Setting Idea: Wounded Gaia

Shades of Green · Jun 26, 2009

If I understand correctly, what you're saying is that the PCs should have a smaller starter adventure/encounter (say, with Orcish bandits on the road near Olafsville) after which they'll be hired by Olaf the Third to check out the old fortress, right? If so, thanks for the suggestion - I like this idea!

GandalfMithrandir · Jun 29, 2009

Yes. This will give them a preview of what the campaign would be like, and give a good reason for Olaf to hire them to take out the old fortress.

Shades of Green · Jun 29, 2009

Thanks for the idea - I'm definitely going to use it

Shades of Green · Jul 11, 2009

Here is a sketch of what have in mind for the Wounded Gaia cosmology:

By golan2072 at 2009-07-11

The Spirit Realm replaces the Ethereal, Plane of Shadow and the Astral. The Mortal Realm and the Spirit Realm are interconnected, and to some degree overlapped, but there are places in the Spirit Realm that are beyond the Mortal Realm; some of them far beyond. Fey, shadow-creatures, incorporeal undead and so forth are Spirits, and thus dwell in the Spirit Realm (and may manifest in the Mortal Realm).

When a mortal dies and is properly put to rest, his or her spirit travels to the Realm of the Dead, where it slowly drifts away from the Mortal and Spirit realms. If a dead person is not properly buried or put to rest, or if the circumstances of his or her death leave a strong emotional impression on the spirit, he or she lingers in the Spirit Realm as an incorporeal undead.

The Elemental Realms represent the metaphysical building blocks of the cosmos - Fire, Air, Earth and Water. Each is inhabited by spiritual beings of its element - not just elementals but also others (some of which are docile, some could be very nasty). It is possible to "punch through" with magic and open direct portals to the Elemental Realms or to the Realm of the Dead while circumventing the Spirit Realm.

Both major gods - the Mother Goddess and the Clockwork God - inhabit the Mortal World and the Spirit World simultaneously.

There are no "Good" or "Evil" planes in this setting. Spells such as Protection from Evil or Dispel Evil become Protection from Spirits an Dispel Spirit.

Shades of Green · Aug 28, 2009

I wonder if I didn't paint myself into a corner by focusing on a relatively warm area (most of it never covered by ice); did I lose the potential themes and plot elements of a harsh winter? Or could this default setting use well enough the plot and theme potential of the general setting idea?

GandalfMithrandir · Sep 1, 2009

you could use the potential from the plot, or if you desperately need a harsh winter you could have a calamity that causes the earth mother to douse the entire world in harsh winter or a very powerful spell could achieve the same effect.

Shades of Green · Sep 2, 2009

An alternative I'm thinking about is have the "forces of winter" (such as Snow Orcs riding mammoths and accompanied by Winter Wolves and ice-themed shamans) invade the more temperate area under the cover of a particularly harsh winter... :devil:

Gilladian · Sep 4, 2009

Perhaps winters are slowly becoming ever harsher and more difficult, lasting longer and starting earlier?

Everyone knows that it is only a matter of time before their area becomes unliveable.

Yet, they also know that this isn't what Should Be happening. There are other places where winter is not encroaching, and people are not becoming more desperate.

This could give your whole campaign a meta-plot, as the PCs ultimately want to find out what is causing winter's increase, here specifically, and what they can do, if anything, to end the danger. But, if they don't, the danger is slow enough, there'll be time for another generation to figure it out...

Shades of Green · Sep 4, 2009

I like this idea, Gilladian, and I think I'll use it as the big overplot... There might be either a coven of ice-druids or maybe a sorcerer or lich at play here... :devil:

Shades of Green · Sep 27, 2009

Even during the Age of Blossom, the Halflings and Dwarves (as well as some Human cultures) worshiped their ancestors. Instead of Clerics they had Priests (Shamans in BFRPG game terms), and instead of temples or churches they had shrines. Most Humans and Elves worshiped the Mother Goddess as an agricultural deity back then.

Now, in the Frozen Age, almost all cultures have returned to shamanism, animism and ancestor worship, and only a few Druids and humanoids are still capable of following the hurt, wild Mother Goddess; a few mortals follow the cold, inhuman Clockwork God.

Dwarven mines and Halfling villages always had shrines for their ancestors; now most Human and Elven settlements have their own shrines to honor the local benign spirits and drive away malicious spirits.

EDIT: Speaking of the Ages, Gaia's recorded history is usually divided into the following eras: the primitive Age of Chaos, when barbarism reigned and numerous city-states fought among themselves; the Dawn Age, when three Empires grew and united the warring city-states and divided the known world among themselves in a time of prosperity interrupted by occasional wars; the Age of Dusk, resulting from the Dusk War between the three empires and their subsequent collapse, an era of many kingdoms and feudal lords; the Age of Blossom, the time of prosperity, relative peace and technological advance; and the Frozen Age resulting from the Cataclysm and the Coming Winter.