape you if they can't catch you.

Thomar_of_Uointer
2014-10-03, 02:33 PM
FF3 and Lost Odyssey inspired the Magical Industrialization/Industrial Revolution, but I'm drawing on the 'Fortified Ivory Tower' overlooking the factories and slums in both Metropolis and Land of the Dead.

The underworld / Lower Citadel is pretty much where a lot of the RP is going to happen, But I'm not sure whether it's Guardsmen, or mercenary/mob factions that are going to be in charge of these lower levels.

Ah, very good. Magic is, of course, illegal for the lower classes to have, keeping magic rarities in the underworld standard for 5e baseline. I'm sure that the kinds of magic used by the upper class for mundane everyday utility would make the average adventurer water at the mouth.

I think you need to divide this setting into factions. Start with the basics (food, water, shelter) and who controls the means of production. The ivory tower isn't a unified whole, and neither is the underworld. The city runs on compromises between these factions, some legal, some not.

Your magical energy or crafting materials need to come from something. A magically volatile liquid drawn up from beneath the city is a good start. Draining magic from living creatures is more dark and fits better with standard D&D rules.

Chd
2014-10-04, 03:32 AM
Ah, very good. Magic is, of course, illegal for the lower classes to have, keeping magic rarities in the underworld standard for 5e baseline. I'm sure that the kinds of magic used by the upper class for mundane everyday utility would make the average adventurer water at the mouth.

I think you need to divide this setting into factions. Start with the basics (food, water, shelter) and who controls the means of production. The ivory tower isn't a unified whole, and neither is the underworld. The city runs on compromises between these factions, some legal, some not.

Your magical energy or crafting materials need to come from something. A magically volatile liquid drawn up from beneath the city is a good start. Draining magic from living creatures is more dark and fits better with standard D&D rules.

I was thinking that any magic users found would either be trained in Arcane or Divine Magic depending on who found them.

If one of the 'Co-operations' found them, they would be trained in that Co-op's school and 'employed' to maintain / design the major machines. Those poor sods would be cursed with a "Employment Contract" (Mark of Justice that can only be ended by the Chief Executive Noble or a 'break enchantment' spell) to prevent the use of Offensive Magic.

If the mono-theist church found them, then they'd be trained as clerics / paladins, but without the ability to learn 'Break enchantment' (officially, but that's a church policy, not a Law). Considering they earn 200gp a month, while the average menial laborer is 5sp 30cp, many parents are more then happy to hire their children out. These poor sods would be cursed with a "Mark of Chastity" (Mark of Justice that can only be ended by the Highest Priest or a 'break enchantment' spell) to prevent the Cleric/Paladin from sexual relations/ having children.

Then there are also theist cults that are in hiding, along with 'Illegal Casters' that are more then happy to mentor those with 'Talent'. Associates of these groups/individuals are slain on sight, although the black market is willing to risk employing these 'Talented' individuals.

Enchanted items are relatively cheap and easy to buy, but still out of reach of the common laborer.

Chd
2014-10-04, 03:35 AM
option A. Warforged can do things secretly as well.

option B. They can't scrap you if they can't catch you.

Or C: The worker's union are helping them escape the city to increase the value of the human laborers.

Thomar_of_Uointer
2014-10-05, 10:43 AM
If one of the 'Co-operations' found them, they would be trained in that Co-op's school and 'employed' to maintain / design the major machines. Those poor sods would be cursed with a "Employment Contract" (Mark of Justice that can only be ended by the Chief Executive Noble or a 'break enchantment' spell) to prevent the use of Offensive Magic.

If the mono-theist church found them, then they'd be trained as clerics / paladins, but without the ability to learn 'Break enchantment' (officially, but that's a church policy, not a Law). Considering they earn 200gp a month, while the average menial laborer is 5sp 30cp, many parents are more then happy to hire their children out. These poor sods would be cursed with a "Mark of Chastity" (Mark of Justice that can only be ended by the Highest Priest or a 'break enchantment' spell) to prevent the Cleric/Paladin from sexual relations/ having children.

Oh, what an ugly Tippyverse we live in. :D

What if you made magical contracts a part of the background system? It would let you provide really interesting or powerful backgrounds in exchange for magical restrictions. For example, a Notary background would include a contract of truth in exchange for being able to get anyone punished for any crime to the full extent of the law. A Bodyguard background would include a contract of loyalty in exchange for a magic weapon.

Chd
2014-10-06, 01:49 AM
Oh, what an ugly Tippyverse we live in. :D

What if you made magical contracts a part of the background system? It would let you provide really interesting or powerful backgrounds in exchange for magical restrictions. For example, a Notary background would include a contract of truth in exchange for being able to get anyone punished for any crime to the full extent of the law. A Bodyguard background would include a contract of loyalty in exchange for a magic weapon.

The world is pretty much a post-war Tippyverse, where anti-teleportation/ barrier wards stop anyone from teleporting in or out. The magically-enforced bureaucracy idea is freaking brilliant!

I'm thinking that if a player wished, they can try and get any contract/curse removed/broken, but then authorities / the debtor are likely to try and hunt you down to collect/cut loose ends.

GorinichSerpant
2014-10-07, 07:07 PM
Or C: The worker's union are helping them escape the city to increase the value of the human laborers.

That would work if there is a worker's union.

Also, why wouldn't mindless constructs like golems be made instead of sentient beings?
That would probably be cheaper, more ethical (as they don't have a mind) and you won't have to worry about them backstabbing you.

Thomar_of_Uointer
2014-10-07, 07:50 PM
Also, why wouldn't mindless constructs like golems be made instead of sentient beings?
That would probably be cheaper, more ethical (as they don't have a mind) and you won't have to worry about them backstabbing you.

Golems cost thousands of GP to make and can only perform the tasks they were made for. Workers only cost 1 SP a week and can be taught to perform almost any task.