A Grand New World!

[DixieDevil]

So, I'm running this PBP game. And instead of going the traditional worldbuilding route of thinking up a history and cities and so on and so forth, I decided to have them be settlers in a newly discovered continent. The PCs are fresh off the boat and are some of the first arrivals. At the time of their arrival, the first town is starting up, but is mostly comprised of shacks and tents at the moment. There's only one inn, which is really just a one room hut with a table and some ale, and a brothel

They've just been offered exploring jobs, but haven't left the "town" yet. The closest natives (which they've not encountered yet) are Grippli and Lizardfolk that live in the swamp. The Grippli are gonna be neutral to the PCs at first, and either become allies or enemies depending on how the PCs act, and the Lizardfolk are gonna have a necromantic streak. Maybe even through some death cults in there!

Anyways! I was just wondering if you guys could share your thoughts, ideas, adventure hooks, npcs, etc.

[Honest Tiefling]

Why are people in the settlement in the first place? Usually, colonization happened for a reason, even if that reason was as stupid as 'we ran out of beer here'. Is it a mine, or a need for land to grow certain crops? What does this place produce?

What prevents the party from ditching things and going back home? Is it too prohibitive? Are they criminals? Are they indentured servants? Is home just as crappy, if not crappier?

What are the skills/interests of your characters/players? What are they looking forward to? Any hooks in their backstories?

Is Necromancy evil, or do the lizardfolk practice a non-evil version of it? (They could just be evil in different ways, like the constant murder). How would the religion of where the characters come from view such a practice? How unified are the Grippli and the Lizardfolk?

What if the lizardfolk are still necromancers, but trying to be friendly? Plenty of room in the death cult for everyone, and Sorsha the Black accepts all converts, no matter how unscaly! Life is so much easier when the dead repay the community for their full and bountiful lives with work to support their descendants. Do they even speak the same language as the characters? Because I can imagine them trying to show up with muffins and blankets only to look like a necromantic invasion force. And look, if you wanted those dead bodies, why did you bury them into the ground instead of keeping them safe!?

A black onyx mine to destroy, steal or sabotage might also be good if the lizardfolk rely on such for their spells.

If criminals abound in this colony because they got kicked out of their homeland, then that's room for plothooks. Someone seeks revenge on a former criminal who seeks redemption and works as the town healer. Another wants to get support to become the new sheriff in town, and it is not like people back home care who is in charge as long as the money keeps coming in. Those prostitutes? Well, people keep disappearing after meeting with one of the lovely ladies and/or gents, but it isn't like people are advertising when they go the brothel so the connection isn't immediately obvious.

[DixieDevil]

I should have specified that it's a new continent that's been discovered.

As far as the Lizardfolk and the Grippli go, in my head I was thinking that the Lizardfolk would probably serve as the bad guys, and the Grippli would be the good guys (to put it simply) but it really all depends on how the PCs react.

The party consists of a rouge, a fighter, a bard, a psion, and a wizard.

[Scorponok]

Well, the closest real world example would be the settlement of America by Europe. What sort of adventures would come out of that scenario? I can think of a few.

- some of the natives don't like new settlers, and sabotage, kill, and steal from settlers. Others are ok with them. Who is who, and how do the settlers react?
- settlers have a disease the natives are not immune to. As a result, native peoples get sick and die.
- natives have a product that is very popular back in the settler's home country. Who benefits, and what species gets wiped out as a result of this?
- a native camp is completely destroyed, and everyone killed. Who was responsible? Was it two factions of rival native peoples or was it the settlers.
- a new colony is going to have several who want to get rich quick and establish themselves as the rulers of this new area. Who are they, and how far are each of them willing to go to get their way? Who do the PCs support, if any?
- how much influence and power does the old world hold over this new colony? How many soldiers do they send to help settle and take control of the area?
- how much influence do foreign powers from the old world hold over the area? What are their interests?

I can also think of two fictional universes you could borrow stories or take ideas from.

Deep Space Nine is about a altruistic group (Federation) that shows up to a new land after it has been ravaged by another outside force. A arguably successful rebellion drove them off, but the invaders claimed it was more solely because they had already stripped the world dry of resources. A new important discovery (the wormhole) makes this world a very important place again. And now, the invaders might return.

Firefly takes place after a civil war that resulted in the old world government winning, and now the survivors of the war becoming independent freelancers, going between worlds doing odd jobs and trying to eek out a living. Eventually, the leader of this group finds something extremely important to the old world government (River Tam) and wants to stick it to them one more time, so he keeps her.

Your idea sounds interesting. Keep us posted on the progress of your story!

Your thread title also made me think of this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kl4hJ4j48s

[Inevitability]

I am fairly sure there will be several nations trying to establish new cities on the continent. Don't forget about those! People from back home will let you tie in PC's backstories more easily and will be a good place for trade. Of course, depending on how those countries related to each other back on the main continent, things may not go as smooth...

Perhaps that is the reason people set out to colonize this new world? A large war between their homelands caused famine and danger, so many decided to take their chances with this unknown land.

[DixieDevil]

Thanks for the tips, y'all! Keep 'em comin' :smallcool:

[DixieDevil]

Bumpity bump.