Need help fleshing out my new world

[dysike]

So I've recently been trying to create a new setting and eventually had an idea for a creation myth, the only problem is I'm not sure where to go from here so I could use some ideas on expanding the world design, maybe further mythologies or improvements to the current one.

In the beginning the world was formless. There existed four beings that would come to be known as the lords of air, water, fire and earth.

The lord of air is peace-loving and creative but indecisive. He is usually depicted as an artist or bard.

The lord of water is thoughtful and cunning but unforgiving. He is usually depicted as a wise-man or seer.

The lord of fire is passionate and determined but fickle. She is usually depicted as a queen or other form of nobility.

The lord of earth is intelligent and patient but proud. She is usually depicted as a judge.

Age of War
Then there came a period of great conflict between the four gods, the reason for its start is a mystery and in the eons since its beginning even the gods themselves are said to have forgotten its origins.
This war saw the creation of new beings created to aid the four lords, ranging from a few beings strong enough that they would one day be worshiped as gods in their own right, to the spirits, demons, and angels which still walk the earth.

Then one day it is said the lord of air called for all the gods to stop and look around them, and when they did they saw that in their warring the world had been formed around them; where the lord of earth had marched her armies mountains had risen, the bastions of the lord of water had formed seas and lakes and where the fury of the lord of fire had scorched the heavens the sun and stars had come into being. So he spoke again “We should give this world life, we can each create our own people instead of fighting over what should be done” and the other gods weary of the war agreed to his plan to people this new world.

Age of Creation
It was the lord of earth who spoke first. “My people must pursue perfection in everything they do, in order to achieve this they must be as everlasting as the stones and earth they walk on”. And so she created the elves and then she fed life to forests and ensured the elves would always have anything they needed to strive towards perfection. For this the elves were and are eternally grateful towards their mother.

The lord of water scowled at her and remarked “Perfection is impossible, stagnation will be the death of your elves, my people will bear my cunning and will live only short lives but reproduce quickly that they might adapt easily”. And with that remark he created the goblins. Unlike the lord of earth he refused to help his people survive and so forced them to carve out their own place in the world, and for this he was proud of his children. Lastly he gave them greed so that they would envy the elves and show the lord of earth that anything her creations could make no matter how ‘perfect’ could still be destroyed.

The lord of air could see that this could only lead to further conflict and said with a sigh “It is clear my people will be needed to act as mediators, so they will be able to see themselves in every other being and desire neither perfection nor material gain but simply happiness, whatever that may mean for each of them” and so he created the first humans.
Lastly the lord of fire created her children fire is not suited to the giving of life and so her creations were chaotic and destructive, she would not however allow her children to be killed so instead the lord of earth imprisoned them deep underground. The lord of fire was clearly saddened by this and so the lord of water said “do not despair, all of our children will be given a love for the light and the warmth so there will still be creatures on the earth which love you” and for this the lord of fire was grateful and the goblins became the first civilization to gain the gift of fire which they quickly learned to use both as a tool and a weapon.

Then once this was done all of the lords decided that although they could help their children they shouldn't be forced to rely on them and so the filled the world with plants and animals so they would always have food and materials when they would need them. As a final gift they each gave some of their power to become part of the material world and made it so the races of the world could use this magic to create new things and shape the world for themselves. The lord of earth, ever eager to show the superiority of the elves, whispered to them instructing them in the use of this new power hoping it would help them achieve the perfection she desired.

As you can read I only have three sapient races in this creation myth but if you have any ideas on how to add more I'm open to suggestions. Individual nations I'll probably design myself later I mainly want advice on making each races culture and traits more detailed.

[Yora]

The creation of the world is far in the past and generally doesn't matter to the people in their daily life.

What is the setting about? What kinds of characters would players be playing and what would they do in this world?

[dysike]

The creation of the world is far in the past and generally doesn't matter to the people in their daily life.

What is the setting about? What kinds of characters would players be playing and what would they do in this world?

That's a good point, I had a chance to think some more and I remembered an idea me and a friend were discussing a while back for a setting where the gods each had a nation to represent them and competed with each other by each trying to create the greatest civilization and undermine each other's.

The obvious choice for this would be a crusading war campaign but I did think that I preferred the idea of doing more of an age of exploration where all of the nations are sending explorers, traders and settlers to newly discovered parts of the world and competing for the newly found territories, gives the gods plenty of chances to compete with each other and provides a lot of opportunities for adventuring.

[wobner]

i'm not sure exactly what you are after, but i'll give it a shot. if i am way off, could you elaborate. also i apologize if i ramble, lack of sleep.



i'd wager they would be somewhat xenophopic, especially knowing the goblins exist in some small part to destroy their perfection. their cities would be walled for protection, but as much for style as for function, looking like giant display cases for what was held within, atleast i get a hint of arrogance from what you describe. i almost see walls of clear, but sturdy, crystal, if not magical barriers, so that you can look in, but not enter.

earth is usually seen as sturdy but stationary or atleast slow. so i don't see them as travelers and explorers, and even though you put them in the forests, i see them as being more dwarrow-like than what has become typical elven-like. that is less bows and more heavy armour, and some tunneling. more tolkien-esque than DnD type elves(silmarillion ones anyway). really if they seek to pursue perfection, i don't see them as typical hippie elves, if the world were perfect, i.e. the forests and what not, what would they pursue? instead these are the materials to help achieve perfection

perfection is never achieved in all things, and rarely in anything without sacrificing in something else. so as far as population goes, i see one or more penalties being applied for a large boost in their chosen avenue. earth is usually either strength or consitution(or rather their equivelents.) but the pursuit of perfection can take any form. perhaps sub races, with some seeking beauty, others strength, etc. these would naturally isolate themselves. although there would have to be some overlap, namely warfare. *shrug* maybe not.

i'm almost getting a spartan vibe from them, perhaps because of the earth connection. a little cold, and uncaring, after all its perfection that is important. exposing or expelling those with imperfections, or atleast those that didn't fit the preconcieved notion of perfection set by the current sub race. i'm also getting a slight roman-esque intrigue thing. assassinations and what not, for when you know you can't be the best, i guess thats just the haughty, arrogant vibe, elitist.




might makes right, survival of the fittest. not your often typical cowardly goblin. if elves take a bonus to one thing at the expense of others, i see these guys as the opposite, unable to grasp the same level of skill, but more versatile. An elf can carve his name in your chest with a rapier, but might hit himself with an axe or club(exageration). the goblin lacks that refined rapier skill, but is perfectly at home with the other weapons. more like humans in dnd, extra skill points, extra feats, but with a lower cap, or requiring extra points to hit the cap. really, if they hate perfection, then its all about generality.

something about the water connection makes me see rats. not really building much, but seeping into every crack and crevace they can find and flooding it like the water they stem from. naturally im also getting a more aquatic goblin vibe, so i'd expect them on beaches, river banks, and most especially bogs and swamps, limited water breathing maybe.

i envision alot of mud bricks, and houses and huts dug partially into the earth. rock bases with logs just stacked onto them, crude, but fuctional. I also see a kind of aztec city, tenochitlan-esque. built on the lake itself, with floating planters for crops and bridgeways or boats to get to the mainland, atleast if they had any real capital cities. despite the cracks and crevaces comment, i don't really see them as cave goblins with the whole anti earth association, atleast not the vast underground complexes. seems that should be left to the fire race, if they are a race.

really though, a hatred of perfection, it seems like they would dispise nobility, kings. especially thrones and palaces. people who used and needed such things would likely be seen as weak. the goblins would be independent, dispersed, like currents fighting against eachother, but with the right leader, gathering like small creeks and streams to form a massive river that spills over any banks, slamming against their enemies

i'm also getting a strong pirate notion from the water element. small boats, mostly oar powered, galleys as opposed to triremes or biremes. almost viking like, coastal and river based.




so peace keepers, diplomats, but also associated with air, so explorers, drifters. I'm seeing alot of nomads, and getting a desert vibe, air equals arid i guess, but also, you've put the elves in the forests and the goblins are water, so its whats left that is free and clear. These would be the guys with the bows, and be geared towards speed, so horses or maybe riding chariots, but also boats.

not really sure where to go with them, it seems like you want to establish them as the middle ground so its really a matter of filling in the other two and looking at where that puts them. not the perfectionists of elves, but i get a sort of smug superiority vibe, a "we are above the fray" type mentality from the peace and air elements, but grounded with empathy.



you said 3 sapients, so i'll leave fire alone for now. as for other races, you already set the stage. if lesser, powerful entities were created who would be seen as gods in their own right, then i am assuming they could, at the least, pervert the creations of the real gods into something else. i'm also seeing the goblins, through their adaptability, becoming what amounts to a seperate race, or the elves, in the pursuit of perfection, augmenting themselves or someone else.

throwing this out there to see if it sparks anything.

[Bob of Mage]

First it might be a good idea not to use names for the first races. Instead give them more general names, otherwise in later ages the "first races" might get ideas into their heads about how much better they are. That of course leads to dark places which might not be fun to go to (or it might since it depends on what you what to run). Call them something like "The Earth Race", "The Air Race", and "The Water Race". Over time stuff happened to cause them to become the other races. Such happenings are long forgotten even by the oldest dragonflights.

Second you might want to have Fire be the source of the changes to the races over time. When it finshed it's creations they didn't die right away. Instead they blazed across the lands. After all was said and done the same thing about love of fire could have happened. Then after all is said and done the Lords see that the races are not the same as they once were. The mixing of the works of Fire (could be from the blazing and/or the use of fire) with that of another Lord lead to something new. The Lord would want to see where this lead, so they either left things as there are, or pushed them along (try mixing air and earth, earth, fire and water, or all four). This would explain how some races seem closer to just one Lord and some are a mix.

EDIT: A third point is you could have Earth being the father of the Lawful races (things like being prefect fit that), Water being the father of evil races (fits with its race being a bit hateful and likely warlike), Air could be the father of good races (peacemakers are seen as such), and Fire could play the part of chaos with the way it changes all that it touchs. This might as lead to something to set your world apart by having the races keep up these links (earth-magic is seen as Lawful, water-magic is seen as evil and so on).