Setting Search Innovations!

fuindordm · Sep 5, 2002

Here's an interesting question for those of you who submitted to the fantasy setting search:

What rules innovations did you come up with to make your setting unique? This is something that we clearly couldn't showcase in the one-page proposals, but I'm sure we all came up with new rules or interesting interpretations of old rules to give our worlds extra flavor.

I'll start us off:

For my high-magic setting (Anthos: moons of refuge), I tied the source of magic to the heroes' abandoned homeworld. PCs can use all their abilities normally while adventuring on Earth, but on the moons (where everyone lives), there is no native supply to power spells, items and abilities. The idea was that adventurers could hoard the surplus in specially prepared foci for later use or barter at home; for example, a 5th-level wizard who didn't use their 3rd-level spell could at the end of the day store enough magical power to prepare a 3rd-level spell at some later time. The scholars on the moons have also come up with new items powered off of "anthos", this generic magical essence, and new feats that let people enhance their mundane abilities with the raw stuff of magic.

For my low-magic setting, I wanted the study of magic to something for advanced characters. Players would start out as talented but definitely mundane citizens--scholars, mercenaries, crafters, laborers, civil servants, whatever. All spellcasting was available only through 10-level highly specialized prestige classes (each level granting 0-9 level spells), where each level had a prerequisite number of ranks in appropriate skills before it could be taken. The Golem Master, for example, needs 5 ranks in K: Arcana and Craft: sculpture for the first level; in general each additional level requires two more ranks of the key skills so you can advance your magic use only every other level. A truly dedicated scholar might be able to master two styles of magic this way, alternating levels. Each of these magical classes would also grant unique special abilities, in compensation for their limited spell lists. I really liked this approach because it forces all the PCs to have a mundane background in their history, and emphasizes the rarity of magic in the campaign--after all, to enter a prestige class you have to find someone to teach it to you.

I'd really like to hear other people's innovations, no matter how minor--small changes in rules go a long way towards creating a unique mood for a new setting.

--Ben

apsuman · Sep 5, 2002

Mine was a world without a pantheon.

No gods meant no clerics. Or paladins.

There were religions, but no actual walk among us gods religions, yet.

The pantheon was developing, players could be believers, followers, or disciples of developing dieties. Players could advance into the pantheon. They could become heroes, demi-gods, lesser, middle, or greater gods -- and have their own followers, believers, or disciples.

Clerics could exist after they have found a (new) diety to follow.

Other new (p-restige classes) would be seers and oracles. The seer class would have been a d8 HD class with poor BAB, but with lots of bonus feats to choose from at every level. My Idea was to be able to have a fighter/seer of Lothar that could through bounus seer feats have a (slightly) higher BAB than a normal fighter because of chosen bonus feats.

g!

Falcmir · Sep 5, 2002

I had two innovations designed for mine that unfortunately I was unable to really detail well in my submission due to a lack of time.

My first concept was that the power for magic came from extraplanar sources. It could be gods, devils, demon lords or any of the myriad extraplanar sources available in the game. Their power enters our world like electricity flowing down a powerline and it is usable by those who are attuned to it or learn to how to detect it. The power does not come without a price however, using it creates a bond with the external source that will over time reveal itself usually in the form of mystical, glowing patterns developing on the skin. The marks themselves cause no harm to the user of magic but they do reveal him to others who understand the marks many of whom may be agents for the greater powers.

The Gods do not physically enter the world and they are unwilling to send extraplanar servants to deal with all but the most powerful of those who steal from them. Instead they make deals with some of those that are using their power granting them the power they seek in exchange for servitude. This creates plenty of religions, small sects and power cabals trying to vie for power in the world.

Clerics and druids of course have made deals with their respective sources, some wizards and sorcerers may as well. For those unwilling to join their cause to that of a god there are rites and skills that can be used to hide themselves from detection but the markings will reveal themselves over time. Most free agents tend to conceal themselves in hooded clothing, masks, or wrappings to keep the markings secret.

The second innovation was to have summoning rituals that went beyond the monster summoning spells. It would work much like a magic item creation feat in that it would cost you xp and gp to summon a creature but unlike the monster summoning spells it wouldnt be limited to a few types of monsters and the duration would be permanent.

Maraxle · Sep 5, 2002

One of my settings suggested that magic is simply an extension of science. There's nothing unnatural about it, as it has and will always be a part of the world. Therefore, wizards are basically scientists. That lead wizards in my setting to be gadget guys, inventing new contraptions.

fuindordm · Sep 5, 2002

Falcmir said:
The second innovation was to have summoning rituals that went beyond the monster summoning spells. It would work much like a magic item creation feat in that it would cost you xp and gp to summon a creature but unlike the monster summoning spells it wouldnt be limited to a few types of monsters and the duration would be permanent. [/B]

This is pretty interesting. Permanent in the sense that they become something like an animal companion, or permanent in the sense that you can summon/dismiss them at will? What if the creature dies?

There was a small press game several years ago called LegendQuest which did something like that... summoners paid a big chunk of character points to get a permanent bond with a specific creature.

--Ben

Falcmir · Sep 6, 2002

This is pretty interesting. Permanent in the sense that they become something like an animal companion, or permanent in the sense that you can summon/dismiss them at will? What if the creature dies?

I was thinking like an animal companion, they are always there and always at your command. Not entirely sure on how I wanted to work the specifics yet, either the ritual creates a talisman that lets whoever holds it control the creature or the caster has a direct bond with the creature.

You need to feed and find shelter for the creature and it can die so using up the xp can be a risk but then again a magic item can be stolen. The xp cost would likely be lower than an equivalent magic item I'm thinking since there are several downsides to summoning and in my world summoned creatures were to be rather common.

I was also considering a spellcraft check, or maybe even a seperate skill, to see if the formula for the ritual was developed properly. If not the creature could be summoned but not under control, driven made by the ritual and goes off on a rampage, or under control but with a chance of control breaking in times of stress.

Zappo · Sep 6, 2002

Not many rules differences, since it was asked to stick to the core books as much as possible. The main difference is that sorcerers' magic is more powerful but slowly causes you to go insane as you use it, and leaves you vulnerable to possession by demons (kinda like Warhammer's magic, if you like). Another small difference (rulewise, that is) is that all gods have physical form and can be met and even talked to at their respective main temples.

sigfried · Sep 6, 2002

Not D&D

You all may have missed it, but the setting proposal wasn't supposed to be just for D&D it was for any and all games they want a fantasy setting for. I think anyone who was suggesting D&D rules changes for the setting was missing the boat on the sort of thing you were supposed to be submitting.

der_kluge · Sep 6, 2002

In my world, the gravity is weaker, so all the women have huge breasts that bounce around, and give female characters cover to their armor class (+1 bonus).

It was rejected. I'm thinking about submitting it to Avalanche Press.

Seriously, I didn't submit an entry.

Falcmir · Sep 6, 2002

You all may have missed it, but the setting proposal wasn't supposed to be just for D&D it was for any and all games they want a fantasy setting for. I think anyone who was suggesting D&D rules changes for the setting was missing the boat on the sort of thing you were supposed to be submitting.

None of my suggestions were listed as specific rule changes they were listed as background for the world. Powerful wizards using armies of summoned creatures to try to dominate the world, forced to deal with secret cults and cabals trying to upset their plans. My poor writing skills and lack of time to work on my submission made it less interesting than I think it could have been I'm afraid.