Lost in Hyrule
2015-03-05, 04:22 PM
I have been playing D&D with a group of friends for several years. We have played off-an-on, and we swap around DM's a lot. Normally, we get a handful of sessions in per party, then move on to new characters when someone else rotates in. I decided, with their approval, that I'd like to take over the DM role for a more long term campaign so that we can really establish some in character legends!
Because I am prideful or something, I really want the world we do this in to be my own. Reading the Gaming articles on this site, as well as reading some of the stuff about the Red Tide campaign setting, really got me excited for crafting my own world! I want to discuss those ideas here, to see what sorts of implications they have for the world at large. Some of this stuff would be secret to the players, hence the reason I'm bringing it to the Playground!
The World
The world (that I am tentatively calling Ydris, because it's the best I've thought up so far) is a massive tree. I am only aiming to flesh out a single land upon this world, which will be found along a flat section of one of the branches. I am thinking a land the size of Middle Earth could easily fit the width of this branch. So, the vast majority of people, at least in this area, do no know they are upon a tree.
This tree was grown the by the 'God' of life, growth, and goodness. It wants happiness and health for the people on the tree. It wants people to have a full, happy life. As such, whenever someone dies, they are reborn into the world healthy and with their memories. A 'seed' descends from the leaves of the tree at dusk, and at dawn, it lands wherever that person considers home. They are restored to optimal physical state, but without any of their possessions. So, if you are slain in a war with the orcs, your armor and weapons remain on the battlefield, but the next morning, you're naked on the doorstep of your family home.
Your physical potential is limited when you 'spawn'. A person is only capable of so much. After studying and training, they reach their potential. However, once they 'respawn', this potential is reset to match their new capabilities. Essentially, one must die in order to keep improving, like rungs on a ladder.
There is an opposing 'God' of the opposite things above. One of its weapons is fire. Fire is an extremely destructive force in this world. For one, the world is a magic tree, and as such, susceptible to catching fire itself. So, fires that aren't controlled very closely can turn into blazes rather easily. Additionally, burns do not heal the same way from 'respawn'. Being killed in a fire takes much longer to come back than simply the next morning. Body parts lost in a fire come back charred. As time goes on, they may flake and peel, eventually turning to pinkish scar, but it never goes back to normal without powerful healing magic. Only depraved individuals would be willing to use fire as a weapon.
The Details, In No Particular Order
The stars are the twinkling lights of the seeds among the leaves of the tree, as well as small gaps to the outside. The sun is a lens or mirror that rotates about the central axis of the tree. So, it may become Dawn when the sun is to the East and Dusk when it is to the West, but it doesn't set over the horizon. It instead 'turns' out of sight.
Within the 'ground' are rivers that can be found by miners. Some are carrying fresh water (I would presume out to the leaves), while others are carrying a mystic liquid (which is essentially sap, probably flowing the opposite direction). The liquid will definitely have 'properties'!
Due to the nature of fire, an organization will be throughout the land of Arcane Firefighters (I need name ideas for lots of things). They are exactly what they sound like. A council of Archmages of this order are some of the only people in the world who have studied fire magic, but they do so solely in order to learn the perfect firefighting techniques for any situation.
In the distant past, a fire raged out of control in part of this land. Prayers were eventually heeded, and a potent rain fell that extinguished the blaze. This area is now a desert coated in magical energies that are somewhat haywire. A church arose named after the Tears of the Goddess who they believe answered their pleas. The Firefighters are associated with this church.
People don't know there are only 2 'Gods' in play. They have their own ideas of gods and worship them in lots of different ways. The 2 only care if people are aligned with them over all or not, so the specifics do not concern them. The 1 strives for life for the tree and happiness for its inhabitants, while the other strives to destroy the tree, in part through misery of the inhabitants. (Badguy is way jealous of Goodguy's gardening skills, essentially)
Souls leave the body in a visible way, and bodies fade away after death. Exact timing, I am not sure. I was first thinking that a soul leaves the body and flows out to the leaves about 5 minutes after death (meaning necromancy must be performed in this timeframe), and the body disappears upon the next dusk. I am now leaning towards 15 minutes after death, body and soul fade away, Yoda-style. For practical, perhaps 'science-y' reasons, the stipulation is that the soul is contained within the heart. Everything connected to the heart goes with it. So, if you remove something's heart, everything else stays. So, hunting and slaughtering of animals work fine, meaning meat is allowed!
Some Implications
Fire being a frightening force, people strive to minimize their use for it. Firehouses are communal buildings in towns and villages where a single fire is kept, under watch of firefighters, for communal cooking purposes. Forging may be done on the other half of the room. (Possibly the Sap can be used in some way for one or the other. The Sap is flammable in my mind, though, so they would not be used together)
Villages hold celebrations for trainees who have completed their apprenticeship or what not. They celebrate in the evening, with the Sap being used to lift spirits. The person who is being celebrated is given a special dose shortly before dusk which causes them to overdose, dying peacefully. The next dawn, the celebration resumes with the return of the person who is full of new potential!
Criminals can be punished severely via branding. As branding does not heal properly, the marks stay with them. Additionally, bounty hunting is a very interesting job. The easiest method is to identify your target, discover where they consider home, kill them, then shackle them the next morning on their doorstep, with no weapons, armor, or prepared spells.
Sorry for the absolute wall of text! :smallsmile: That's my world, to start with. I'm hoping there aren't some issues that fundamentally break it. Let's discuss it so it can become something fully realized!
Because I am prideful or something, I really want the world we do this in to be my own. Reading the Gaming articles on this site, as well as reading some of the stuff about the Red Tide campaign setting, really got me excited for crafting my own world! I want to discuss those ideas here, to see what sorts of implications they have for the world at large. Some of this stuff would be secret to the players, hence the reason I'm bringing it to the Playground!
The World
The world (that I am tentatively calling Ydris, because it's the best I've thought up so far) is a massive tree. I am only aiming to flesh out a single land upon this world, which will be found along a flat section of one of the branches. I am thinking a land the size of Middle Earth could easily fit the width of this branch. So, the vast majority of people, at least in this area, do no know they are upon a tree.
This tree was grown the by the 'God' of life, growth, and goodness. It wants happiness and health for the people on the tree. It wants people to have a full, happy life. As such, whenever someone dies, they are reborn into the world healthy and with their memories. A 'seed' descends from the leaves of the tree at dusk, and at dawn, it lands wherever that person considers home. They are restored to optimal physical state, but without any of their possessions. So, if you are slain in a war with the orcs, your armor and weapons remain on the battlefield, but the next morning, you're naked on the doorstep of your family home.
Your physical potential is limited when you 'spawn'. A person is only capable of so much. After studying and training, they reach their potential. However, once they 'respawn', this potential is reset to match their new capabilities. Essentially, one must die in order to keep improving, like rungs on a ladder.
There is an opposing 'God' of the opposite things above. One of its weapons is fire. Fire is an extremely destructive force in this world. For one, the world is a magic tree, and as such, susceptible to catching fire itself. So, fires that aren't controlled very closely can turn into blazes rather easily. Additionally, burns do not heal the same way from 'respawn'. Being killed in a fire takes much longer to come back than simply the next morning. Body parts lost in a fire come back charred. As time goes on, they may flake and peel, eventually turning to pinkish scar, but it never goes back to normal without powerful healing magic. Only depraved individuals would be willing to use fire as a weapon.
The Details, In No Particular Order
The stars are the twinkling lights of the seeds among the leaves of the tree, as well as small gaps to the outside. The sun is a lens or mirror that rotates about the central axis of the tree. So, it may become Dawn when the sun is to the East and Dusk when it is to the West, but it doesn't set over the horizon. It instead 'turns' out of sight.
Within the 'ground' are rivers that can be found by miners. Some are carrying fresh water (I would presume out to the leaves), while others are carrying a mystic liquid (which is essentially sap, probably flowing the opposite direction). The liquid will definitely have 'properties'!
Due to the nature of fire, an organization will be throughout the land of Arcane Firefighters (I need name ideas for lots of things). They are exactly what they sound like. A council of Archmages of this order are some of the only people in the world who have studied fire magic, but they do so solely in order to learn the perfect firefighting techniques for any situation.
In the distant past, a fire raged out of control in part of this land. Prayers were eventually heeded, and a potent rain fell that extinguished the blaze. This area is now a desert coated in magical energies that are somewhat haywire. A church arose named after the Tears of the Goddess who they believe answered their pleas. The Firefighters are associated with this church.
People don't know there are only 2 'Gods' in play. They have their own ideas of gods and worship them in lots of different ways. The 2 only care if people are aligned with them over all or not, so the specifics do not concern them. The 1 strives for life for the tree and happiness for its inhabitants, while the other strives to destroy the tree, in part through misery of the inhabitants. (Badguy is way jealous of Goodguy's gardening skills, essentially)
Souls leave the body in a visible way, and bodies fade away after death. Exact timing, I am not sure. I was first thinking that a soul leaves the body and flows out to the leaves about 5 minutes after death (meaning necromancy must be performed in this timeframe), and the body disappears upon the next dusk. I am now leaning towards 15 minutes after death, body and soul fade away, Yoda-style. For practical, perhaps 'science-y' reasons, the stipulation is that the soul is contained within the heart. Everything connected to the heart goes with it. So, if you remove something's heart, everything else stays. So, hunting and slaughtering of animals work fine, meaning meat is allowed!
Some Implications
Fire being a frightening force, people strive to minimize their use for it. Firehouses are communal buildings in towns and villages where a single fire is kept, under watch of firefighters, for communal cooking purposes. Forging may be done on the other half of the room. (Possibly the Sap can be used in some way for one or the other. The Sap is flammable in my mind, though, so they would not be used together)
Villages hold celebrations for trainees who have completed their apprenticeship or what not. They celebrate in the evening, with the Sap being used to lift spirits. The person who is being celebrated is given a special dose shortly before dusk which causes them to overdose, dying peacefully. The next dawn, the celebration resumes with the return of the person who is full of new potential!
Criminals can be punished severely via branding. As branding does not heal properly, the marks stay with them. Additionally, bounty hunting is a very interesting job. The easiest method is to identify your target, discover where they consider home, kill them, then shackle them the next morning on their doorstep, with no weapons, armor, or prepared spells.
Sorry for the absolute wall of text! :smallsmile: That's my world, to start with. I'm hoping there aren't some issues that fundamentally break it. Let's discuss it so it can become something fully realized!