Cyberdrow - Worldbuild advice

[OrangeK]

Looking for some world build advice, I am about to start a new campaign, my players are all drow. It will be set in Faerun in the year 5095.
This is a side shot (4-6sessions) from the regular campaign set in Waterdeep, 1493DR.

The players have been told the following.
They are all drow, they have all been told the year, and that The Drow have not ventured to the surface for any reason in the last 2-3 millennia, thereby having no real indication as to what the surface is like.
The campaign will open a few miles outside Menzoberenzan, as "having a reason to forsake or flee the ways of the city life of the Drow" was part of their backstory request.

Upon (and IF) they decide to head to the surface, they will emerge into a post-apocalyptic, cyberpunk style version of a futuristic Faerun. I'm thinking akin to Shadowrun, which I've never played.

Any ideas and advice to building and presenting this setting would be greatly appreciated!!

[Bobthewizard]

This sounds fun. There are a lot of possible options here.

To keep in the d&d rules I would avoid the "cyber" part and use magic for the surveillance state.

You could have the world ravaged by some devil who has plunged it into bureaucratic hell. Checkpoints at every city, registration, policing by lesser devils or evil humanoids using detect thoughts. Strict control of magic use and weapons. Everyone required to wear a tracking device that allows scrying by the devils. Then a small resistance to fight back, with spies on both sides.

Since you're using drow, you could even have the BBEG be a typical "good" god or race. Maybe Lathander has banished all darkness so it's always daytime. No one can get any sleep. Crops and animals are suffering. But his followers are paranoid of evil and have enacted the same bureaucracy as above. The banishment of evil has led to the corruption of good. This would let the players be heroes while still being drow.

[OrangeK]

I'm actually planning on going kind of in an opposite direction, my plan was to basically have the post-apocalyptic situation have been caused by magic in the past so the surface dwellers many thousands of years ago forsook magic and started focusing on science and technology instead. I like the idea of dwarves using their crafting skills to be Mech pilots and gnomes having taken to being tech masters and so on.

[Bobthewizard]

I'm actually planning on going kind of in an opposite direction, my plan was to basically have the post-apocalyptic situation have been caused by magic in the past so the surface dwellers many thousands of years ago forsook magic and started focusing on science and technology instead. I like the idea of dwarves using their crafting skills to be Mech pilots and gnomes having taken to being tech masters and so on.

That sounds fun too. It might be more work on your part but you should be able to do it. If you already have an idea for how you want your world, maybe you could write out a couple paragraphs of what you want to do and then the forum here could help you with some of the mechanics if you're stuck. For example, you mentioned Mechs. Maybe you could use iron golem stats and have the dwarf riding inside it. Make up some rule that when the iron golem reaches 0 HP, the driver takes any remaining damage and is ejected.

Anything you can repurpose from d&d would be easier. You can replicate a lot of tech using existing spells. Guns could be repeating crossbows. Lasers could be weapons that shoot eldritch blasts, but using DEX. Use scrying, clairvoyance or arcane eye for the stats of cameras and drones. Stun guns cause hold person. A portable hologram projector causes silent image. That way you aren't needing to make up rules for each piece of technology. Maybe allow the players' counterspell and dispel magic to disrupt technology as well. If magic won't be usable, let the players know before they make their characters. If it is just forbidden, you don't have to tell them ahead of time.

[OrangeK]

Great advice!

[OrangeK]

Starting session one tonight, just outside Menzoberenzan, so it'll likely be a few sessions before they emerge to the surface ( giving me time to plan)

I'm pretty amped about this setting. ideas just keep flodding in.

I've been wrestling with whether or not to include space exploration/ star ships.....

[IsaacsAlterEgo]

A lot of tech can just work as reflavored spells. Legend Lore is just using Wikipedia or the post-cyberpocalypse equivalent. Fireball is just an incendiary grenade, animate dead could be nanomachines puppeteering the corpses at the behest of the user (similar logic with Animate Objects), Banishment is just getting temporarily teleported into a jail cell for a micro-sentence... Use your imagination, it can really work for almost anything. Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic, so using the standard magic/spellcasting rules and just reflavoring it can save you a lot of time and energy, instead of having to create basically an entirely new system.

[Bobthewizard]

Starting session one tonight, just outside Menzoberenzan, so it'll likely be a few sessions before they emerge to the surface ( giving me time to plan)

I'm pretty amped about this setting. ideas just keep flodding in.

I've been wrestling with whether or not to include space exploration/ star ships.....


Have fun. I'm interested to see what you come up with for flavor and mechanics. I'd love to see a post on it later if you have a chance.