Help me fill in some gaps in my world :) [Archive]

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WilsonUndead

2016-02-26, 10:43 AM

Hey everyone!
So I've been working on a sandbox, and for the most part it is figured out, but there are some things I could use some external creative input on.

So a quick background, geographically my world is the Warhammer world. All the maps are customized for my world from maps of the warhammer world.
To make it easy for everyone to help (assuming some of you dabble in warhammer and have at least some general knowledge about it) the similarities between my world and warhammer:
The basic races all have their countries of origin in basically the same areas.
The history is very similar, only certain events have been omitted or changed, including names.
The cultures are generally the same in the areas that warhammer puts them.
(If anyone wants some elaboration on any of this I'll fill you in, I'm just trying to keep this as short as possible :) )

Some differences:
The world is mostly unpopulated. Even the Empire, which is where the players will start (in Averland if that helps), has not nearly as many settlements and cities as in warhammer. The empire and its states cover a large area, but much of that is wilderness.
Many of the races will use d&d versions of course (dark elves, ogres, lizard men etc) but for the sake of ease for me they will still generally populate the same areas (dark elves rule Naggaroth, lizardmen- Lustria etc).

NOW, if you made it through that, what I need is this; I would like ideas for unique locations, and adventures relating to them. The warhammer map has plenty of locations that I can take and use, in Averland alone for example I made an adventure from an abandoned dwarven mine and a temple, which are found on an Averland map, but I would like some more ideas.

This is a sandbox, so far I have a few bosses planned out, that are kind of open world bosses. The players will encounter them when they decide to, and the bosses will adapt to whatever happens in the world.
But.... I have no "main plots". I am hoping my players will discover some things that mean nothing and come to their own conclusions, allowing me to build off of that, but another problem I'm having, are these "things".
What kind of items, locations, etc could be mysterious enough to make players think that they have deeper meanings?

TL:DR- I would like adventure and unique location ideas, set in a warhammer themed world
And
I would like some random mysterious items, places, things in general that could lead my players to develop a mystery or plot line of their own, that I could build on to create a larger plot.

Thanks in advance for the help, I really enjoy worldbuilding and I'm excited for my players to be let loose! Just need some extra ideas :)

eastmabl

2016-02-26, 02:22 PM

This might not be helpful at all, but if your players know (roughly) what the world is like, why don't you ask them what they think is between the points of light of civilization?

Sometimes, your players can be a better guide than we would be.

WilsonUndead

2016-02-26, 03:14 PM

Well, my players don't really know much about the world. My girlfriend knows almost nothing about warhammer, and my cousin who played warhammer with me doesn't know really anything about the world or lore. (And yes I only have two players, they each are going to play two characters each. Keeps us from having to branch out and be social with strangers lol)

The things I'm asking for don't necessarily need to come from anybody who actually knows the warhammer world setting, I could still use generic locations, items etc, which is why I gave a "short" description of the world for those who didn't know it.

But anyways, thanks for your reply, I would do it but I'm trying to keep my players mostly in the dark about the world they will be in :)

UberMagus

2016-02-26, 04:17 PM

What kind of characters are they playing? It's easier to build hooks to specific characters.
Look at concepts, backgrounds, classes, personalities. :D

EvilAnagram

2016-02-26, 04:20 PM

I would probably drop Sunlight Sensitivity from Night Wlves. What are you using for Trolls?

UberMagus

2016-02-26, 04:24 PM

I would probably drop Sunlight Sensitivity from Night Wlves. What are you using for Trolls?

If you drop the Sunlight Sensitivity, you should drop some of the powers, as well, otherwise they're just straight more powerful than other races...

EvilAnagram

2016-02-26, 04:52 PM

If you drop the Sunlight Sensitivity, you should drop some of the powers, as well, otherwise they're just straight more powerful than other races...

Honestly, just giving them normal dark vision should suffice.

UberMagus

2016-02-26, 05:31 PM

Honestly, just giving them normal dark vision should suffice.

I'd say you'd also need to pull the Darkness.

EvilAnagram

2016-02-26, 05:38 PM

I'd say you'd also need to pull the Darkness.

Maybe, but I'd replace it with something that mirrors the Night Elves' ability to blend in at night. Although, I suppose the Wood Elves mirror it pretty well.

UberMagus

2016-02-26, 05:58 PM

Maybe, but I'd replace it with something that mirrors the Night Elves' ability to blend in at night. Although, I suppose the Wood Elves mirror it pretty well.

I don't know. The more I think about it, the more I think the Daylight Sensitivity is kinda necessary. They SHOULD be penalized for being in sunlight, being subterranean creatures...

lebefrei

2016-02-27, 01:44 AM

I hope you also posted this in a Warhammer Fantasy forum. I'm big on doing my own setting, but in a case like this fans of the specific world probably have adventures written that you can just customize over to 5e.

Beyond that, why is the world underpopulated? Where are the troops to put the War in Warhammer? Is it Peacehammer for the time being? Where is the conflict, what are the forces of Chaos up to, etc. Give your players the lore in a sandbox and ask them what they want to do with it, and that'll inform your play sessions.

WilsonUndead

2016-02-27, 04:34 PM

What kind of characters are they playing? It's easier to build hooks to specific characters.
Look at concepts, backgrounds, classes, personalities. :D

They are in the process of creating characters, and I'm making sure they give me detailed (not too too crazy) backgrounds so I can play off that for some stuff.

I hope you also posted this in a Warhammer Fantasy forum. I'm big on doing my own setting, but in a case like this fans of the specific world probably have adventures written that you can just customize over to 5e.

Beyond that, why is the world underpopulated? Where are the troops to put the War in Warhammer? Is it Peacehammer for the time being? Where is the conflict, what are the forces of Chaos up to, etc. Give your players the lore in a sandbox and ask them what they want to do with it, and that'll inform your play sessions.

It's *inspired* by the warhammer world and setting. When I say less populated I mean there's still tons of people, monsters, races etc, but there are way less settlements.
For example if you google the Gitzmans Gallery huge map of the empire you will see TONS of towns and cities, I'm using less than they have because I like the idea of my players exploring the wilderness and old ruins and caves and stuff. There will still be plenty of cities and things tho.
As for the armies, they will still be there, it's just not going to be all our war everywhere. I have invasions and battles and feuds happening all over the world, but I haven't planned any real large scale wars yet.

And as for the rest of you, I will be using the MM entries for pretty much everything. I will be creating my own for things like dragon ogres and other warhammer baddies, but the drow will still have light sensitivity.
My idea is Naggaroth is covered by magical dark clouds, the the drow of the old world need to live in the under dark but are planning to retake the surface, which requires a lot of magic etc to create the dark clouds everywhere. It'll be a thing lol.

Thanks for the replies!

Calimehter

2016-02-27, 10:01 PM

Mordheim.

Google it and all its awesomeness. :)

After leveling up in the assorted wilds of Averland, start feeding them rumours of the forbidden city, wiped from the Imperial archives by conservative priests. A ruined place where desperate adventurers battle to keep critical warpstone and other resources out of the hands of the agents of the Von Carsteins (Vlad or Manfred depending on your timeline) before they can acquire the resources they need to overthrow the Empire. The players join the struggle and fight well, culminating in a final battle with one of the famous Von Carstein family themselves.

WilsonUndead

2016-02-27, 11:18 PM