General RPG DiscussionDiscussion of all RPGs and non-system-specific topics. DM/GM/player issues, settings, etc. Rules discussion belongs in one the forums below.
So if anybody is interested here is the map of the local area where the PC's will start (they start on Semma) and the Gazeteer of the Eastern Peaks. Questions are welcome as always. Hopefully the map will be readable...
Have you ever seen the cartoon show, Storm Hawks? While its meant for a younger audience, I'd recommend it, if you haven't. Your setting bears a striking resemblance to the world the cartoon is set in...
The world is dominated by immensely tall and scattered mesas, each of which is typically an independent kingdom of sorts. A layer of clouds hides the true surface of the planet. Dubbed the "the Wastelands", this hidden land is full of treacherous terrain and deadly monsters. Transport between the mesas is primarily by airships and motorcycle-like gliders.
While it's a little more modern-ish in tone for D&D, it could give you a few more ideas.
__________________ The Pbartender
"I don't believe it. There she goes again! She's tidied up, and I can't find anything! All my tubes and wires and careful notes and antiquated notions..." - Thomas Dolby
The world wasn't always like this. It wasn't until "The Cataclysm" came that The Mist enshrouded the world. Only those quick enough to get to high ground escaped its clutches.
How's that? I just made it up.
Just in case no one else has mentioned it (I'm still catching up with the thread); the ruins of entire lost civilizations are now at the bottom of the mist...
If you go with a post-cataclysm, lost magic/tech angle, those ruins will house precursor artifacts, etc..
What if another way to travel are 'shortcuts' through the near planes (shadowfell & feywild). Hell, what if the mist is the shadowfell? You could layer up the world as shadowfell < mortal world < feywild (high altitude version) < astral sea...
Update: D'oh, looks like you got a lot farther along this project than I expected from a 3 page thread, LOL! That's what I get for being impatient. Nice world project, in any case!
__________________ . "I am somewhat preoccupied telling the Laws of Physics to shut up and sit down." –Vaarsuvius
Last edited by Holy Smokes; 30th January 2009 at 12:59 AM..
Just in case no one else has mentioned it (I'm still catching up with the thread); the ruins of entire lost civilizations are now at the bottom of the mist...
If you go with a post-cataclysm, lost magic/tech angle, those ruins will house precursor artifacts, etc..
FYI, I'm all over these ideas already. In fact one of the players informed me that one of his charcter's major interests is trying to locate artifacts from the fallen Dragonborn Empire that might still lay within the Mist.
It's a comic about intelligent mice who have a culture in the middle ages. There are no people simply intelligent mice and intelligent weasels.
A major theme of the work is that even though the Mice are civilized they are still one of the smallest creatures in the environment.
As such there cities and territories are carefully hidden and defended against predators. The Mouse Guard is an organization that occassional fights against their only civilized opponents (the Weasels), but mostly exists to guard the boundaries of these holds, escort travellers, investigate mysteries beyond the walls, and take out actively hostile predators.
The real feature of the piece is the aspect of perspective. A racoon is a dangerous and cunning foe the size of a house. An ox is an impossibly large behemoth who's approach is as deadly as a hurricanes.
I recommend it not only because it too features communities in hiding against dangerous predators, but because the mouse guard itself is a really interesting way for organzing adventures in such a setting.
Thinking specifically about your setting:
Let's say that it is possible to adapt to the mists. The Tieflings and Dwarves are proof of that (and I have a possible alternate take on the Dwarves in a bit) but there is a cost.
The mist changes the character of people born in the mist so that they become goblins. The many species of goblinoid are descended from those populations who were trapped in the mist. Their new nature makes them self-organizing and gives them an innate sense of where they belong in the hierarchy of goblin-kind.
A village in the mist will thus, unless disturbed by demons or predators, inevitably turn into a small hobgoblin fortress complete with the entire caste system of goblinkind.
Kobolds are a similar phenomena, save that they are generated from Dragon or Wyvern clutches.
Other societies are also generated by the mists but few are so pernicious or inimical as the goblinoids.
So Dwarf idea:
Keep the throwing off the yoke of giants backstory.
Say that the Giants, alongside the demons, appeared with the mist. They were more social, however, and ambitious to use the plateaus for themselves - so they captured humans and goblins and would expose them at extended intervals to both the mists and the pure air till they had created dwarves as a species that would breed true. They then attempted to use the dwarves to colonize and mine the plateaus, until - with the help of Moraddin - the dwarves revolted and joined the people of the 'wind kingdoms.'
First off have you seen the Fog?
By that I mean the original, but have you given thought to whether there's an evil empire going to be showing themselves?
With all of those restrictions how long will it be before the PCs find themselves trying to defend their homelands from a nefarious warlord or emperor wannabe perhaps even the actual emperor using the PCs as their catspaw so they can locate and steal the power they need to conquer the world... or whats left of it...
...but have you given thought to whether there's an evil empire going to be showing themselves?
With all of those restrictions how long will it be before the PCs find themselves trying to defend their homelands from a nefarious warlord or emperor wannabe perhaps even the actual emperor using the PCs as their catspaw so they can locate and steal the power they need to conquer the world... or whats left of it...
It reminds me a little of Issac Asimov's Nightfall.
What if there's some sort of cult steeped in doomsday mythology about the mists rising at periodic intervals to cleans the world -- it's all happened before and it'll all happen again. This cult may be the only organization with any knowledge of what happened before the last time the mist rose, even if it is all steeped in mythology. And perhaps the leaders of the cult know the real truth of it.
Despite all the religious trappings, the cult leaders have a practical plan for evading the mists when they rise (Hide in the Underdark!), and repopulating and recivilizing the world once the mists recede. Likely, it's been a plan that's been in the works for centuries or millenia.
__________________ The Pbartender
"I don't believe it. There she goes again! She's tidied up, and I can't find anything! All my tubes and wires and careful notes and antiquated notions..." - Thomas Dolby
This thread is filled with the most awesome collection of ideas I've seen in years! I'm so very sorry I didn't find it last winter when it was still fresh and active.
Rel, if you ever come back here, could you update us on how the campaign worked out?
This thread is filled with the most awesome collection of ideas I've seen in years! I'm so very sorry I didn't find it last winter when it was still fresh and active.
Rel, if you ever come back here, could you update us on how the campaign worked out?
Heh, you can read all about it if you like. Link to the thread in my .sig.
I'm not sure if this was mentioned, but it might be interesting if a race of people adapted to the Mist and used it as a weapon and/or power source. I'd like to suggest Chaositech by Malhavoc Press for source material. It adds a sci-fi feel to a game without actually being sci-fi. This could go hand-in-hand with the Storm Hawks suggestion from page 1 of the thread.
__________________ Cocoa and chocolate should not be considered a substitute for medications or your doctor’s advice.
I really like your setting idea - really refreshing and original!
Anyhow, I keep imagining it as something a bit steampunky, with fleets of zeppelins clashing high above the mists in big naval combat between rival islands. Zeppelins would probably be either filled with Elemental Air (a fantasy equivalent of hydrogen or helium) or contain bound air elementals, giving them buoyancy.
__________________ In space, everyone can hear you pump the 12-gauge.
- Korgoth about Classic Traveller
I keep imagining Mist Sharks- relatives of the bulette that cruise the Mist, their eyes just above the surface of the concealing clouds
...achieving bouyancy with a combination of hollow bones and gas bladders, and maneuvering with paddle-like feet and tails. Tough membranes form a web between front and lower limbs to aid in gliding and control...
When they acquire a target, they deflate their bladders with an enormous afterburning fart, rocketing towards their prey, bowling it over, ripping with talons. If need be, they grab with their massive maws before escaping into the mists, killing and eating their prey later.
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