Arcadia

[sammyp03]

I am really having trouble coming up with aspects of my world. I have a world map, completely done, but for the life of me cannot come up with a pantheon or world history for my upcoming game. Any suggestions are welcome.

[redwizard007]

We need a little more detail to be of any help. What kind of game do you want to run?

[sammyp03]

We need a little more detail to be of any help. What kind of game do you want to run?

A mid magic setting

[redwizard007]

A mid magic setting

Are you running political intrigues, gritty sword and sorcery, exploration, survival, high seas pirates?

[Jendekit]

Just saying mid-magic isn't enough information. What kind of flavor are you looking for in the cultures? Asian, Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Medieval Europe, Stone Age, Steampunk, what?

[redwizard007]

Right now all I'm hearing is please build my campaign world however you want but name it Arcadia...

[sammyp03]

Right now all I'm hearing is please build my campaign world however you want but name it Arcadia...

I apologize, Its a bit hard to type a decent response while I am at work,
As far as culture, i lean towards the Greek roman and Norse mythology. Gods rarely interfere in the affairs of mortals.
Magic is outlawed. A series of magical incidents has lead to mass paranoia of magic and people who practice it. In the best case, the evidence of magic use will lead to exile from society, or a purging of "sin" from the body (a super superstition that magic can be forgotten).

[BootStrapTommy]

Well if I took a stab in the dark here, I'd guess that the Greek and Norse pantheons might be easily appropriated...

Mind throwing your world map our way?

[sammyp03]

Well if I took a stab in the dark here, I'd guess that the Greek and Norse pantheons might be easily appropriated...

Mind throwing your world map our way?

sure thing https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1lAEThCInX-N3FYbXk3UmFfbXM/view?usp=sharing

Its in my drive.

[BootStrapTommy]

I cannot deny my jealosy of your mapmaking girth.

[sammyp03]

I cannot deny my jealosy of your mapmaking girth.

thank you sir. Im hiting writers block though

[Molemanking]

As for pantheons, like BootStrapTommy said, you could use the Greek and Norse Pantheon presented in the back of the PHB. Either taken both pantheons as they are, or mixing and matching/renaming them.

If you want a whole new pantheon, I'd say make a basic group of gods based on the clerical domains. Once you have that, you can start making gods that fall between two or more domains.


For world history, what magical incidents have occurred that have painted spellcasters in a bad light? Were they directly a spellcasters fault or were they natural disasters that casters just got blamed for. If magic is outlawed, does that mean that everything magical is outlawed, meaning no magic items? Are any beings with a innate connection to magic (High Elves for example) hunted down or barred from society? Has technological advancements taken the place that magic once stood?

[sammyp03]

As for pantheons, like BootStrapTommy said, you could use the Greek and Norse Pantheon presented in the back of the PHB. Either taken both pantheons as they are, or mixing and matching/renaming them.

If you want a whole new pantheon, I'd say make a basic group of gods based on the clerical domains. Once you have that, you can start making gods that fall between two or more domains.


For world history, what magical incidents have occurred that have painted spellcasters in a bad light? Were they directly a spellcasters fault or were they natural disasters that casters just got blamed for. If magic is outlawed, does that mean that everything magical is outlawed, meaning no magic items? Are any beings with a innate connection to magic (High Elves for example) hunted down or barred from society? Has technological advancements taken the place that magic once stood?

I had this idea that it was because of the "sin wars" a battle between the elves and their creation (the dwarves)

[BootStrapTommy]

Theoretically then it is a foregone conclusion that the dwarves emerged victorious from this particular war. Unless you decided to be "subvert expectations" and make magical dwarves. Not that there's anything wrong with that...

Have you clearly defined each of your nations and their respective government? How did those governments form, out of what kinds of culture, and what racial group holds power?

What is magic punishable by? Death? "Magical castration"? What about magic items?

[sammyp03]

Theoretically then it is a foregone conclusion that the dwarves emerged victorious from this particular war. Unless you decided to be "subvert expectations" and make magical dwarves. Not that there's anything wrong with that...

Have you clearly defined each of your nations and their respective government? How did those governments form, out of what kinds of culture, and what racial group holds power?

What is magic punishable by? Death? "Magical castration"? What about magic items?

I havent flushed out every goverment yet.

[Molemanking]

How long did the "Sin War" last? Why was it fought? What are the other races of your setting and how were they affected? Did some join the elves or dwarves side and, if so, was there any form of punishment inflicted on the defeated races?

[sammyp03]

How long did the "Sin War" last? Why was it fought? What are the other races of your setting and how were they affected? Did some join the elves or dwarves side and, if so, was there any form of punishment inflicted on the defeated races?
The Sin wars lasted a century. Elves took Clay and Stone and breathed life into the dwarves to be their servants. The dwarves, (because they themselves were made) had a natural ability for technological advances, Eventually the dwarves amassed weapons of mass destruction known as conduits and led a rebellion against the elves.

[redwizard007]

I cannot deny my jealosy of your mapmaking girth.

+1

I also chimed in on your pantheon help thread. It seems like you have a pretty solid base here to build from. Are there any other specific areas you are looking for feedback or inspiration?

[sammyp03]

Uh im stuck on names for my gods if you could help there?

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Cj_bfs-a5VQnyMhRyEuwZ_-M19aLW3VkEAxkSpe_wyY/edit?usp=sharing

Thats what i have so far

[Molemanking]

Here is a name generator that could help you: http://fantasynamegenerators.com/god-names.php#.VbkEt_kY3-A

[Mechalich]

Your map shows a jungle positioned to the north of traditional woodlands and a desert. If your setting in the southern hemisphere of the planet? (I like that, it isn't done often enough)

The map is very heavy on forests and mountains, with relatively limited cleared area. This suggests the world is populated at a low density with few strong nations.

The way you've drawn the major river suggests that the entire setting is a single giant watershed, perhaps one very large coastal plain.

I'm not sure if that's inspiring or helpful, but it may be food for thought at least.

[sammyp03]

Your map shows a jungle positioned to the north of traditional woodlands and a desert. If your setting in the southern hemisphere of the planet? (I like that, it isn't done often enough)

The map is very heavy on forests and mountains, with relatively limited cleared area. This suggests the world is populated at a low density with few strong nations.

The way you've drawn the major river suggests that the entire setting is a single giant watershed, perhaps one very large coastal plain.

I'm not sure if that's inspiring or helpful, but it may be food for thought at least.

It is in the souht, good eye

[choryukami]

Wow. You gotta tell me, how did you make that map?

[jqavins]

Here are some more leading questions. You may have answered some of these in your pantheon help thread that Tommy mentioned; I haven't gone and looked at that one, so please forgive redundant or superfluous questions.

Is there one pantheon that's original with Greek and Norse influence, or is it a case of different pantheons recognized and worshipped in different parts of the world?
There are at least five major nations on the map. Is the attitude about magic the same everywhere?
Is it all magic that's outlawed, or only arcane magic? That is, what about clerics? Psionics?
What about underground magic? Since there are prescribed punishments we can conclude that there are some people who practice it. Would that be a viable PC concept?
Tommy stated that the dwarves must have won the war, I guess because the elves are (or were) pro-magic and the world today is anti-magic. But what about other races? In your average fantasy medieval sword and sorcery world humans are often dominant. Humans could have suffered massive collateral damage in the war and blamed magic for it regardless of which side won.
OK, that wasn't a question, so this is: who won?
What about other races? Are there humans and all the rest? Did both elves and dwarves survive the war?
What's the scale of this map? Are we looking at most of a Eurasia sized land mass, Africa, Western Europe, Great Britain? (OK, the Shik Tal Empire wouldn't be much of an empire if the whole map is the size of Great Britain.)
Will there ever be contact from overseas?


There was a thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?406513-20-quick-questions-for-your-campaign-settings&highlight=20+quick+questions) a few months ago with 20 questions about your world. (We expanded it to about 26 by the time I stopped reading it.) The list of questions is hardly exhaustive or definitive, but it does offer some food for thought.

The map is, obviously, awesome. But I have a technical nit to pick. The Neon River comes out of the mountains in the Shik Tal Empire. (I like the sound of and Everclear lake, btw. :smallwink:) I'll assume it has the same name after the lake. The Unnamed River flows from an undisclosed source in the east. There is a confluence with the Idris River between the Misty Glades and the Elion Copse. The intent clearly is that the Neon and the Unnamed join to form the Idris (since it's the Idris that connects to the sea) but the way it's drawn looks like the Neon is the downstream branch. With the land this way, that point in between the Unnamed and the Idris would erode away in nothing flat in geological time.

[Daws2727]

I could go into detail but I don't have a lot of time, but I think this website has really good and short guides that should help you.

http://fantasynamegenerators.com/world-building-guide.php#.VekWQH48KrU