Another one of those Vote Up a World topics

[Phosphate]

This is meant for a D&D 3.5 system.

Because I like being a conformist and joining fads. This is my first, by the way, so don't shout at me for being a complete moron. Now, I will start the very first poll with something utterly random:

1. Landmass distribution

Winner is Islands Only.

Spoiler

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{table=head]Choices | Votes
Pangaea | 1
3-4 | 1
5-6 without major archipelagos | 0
5-6 with major archipelagos | 0
8-10 with major archipelagos | 0
Islands only, flooded world | 6
Lakes only, rocky world | 4[/table]

2. World Shape

Winner is Satellite.

Spoiler

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{table=head]Choices | Votes
Pillar Flat World | 1
Folded Flat World | 1
Normal Planet | 0
Satellite | 6
Pseudosphere | 0
Christmas Globe | 0[/table]

3. Nature of Magic

{table=head]Choices | Votes
Intraplanar, Pan | -1
Intraplanar, Sites | 1
Intraplanar, Soul | 1
Intraplanar, Divinity | 2
Extraplanar, Divinity | 1
Extraplanar, Pan | 3
Life Force | 4
Suggestible | 2
Alchemy | 2[/table]

Spoiler

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1. Intraplanar Pan - Magic is infused everywhere and in everything which is not alive. It can be drawn from any object, including masses of air, by the skilled.
2. Intraplanar Sites - Magic is radiated from certain sites of magic, and must be drawn from said sites specifically.
3. Intraplanar Soul - Magic generated by the soul of every sapient being, so much of it actually that it overflows, allowing things such as detection.
4. Intraplanar Divinity* - Magic is granted by deities who live on the mortal plane.
5. Extraplanar Divinity* - Magic is granted by deities not on the mortal plane.
6. Extraplanar Pan - Magic can be drawn from the outer planes themselves.
7. Life Force - Magic is drawn from the life force of the individual - or life force of others, if you're feeling like a game breaker.
8. Suggestible - The world is highly suggestible itself, some sort of limited reality reshaping is available to everyone (yes, including Commoners).
9. Alchemy - Self explanatory.

* - includes devils

We are voting for 2 of those types of magic to use in our setting. Everyone has 3 advancement votes and 1 detractor vote. The detractor vote may or may not be used, but all 3 advancement votes must be used. First and second to 8 win.

[Morph Bark]

Some starting advice:

It's hardly a fad - there have been two Vote Up A Campaign Setting undertakings and the first started nearly three years ago and is only now coming to a close. Don't do this if you're not sure you're going to be in it for the long, long, long haul.

Look at the two VUACS undertakings and what order their votes came in. It should give you a good idea of how to build up a setting best.

Alternatively, there have been Vote Up A City/Town/Country threads. Those are smaller and easy enough to put into an existing campaign setting.

[Phosphate]

I WANT to keep this up for more than a year. I also think that it's not a horrible idea to begin with landmass distribution. But thanks for your reply.

[Strormer]

I'll vote lakes only.
I like the idea of a world that is all bedrock hills as far as you can see with only a few lakes feeding from underground springs. If I was going to do it, I'd have plants grow in caves and underground so that the underground is the thriving society with resources while the surface is barren. Maybe the world used to be one great ocean and then something incredible happened that upset the very nature of the world.

[Phosphate]

That's a very good idea, that I will take into account! So, to format it.

{table=head]Choices | Votes
Pangaea | 1
3-4 | 1
5-6 without major archipelagos | 0
5-6 with major archipelagos | 0
8-10 with major archipelagos | 0
Islands only, flooded world | 5
Lakes only, rocky world | 4[/table]

[erictheredd]

Lakes only, but only if we are willing to do it right .... (consider what that means, the vast majority live by oceans for a reason)

[Phosphate]

There will obviously be very poor aquatic life if we do it like that, yes. By the way, capping the poll - first to 6.

[Vonwalt]

3-4 continents, man. that's where it's at.

[Zeta Kai]

Lakes Only.

[137beth]

Islands only, I want a water setting.

[Dirt_Kami]

Islands only

[gkathellar]

Ah, what the hell: Islands only. Cultural diversity FTW!

[Phosphate]

So far, we have a tie.

[Morph Bark]

Lakes only.

[wisest wizard]

If you makng a campaign that has a plot go with lakes if it's a sandbox 5-6 continents with major archipelagos, although it might be better to start with the plot first.

[Rourke]

Islands Only. It sounds like a cool idea to me.

[Howler Dagger]

pangea. You dont have to worry about water transportation.

[Zale]

Islands Only!

[Phosphate]

If you makng a campaign that has a plot go with lakes if it's a sandbox 5-6 continents with major archipelagos, although it might be better to start with the plot first.

I might...not make it sandbox but multi-plot. Dunno yet. But I would be ok with both. Votes will be added shortly. Well either islands or lakes will be winning soon.

[gkathellar]

I might...not make it sandbox but multi-plot. Dunno yet. But I would be ok with both. Votes will be added shortly. Well either islands or lakes will be winning soon.

Consider me as casting my vote ahead of time: meta-plot is always a bad idea for setting design.

Always.

[THEChanger]

Islands Only
Let's get this started, y'all.

[Zeta Kai]

Consider me as casting my vote ahead of time: meta-plot is always a bad idea for setting design.

Always.

I never meta plot I didn't like...

...I know, I hate me, too.

[Phosphate]

Ok, so this world will be made of islands. Now, and I know you'll accuse me of being random, we will vote for World Shape! :D.

Please note that some of these choices affect cosmology, some don't. This is intentional.

1. Flat World of the Pillar - At the center of the world, a huge waterfall from the heaven pours water into the world. At the edges of the world, excess water falls off in an endless chasm. If this wins, we will then have a blitz round to decide shape.

2. Folded Flat World - The edges of the world are warped so that passing through one edge will teleport you to the other - there's no actual teleporting involved, just a dimensional trick.

3. Normal Planet - Self explanatory.

4. Satellite - The world circles a gigantic gaseous planet. It is smaller than a normal planet but denser, so it still has normal gravity.

5. Pseudosphere - The world is a negatively curved string whose edges never become vertical. There is a horizontal optimum at the middle of the world, but it is constantly shifting towards the "after" and away from the "behind". The more you are away from the optimum, the more warped is reality. Behind the optimum, space is flattened and time slows down, after the optimum, space is dragged upwards (I think spaghettified was the "scientific" term) and time speeds up.

6. Christmas Globe - The world is magically shrunk and encased in glass. If you don't want a meta plot, don't vote for this.

[gkathellar]

Though I'm tempted to vote for a flat pillar world, Satellite sounds like it could be visually beautiful and cosmologically interesting.

[Rourke]

I'll vote Satellite as well.

[Zale]

And Satellite is in the lead!

[137beth]

Folded flat-world. Also, could you edit this vote into the first post?

[Phosphate]

Done...........

[erictheredd]

Flat pillar World

Just thing of how that works with islands!

[Strormer]

Satellite. For no real reason, just because I can imagine the planet it circles being home to some crazy stuff.