Building a Celtic Campaign Setting

[tmjr6]

Hey all,

I'm working on two minor projects right now while I wait to start my next two campaigns I'm DMing. For one of them I want to do a Points of Light meets Celtic Pantheon type world. I'm looking for some world building ideas, maybe ways to incorporate things like the Gods into the world and the like? Thanks!

[Azgeroth]

have a look at pathfinder, thats very 'celtic' (pre-medieval britain)

[M Placeholder]

have a look at pathfinder, thats very 'celtic' (pre-medieval britain)

What part of Pathfinder is pre-medieval Britain? The setting is a mish-mash of different fantasy time periods and with real world historical periods in places, ranging from ancient Egyptian (Osirion), to early United States (Andoran) to Ravenloft-esque horror (Ustalav), medieval Persia/Arabia (Qadira) to far east (Dragon Empires), and many more different Kingdoms. There is no real "Celtic" analogue in the setting. Apart from the Lands of the Limmorm Kings (which is Ancient Norse, and the Norse colonized parts of Scotland, Ireland and The Isle of Man), there is nowhere that could be considered pre-medieval Britain.

As for Inspiration, the Moonshae Islands in the Forgotten Realms setting is an analogue of pre-medieval, Celtic Britain, with the Southern Parts of the Islands a Celtic style culture, while the Northern part of the Islands were settled by Northmen.

[Gryndle]

If you can find it 2nd Ed had a Celt Campaign source book. I wouldn't say it was perfectly historical, but it was a great resource for me.
Maybe it was the book,maybe just the right time or players but it was the best campaign I've ran. 15 years later people still talk about that campaign.

[TripleD]

First we gotta ask, what do you mean by "Celtic"?

Are you talking about the ancient celts? The nebulous term for hundreds of tribes who held dominion over Northern Europe before the coming of the Romans?

Are you talking about the Arthurian-"Celtic"? A romanticized version of pre-Christian Britain?

Or do you just mean ancient and pre-Christian Ireland? This would probably be the easiest to do, since there's lots of good info out there.

[tmjr6]

Pre-Christian Ireland. Not the romantic Arthurian version. A more realistic "Iron Age" style campaign with a more druidic approach to magic.

[Gryndle]

Hey, don't exclude the pre-Christian pre-Saxon Scotts. My ancestors were "celts" too.

[TripleD]

Pre-Christian Ireland. Not the romantic Arthurian version. A more realistic "Iron Age" style campaign with a more druidic approach to magic.

Neat. I must admit beyond a bit of Wikipedia and reading "The Cattle Raid of Cu Chulain" in High School I don't know much about the period. A few things stick out in my memory though:

- I remember in "The Cattle Raid", and a few other stories from the Ulster Cycle, the expression "three fifties" being used a lot (e.g. "Three-fifties of warriors", "three fifties of cattle", etc.). I got the feeling it was a short hand for "a lot", similar to how we might say "There were hundreds of X" when it's really just an estimate. Could make for some interesting NPC dialog.

- Druids didn't really work like D&D druids. What little we know of them places them squarely as priests as opposed to worshippers of "primeval nature". They were also really big into sacrifice (occasionally human) in order to see into or influence the future. So basically a mix of Nature Cleric and Diviner wizard.

- The first instinct for supernatural enemies is to go heavy on the Fey. Not a bad direction, but don't forget about Giants. They also play a fairly big role in Irish folklore.

[tmjr6]

Hey, don't exclude the pre-Christian pre-Saxon Scotts. My ancestors were "celts" too.

Mine too, but I've already done campaigns like that, I want a much earlier technological campaign. That and I am a huge fan of the open nature of the Irish myths. So I want to hone in a little more on that, story wise.

[Shadow_in_the_Mist]

Okay, I'm not a huge expert on Celticism in any way, shape or form, but from what I know, this is what I'd suggest:

Steal from the World Axis and boil the cosmology down to The World, the Feywild, and the Shadowfell. These are literally the Mortal World, Land of Faerie and Land of the Dead realities actually used in Celticism and similar philosophies, so they better match what you want than anything the Great Wheel has ever done.

If you want to include supernatural enemies at all, my recommendations: faeries, monstrosities of the "dire beast" variety, and undead. These are the most iconic of Celtic magical beings in my opinion. Cait Sith, dullahans, banshees, hags, ghosts, draugr, giant wolves, man-eating boars and similar are Celtic bread-and-butter, to my limited understanding.

Formorians are a natural fit, because they were literally stolen from Irish mythology in the first place. I heavily advise looking up their 4e fluff, because in that edition, Formorians were The Big Name in terms of the monsters of the Feywild, with a level of power and respect that 5th edition took away from them. You could consider reinventing ogres and cyclops to fill the role of the 4e cyclopes as well, which was as intelligent, powerful, but hideous giant underlings of the formorians, who were magical witch-kings of huge power.

Consider how much fantasy you want to include. The Druid, Barbarian and Bard (Lore/Valor) are the most "iconically" Celtish of classes, but an Iron Age-style Fighter can fit as well. Wizards can work, but you may want to restrict the spells they can use - for example, only Enchanters (tutored by the fae) and/or Necromancers (who dabble in the unclean powers of the dead) are allowed. Likewise, Fae Warlocks could fit the "magic comes from the lands of faerie and the dead" motif.

I've actually got a Sidhe Scholar tradition for Wizards which might be helpful for you.

Sorry I can't help more, but this is all I have off the top of my head.

[KorvinStarmast]

Hey, don't exclude the pre-Christian pre-Saxon Scotts. My ancestors were "celts" too. If I remember the migration patterns right, the Scoti were Irish Celts who moved into Scotland. (Need to go and find that map again ...) I am still puzzling over some conflicting theories on the Milesians (Ibero Celts) and people arguing pro and con that origin.

[CaptainSarathai]

Hey all,

I'm working on two minor projects right now while I wait to start my next two campaigns I'm DMing. For one of them I want to do a Points of Light meets Celtic Pantheon type world. I'm looking for some world building ideas, maybe ways to incorporate things like the Gods into the world and the like? Thanks!

So, if you're doing "points of light" then you're gonna have small, isolated villages surrounded by really scary wilderness. Pre-Roman Britain was actually a lot more civilized than that.
You could certainly do a Points of Light, and have it set as early civilization on your continent. Have them fighting back fomorians with class levels, and trying to feel out the dynamics of the various Fey Courts and giants. Make nights scary and dark.

One idea that I've had rattling around for a sort of "points of light" campaign, is literally points of light. It came from a story hook,

The Spark is dead. New fires cannot be lit, and magical fire burns cold. Days are short, and nights are long. Winter is entirely without sunlight.
My thought that was each village maintains a large, ever burning fire. Each fire was taken from "the mother flame" which is a sacred fire at the biggest settlement, the last which could be lit before the spark died. If you fire goes out, there is no way to relight it, so fire must be carried and spread - sort of like running the Olympic Torch.
The main conflict would be the village where the PCs live coming under attack, and their fire being put out just before winter. They have to travel and find a new source of fire, escorting caravan of refugee villagers, "Banner Saga" style.
(I haven't been able to play this campaign yet, because I have a reputation for running really grim, really intense horror campaigns, and my party doesn't trust me to not give them all nightmares and depression - no joke)

Another major conflict you could introduce to your world, is the arrival of the Romans (or equivalent). Have this super organized, militant civilization of Hobgoblins show up, and start colonizing the land where your players live. They, with their primitive tribal lifestyle, must band together and rally the surrounding tribes, appeal to the Fey Court, bribe the Giants, and maybe sacrifice to the Fomorians in order to create an army for a cataclysmic end-game battle against the invading Hobgoblin legions. Think Boudicca.

[GlenSmash!]

Welsh mythology is my favorite Celtic stuff. Have characters quest for cauldrons. Run into Gwyn and the wild hunt...

Actually I'd just turn Lloyd Alexander's Chronicles of Prydain into a campaign setting.

Has that been done before?

[tmjr6]

Welsh mythology is my favorite Celtic stuff. Have characters quest for cauldrons. Run into Gwyn and the wild hunt...

Actually I'd just turn Lloyd Alexander's Chronicles of Prydain into a campaign setting.

Has that been done before?

I don't know, but that sounds pretty cool.

[tmjr6]

So, if you're doing "points of light" then you're gonna have small, isolated villages surrounded by really scary wilderness. Pre-Roman Britain was actually a lot more civilized than that.
You could certainly do a Points of Light, and have it set as early civilization on your continent. Have them fighting back fomorians with class levels, and trying to feel out the dynamics of the various Fey Courts and giants. Make nights scary and dark...

Another major conflict you could introduce to your world, is the arrival of the Romans (or equivalent). Have this super organized, militant civilization of Hobgoblins show up, and start colonizing the land where your players live. They, with their primitive tribal lifestyle, must band together and rally the surrounding tribes, appeal to the Fey Court, bribe the Giants, and maybe sacrifice to the Fomorians in order to create an army for a cataclysmic end-game battle against the invading Hobgoblin legions. Think Boudicca.[/QUOTE]

I suppose Points of Light is not the best way to phrase it. The PC's will be starting in a small village in an isolated part of their Ireland analogy, they will only have known the two villages close by. They know people have left to venture farther out but none of them know any of the distances or even where they could have gone. Maps aren't really a thing for this area, and if there will be a map it will be because the PC's discover one from a previous traveler or make their own. I love the Hobgoblin idea and I will definitely keep this in mind, since I will have a few different cultures in this world.

[GlenSmash!]

So, if you're doing "points of light" then you're gonna have small, isolated villages surrounded by really scary wilderness. Pre-Roman Britain was actually a lot more civilized than that.
You could certainly do a Points of Light, and have it set as early civilization on your continent. Have them fighting back fomorians with class levels, and trying to feel out the dynamics of the various Fey Courts and giants. Make nights scary and dark...

Another major conflict you could introduce to your world, is the arrival of the Romans (or equivalent). Have this super organized, militant civilization of Hobgoblins show up, and start colonizing the land where your players live. They, with their primitive tribal lifestyle, must band together and rally the surrounding tribes, appeal to the Fey Court, bribe the Giants, and maybe sacrifice to the Fomorians in order to create an army for a cataclysmic end-game battle against the invading Hobgoblin legions. Think Boudicca.

I suppose Points of Light is not the best way to phrase it. The PC's will be starting in a small village in an isolated part of their Ireland analogy, they will only have known the two villages close by. They know people have left to venture farther out but none of them know any of the distances or even where they could have gone. Maps aren't really a thing for this area, and if there will be a map it will be because the PC's discover one from a previous traveler or make their own. I love the Hobgoblin idea and I will definitely keep this in mind, since I will have a few different cultures in this world.

I love the idea of Hobgoblins as Roman Legions.

[Naanomi]

If you want to be more fantastic about it, you can also use githyanki as the 'invaders'... they come from far away, they have unfamiliar technology... I think they'd work well (as would hobgoblins of course)