Putting together a Campaign Setting Book

[playswithfire]

Thanks for that. I think I may be erring on the side of less powerful just to avoid unbalancing things and also because I'm thinking in gestalt and all the fun combinations that can already happen; Sea Dog//Bard with Flourigh and Snowflake Wardance for instance.

I'll probably get the Paragon classes done this weekend (think I'll give the Darfellan one Favored Enemy(Sahuagin) and the goliath one might get Stability, both of those at the respective second levels) and then I might move on to more prestige classes, but more likely I'll start doing better write-ups of the various colonies

[Lappy9000]

Just droppin' in to say that the Sea Dog looks fantastic (and I don't see any glaring balance errors). Top marks!

[playswithfire]

Glad people seem to like the Sea Dog.

I've got the Paragon Classes ready for review here

Probably going to split my time between the prestige classes and writeups of the various colonies and notable ships.

[playswithfire]

Reserved for chapter 5, writeups of the social, political, and economic structure of the various colonies and other regions, and probably notable NPCs.

Yeah, I'm writing up chapter 5 before chapter 4 because parts of chapter 4 will most likely be determined by what's in chapter 5.

Bantdol

History

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Founding

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Bantdol was founded as a penal colony by Rondost early in the second wave of Baldric colonization. Despite their desire to capitalize on the newly discovered Baldric region, Rondost was simultaneously facing economic difficulties which would have made a large scale colonization impractical and an overcrowding of their prison system. Several in Rondost government at the time opined that the economic difficulties prompted an increase in criminal behavior. The partial solution to both the desire to explore and the prison situation (and, it was hoped, the economic downturn) was to establish a penal colony on the island that would come to be known as Bantdol. This would establish a foothold in the new region, remove a large number of criminals from Rondost and provide cheap labor to the new colony.

Early History

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The lands on Bantdol were somewhat less arable than initial reports had indicated. More accurately, the crops they had brought with them to sustain them were found to be not the most ideal match for the soil, though some of the smaller crops did better than expected. This caused a food shortage and the associated hardships in the first years of the settlement, resulting in the establishment of relations with the Escinyan colony in Celebarda. The basics of the exchange involved the trade of the surprisingly successful crops in Bantdol for necessary crops which grew better in Celebarda. Additionally, Bantdol agreed to take in the more violent criminals Celebarda didn't want to/didn't have proper facilities to deal with, barring executions and to export some of the less violent Bantdol prisoners on a sort of work-release in which they would serve Celebardans, rather than the free settlers on Bantdol, though with necessarily harsher punishments for attempting to escape or harm their new employec.

Later, Bantdol was used as a staging area for the exploratory expedition that "discovered," or, more accurately, surveyed the region that would become TaureLaure. As the midway point to most of the established colonial regions, it became a convenient, if occasionally risky, port for transferring cargo and passengers moving around the Baldric

Sociopolitical Structure

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Government

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The head of the Bantdol government is the military governor who also serves as warden of the prison. As this combination entails a great deal of work, he is assisted in the former by a council of free settlers and in the latter by a deputy warden/chief of the guards. As the prison guards also form the bulk of the colony's police force, having a single individual in charge of both the civilian and military portions of the colony was deemed most efficient.

The position of governor progresses as standard for a military position; when the current governor retires, he appoints a subordinate to assume his role and such promotions propagate down the chain of command, unless the governor is replaced by order of the Rondoster Navy. The five seats on the civilian council are appointed by popular vote among all free settlers for overlapping five year terms (one seat is filled every year), though they may be re-elected any number of times. Any free settler or member of the Rondoster Navy may be elected to the council, though Naval officers usually decline the nomination, fearing it would interfere with their other duties.

Social Structure
Although Rondost itself is a largely classless society (largely only because certain great families are afforded a slightly higher level of respect), there is a de facto stratification of the peoples on Bantdol.

Free Settlers and Naval Officers

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The original free settlers and naval officers and the descendants they have had since arriving form the top of the social hierarchy on Bantdol. The reactions of the naval officers to life on Bantdol are mixed. Some view it as just another assignment and look forward to transferring aboard a ship while others wholeheartedly claim it as their home as much as any settler and attempt to establish lives for themselves. Free settlers and naval officers can purchase property, elect and be elected as members of the civilian governing council and generally establish whatever lawful enterprise they wish.

Indentured settlers who have completed their time of service become free settlers and are afforded all the associated rights. Socially, there may be a brief period after the completion of service where they are still regarded as indentured until knowledge they have been released becomes common knowledge, but this usually passes, though some among the families of the original free settlers will continue to look down on a former indentured settler.

A prisoner sentenced to a term less than life who completes his sentence has the option of becoming a free settler of Bantdol, but, depending on his crime, may face difficulty finding employment due to the regard the Bantdol settlers have for the prison population. Some, particularly the non-violent ones who had successfully found work-release assignments, choose this path, while the majority choose to seek their fate elsewhere in the colonies.

Indentured Settlers

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Those without the means to procure passage to and land in Bantdol on their own but sought a new life in the Baldric sign on to various colonization voyages as indentured settlers. Upon arrival, they work for whatever free settler paid for their transit until their term of service as defined in the contract they signed expires or they are released by their employer. The most favorable contracts also function as apprenticeships and an indentured settler who completes such a contract usually continues his new profession either still working for his current employer or starting out on his own with his freedom dues. Less favorable contracts leave the indentured settler on his own in a new land with his freedom dues and little else.

Indentured settlers are not allowed to vote in council elections until released, nor can they be elected to the council. With the permission of his sponsor, an indentured settler may establish his own business, so long as it does not interfere with the task he performs for that sponsor. Whether an indentured settler is viewed as a second class citizen or near-equal by a free settler is primarily dependent on the quality and type of work done by that indentured settler and the ancestry of the free settler.

Prisoners

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The prisoners form the bottom of the social hierarchy, though there are divisions even among the prisoners, based primarily on their sentences and perceived danger. Prisoners sentenced to non-life terms with a marketable skill and a low threat assessment can be temporarily released to the free settler portion of the island or, more rarely, to other colonies as part of cheap work details. These range from performing simple maintenance tasks in the home of free settlers to working in dangerous mines in the other colonies.

Prisoners with life sentences or those with lesser terms judged to be of higher risk will generally only be allowed out of the prison proper to complete particularly dangerous tasks under extreme supervision.

Celebarda

History


Golka

History


Mirfield

History

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Founding

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Mirfield was founded by primarily as an economic venture by a mining consortium from Daernultok seeking to profit from the gems that were easily mined from the eastern edge of the reason. Mirfield was chosen over other locations the early expeditions scouted because the abundance of augment crystal-quality gemstones to be found and the relative ease with which a large number of such gems could be transported back to the old world made for potentially high profit margins. Obviously, dwarf can not live on gems alone and so industrious families signed on with the venture, some to work the mines, some to support those who did and some simply seeking to to start a new life.

Early History

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The crops and mines both proved more plentiful than anticipated and Mirfield suffered few of the problems the naysayers anticipated. The worst that could be said was that they were victims of their own success as others, Daernultoki, Escinyan, and even a few Rondosters followed suit, seeking to establish enterprises or simply homes in the lands of Mirfield. Due to their earlier arrival and long life spans, the dwarves are the largest population block and are particularly dense in the eastern half of the colony. It remains a Daernultoki colony, but welcomes members of the other nations, so long as there taxes are paid and their businesses are profitable.

Sociopolitical Structure

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Government
Mirfield's governing body is the Miror Council, made up of the leaders of the various guilds that do business in Mirfield. A seven man council, the seated members are those whose guilds are either the most profitable or most necessary to at the moment, with the votes of five members being necessary to remove a member from his seat in favor of another guildmaster.

Social Structure
Depending on who you ask, Mirfield is either a meritocracy or a plutocracy; the former because anyone can theoretically establish a business and, through economic success, become a member of the Miror council, the latter because, in practice, this is very difficult and those who arrive with wealth are unlikely to be displaced from their positions of power, though it has been known to happen.

Sammanilith and Arnoroth

History


TaureLaure

History


Wyrmdur

History

[Endalia]

Looking good! Keep up the good work and shout if you need help with anything!

[playswithfire]

Expect more of Bantdol and probably some of Celebarda later tonight.

New question: I'm mulling over the Drunken Sailor. Current thought is that it's a martial adept with its own progression and limited selection of maneuvers and stances reflavored to better fit a drunken boxing-type style.
It would have a set of remembered maneuvers that function like a crusader's granted maneuvers, except its maneuvers aren't automatically recovered after they've all been remembered/granted.
It can recover its expended maneuvers by taking a drink as a move action.

Is this too complicated and/or too silly?

[playswithfire]

OK, I've been uninspired/lazy lately, but I'm going to try and get back into this; Bantdol's finished and so is Mirfield, though it's briefer than Bantdol.