Naankhor, a 3.5 "non-core" setting

[The Cap'n]

What is Naankhor / Non Core?
So a thread over on ENWorld got me thinking again about a Non-core setting for D&D 3.5. What I mean by that is a setting in which the classes and races of the PHB are unavailable, and the setting would only make use of the WotC supplements.

The proposed class list:
Archivist
Beguiler
Crusader
Dragon Shaman
Dread Necromancer
Duskblade
Factotum
Favored Soul
Ninja
Scout
Shugenja
Spirit Shaman
Swordsage
Warblade
Warlock
Warmage

Race List:
Aventi
Bhuka
Changelings
Darfellans
Goliaths
Hadozee
Illumians
Raptorans
Shifters
Spellscales
Warforged

The Campaign Concept

Set several thousand years after the fall of the Human civilization, the two dominant races of the world, the Illumians and the Aventi are poised on the brink of war over theological differences.

The Illumians blame the fall of the Human Empire and the Dark Age which followed it on the humans' rampant study of all magic, and on their putting faith in the Old Gods. Afraid of the broad range of power available to true wizards and sorcerers, they have made efforts to segregate the different types of spellcasting traditions so that no individual can study all the schools of magic, and thereby court madness. Moreover, they see anyone who would worship the Old Gods as dangerously misguided, putting their faith in beings who probably instigated the destruction of Mankind in their endless need for worship, sacrifice, and warfare in their name.

While the Aventi agree with the notion that arcane magic probably played a role in the destruction of humanity, they fundamentally disagree when it comes to the Old Gods. Their patron deity, Aventernus is one such deity, and he is credited with the preservation of their people through the Fall and the Dark Age, and they refuse to cease worshiping him.

With War looming, moderates from both sides have come together to discover the truth of what happened to the human civilization. To this end, they have hired a rag-tag group of politically neutral adventurers to delve into the ruins of the human civilization to look for clues and to recover artifacts from that time. Of course, the undead remnants of Humanity, and their various servants, not to mention wandering monsters have taken up residence in such places in the intervening time...

Any suggestions regarding balance issues with the above classes or races, or on what else is worth including is welcome, as are general comments.

Cap'n

[brian c]

Very interesting idea. I would add Favored Soul to the class list though

[The Cap'n]

...Alright, I'll admit that the name is cheesy, but only one comment? Oh well.

Thanks for the suggestion brian c. I will probably toss Favored Soul up there.

One question I had wondered was whether this was going too far (i.e. maybe I should have stuck with Knight, Swashbuckler, and Hexblade instead of using the Bo9S), or if I was not going far enough to capture people's interest. In order to really be "Non-Core" does the game have to ditch arcane and divine magic? I'll admit that the main reason I kept divine magic at least was that the Aventi and Raptorans' affinity for elemental magic just screamed "Shugenja" to me, and the Illumians ("An Illumian without fire...") and Goliaths seemed to round out the classic elements nicely.

As it currenty stands, I don't have access to the Tome of Magic, otherwise I might have put binder on the list, since the dead gods of the human civilization would be a fine explanation for vestiges, and the "heretical" flavor of the class would synergize well with the Illumians' distrust of the Old Gods.

Incarnum could also work, since the cataclysm could easily have created vast amounts of freed soul energy from the creatures that were slain.

Psionics was something I seriously considered as well. I really like the Xeph and think they might add something to the setting (land-based traders) and the Maenad, being angry shoredwellers might be a good "middle ground" between the aquatic Aventi and land-bound Illumians. Dromites (and Thri-Kreen) would also be interesting additions.

Another question I have is if there are any races or classes that seem particularly deserving of inclusion, or any race I have listed that seem pointless? The Bhuka were conceptually interesting to me at first, but as time goes on I become less and less convinced that they are PC-worthy, being so fundamentally tied to the desert. Other races like the Sharakim, Mongrel Folk, Kenku, Poisondusk Lizardfolk, and the Jaebrim might also find a place in this world, but seemed a bit too monstrous at first glance.

Really, any input or discussion would be welcome.

Robert "Just Trying To Make Use of All This 3.5 Material" Ranting