Seerow
2015-02-11, 03:49 PM
Inspired by this thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?393628-IDEA-quot-Investiture-quot-granting-levels-by-legal-magical-ceremony)
Specifically, I want to work building a setting based upon what I wrote in my post there.
This is actually a really cool setting idea. Imagine a world where there is a pretty fairly "set" amount of energy/experience to go around. It's not just that you go through a ritual and bam you're level 10. It's that you go through a ritual and you inherit the level 10 capabilities of the guy who had the position before you. Every generation a small amount of exp gets added to the total passed down, so over a thousand years and multiple generations you end up with people who have fairly high levels, but for the most part the levels stay static.
But every now and then, something weird happens. An inheritor dies without having declared an heir and the potential is dispersed. A god takes a special interest in current events. Someone wins the genetic lottery and has unlocked the ancient potential. A human makes a deal with the devil to gain potential to move beyond their lowly station. Whatever it is, these events result in your player characters. They are special and rare. They are the only people who can go out and gain experience/levels in the way we consider typical, and are considered special for it. In a generation a couple dozen of these individuals might appear. Many die with that potential still untapped, and thus the status quo remains. But for those who do make something of themselves, they are the primary way in which the world grows in power over time, because when they feel it is time to retire, they can pass on their abilities to someone else, and the capability they develop essentially creates one more permanent high level individual in the world.
You can dig deeper into it with how different cultures perceive both the Invested individuals and the Potential individuals. Some cultures might perceive the Invested as a holy boon, passed generation to generation to children. Others consider it a right of office, with those who gain political power gaining access to the investiture. You can have cultures that will revere the Potential characters and others who look upon that potential in the hands of an unknown person with fear. You can have Kingdoms that buy and sell these powers as an alternative high end currency. Those that will try to control or recruit the players.
It actually sounds like quite a lot of fun. I may need to spend some time fleshing this out and running another campaign.
So basic points to run with for the setting:
-There is a set amount of power in the world. Character levels are set in almost all situations, with PCs being a very rare exception in the world.
-This set power may be transfered from one individual to another.
-The character levels are set as specific levels. So you cannot have an individual transfer his 10 levels of Wizard to some guy and have it turn into 10 levels of Warblade.
-Player characters level up as normal. They are the exception, not the norm.
Things to Nail Down:
-Basic Terminology. Specifically terminology surrounding NPCs with levels, player characters capable of gaining levels, the transference of power, and so on. Currently I am working with Inheretence being the term for gaining power, and Mantle being the name for a specific power set that may be Inherited. This may need to change, and terminology describing what makes the PCs different is almost certainly needed. Similarly a name for someone who bears a Mantle is important.
-Mechanics for Inherentence. Who can receive a Mantle? How does one Inherit a Mantle? Can someone Inherit multiple Mantles? Can a Mantle be lost? Stolen?
-Can experience be added to a Mantle? In the original post I said yes, but now I am less certain, and am leaning towards no, or only under special circumstances.
-Can PCs Inherit a Mantle, or does whatever makes them different preclude them from receiving one?
-How many Mantles exist in the world? What is their distribution, both power wise and among various nations?
-How did the Mantles come to be? Is it something inherent to the world? Was the world's power placed into stasis by the gods in response to some event? Perhaps some epic level wizard did it in a failed attempt at immortality? Lots of potential possibilities, but the "how" will inform a lot of details of the setting.
-Setting size/scope. This is a big one. I lean towards wanting at least 3 distinct cultures simply to flesh out the themes outlined in the original post, but is that different cultures existing within one large country? 3 countries? A whole bunch of countries who are generally aligned into groups?
-'Evil' humanoids. Where do they fit in? Do they have their own set of Mantles? Do they coexist with the traditionally good humanoids, or do they have their own separate civilizations?
-Monsters and non-humanoid threats. How do these fit into a world where there is always high level humanoids around? The answer to this probably depends on how a Mantle is passed on (and thus how much someone with a Mantle might risk themselves).
-Cosmology: How do the Mantles fit into the planar cosmology? Do extraplanar entities follow the same rules, or can they progress normally? Can they gain Mantles?
I have some a lot of ideas, but many of them are conflicting. So I kind of want to throw this out there, see if there's any reactions or anyone else interested in helping out before I start throwing more stuff at the wall to see what sticks.
Also I've never tried building a setting from the ground up like this before, so any advice on the best place to start would be appreciated. Typically when DMing I either use a prepublished setting or a generic setting starting in a small area (like a single small town plus surrounding area) and expanding outward as needed, neither of which seem like they are going to be particularly productive here.
Specifically, I want to work building a setting based upon what I wrote in my post there.
This is actually a really cool setting idea. Imagine a world where there is a pretty fairly "set" amount of energy/experience to go around. It's not just that you go through a ritual and bam you're level 10. It's that you go through a ritual and you inherit the level 10 capabilities of the guy who had the position before you. Every generation a small amount of exp gets added to the total passed down, so over a thousand years and multiple generations you end up with people who have fairly high levels, but for the most part the levels stay static.
But every now and then, something weird happens. An inheritor dies without having declared an heir and the potential is dispersed. A god takes a special interest in current events. Someone wins the genetic lottery and has unlocked the ancient potential. A human makes a deal with the devil to gain potential to move beyond their lowly station. Whatever it is, these events result in your player characters. They are special and rare. They are the only people who can go out and gain experience/levels in the way we consider typical, and are considered special for it. In a generation a couple dozen of these individuals might appear. Many die with that potential still untapped, and thus the status quo remains. But for those who do make something of themselves, they are the primary way in which the world grows in power over time, because when they feel it is time to retire, they can pass on their abilities to someone else, and the capability they develop essentially creates one more permanent high level individual in the world.
You can dig deeper into it with how different cultures perceive both the Invested individuals and the Potential individuals. Some cultures might perceive the Invested as a holy boon, passed generation to generation to children. Others consider it a right of office, with those who gain political power gaining access to the investiture. You can have cultures that will revere the Potential characters and others who look upon that potential in the hands of an unknown person with fear. You can have Kingdoms that buy and sell these powers as an alternative high end currency. Those that will try to control or recruit the players.
It actually sounds like quite a lot of fun. I may need to spend some time fleshing this out and running another campaign.
So basic points to run with for the setting:
-There is a set amount of power in the world. Character levels are set in almost all situations, with PCs being a very rare exception in the world.
-This set power may be transfered from one individual to another.
-The character levels are set as specific levels. So you cannot have an individual transfer his 10 levels of Wizard to some guy and have it turn into 10 levels of Warblade.
-Player characters level up as normal. They are the exception, not the norm.
Things to Nail Down:
-Basic Terminology. Specifically terminology surrounding NPCs with levels, player characters capable of gaining levels, the transference of power, and so on. Currently I am working with Inheretence being the term for gaining power, and Mantle being the name for a specific power set that may be Inherited. This may need to change, and terminology describing what makes the PCs different is almost certainly needed. Similarly a name for someone who bears a Mantle is important.
-Mechanics for Inherentence. Who can receive a Mantle? How does one Inherit a Mantle? Can someone Inherit multiple Mantles? Can a Mantle be lost? Stolen?
-Can experience be added to a Mantle? In the original post I said yes, but now I am less certain, and am leaning towards no, or only under special circumstances.
-Can PCs Inherit a Mantle, or does whatever makes them different preclude them from receiving one?
-How many Mantles exist in the world? What is their distribution, both power wise and among various nations?
-How did the Mantles come to be? Is it something inherent to the world? Was the world's power placed into stasis by the gods in response to some event? Perhaps some epic level wizard did it in a failed attempt at immortality? Lots of potential possibilities, but the "how" will inform a lot of details of the setting.
-Setting size/scope. This is a big one. I lean towards wanting at least 3 distinct cultures simply to flesh out the themes outlined in the original post, but is that different cultures existing within one large country? 3 countries? A whole bunch of countries who are generally aligned into groups?
-'Evil' humanoids. Where do they fit in? Do they have their own set of Mantles? Do they coexist with the traditionally good humanoids, or do they have their own separate civilizations?
-Monsters and non-humanoid threats. How do these fit into a world where there is always high level humanoids around? The answer to this probably depends on how a Mantle is passed on (and thus how much someone with a Mantle might risk themselves).
-Cosmology: How do the Mantles fit into the planar cosmology? Do extraplanar entities follow the same rules, or can they progress normally? Can they gain Mantles?
I have some a lot of ideas, but many of them are conflicting. So I kind of want to throw this out there, see if there's any reactions or anyone else interested in helping out before I start throwing more stuff at the wall to see what sticks.
Also I've never tried building a setting from the ground up like this before, so any advice on the best place to start would be appreciated. Typically when DMing I either use a prepublished setting or a generic setting starting in a small area (like a single small town plus surrounding area) and expanding outward as needed, neither of which seem like they are going to be particularly productive here.