magnusmalkus
First Post
I think I've found a way to satisfy my dilemma so I don't have to back it up and I can put them at the gateway to adventure... I didn't think I'd be able to put it together tightly enough, give the setting the feel for who they are and where they came from in something that didn't break attention.
I know it's a more cohesive method to build the campaign with the players, but I've been itching to give this setting exposition for a long time and wanted to break it out.
For anyone who has the time and inclination to critique, this is what I think I might put forth as a campaign summary. I welcome your impressions. Self editing is a personal weakness of mine so please forgive the casual use of grammar and punctuation.
The campaign title is 'Adventure on the Lost Continent of Venusha'
"Whether they originate from the city or a farm, be they highborn or low, all Player Characters participating in the campaign setting will be considered to have embraced the life of an Adventurer. In the setting, the campaign homeland is so peaceful and secure, that the skills acquired pursuing ‘the adventurous professions’ (meaning, those who advance within a ‘class’) have a much diminished application in ordinary, everyday life. Class skills and abilities have little use in civil lands and are mostly outlawed from use in public places.
Such is the case in your homeland, the imperialistic, island-continent of Velaria; home of the Velarian Empire. That your character possesses and pursues these abilities makes them distinct from much of the rest of the population, which clearly has no interest in such things. In the Velarian Homeland, beyond living memory are the days when there were 'dungeons' to delve, when monstrous hordes would cause havoc upon native soil, or when there were ancient ruins left to explore. Through it's racially united superiority, the Velarian Empire is enjoying a Golden Age of abundance and people just don't want you and your collateral damage around their parts. Still, there is ample application for these skills: enlisted service.
The knowledge of these skills and their practitioners are seen as vital to Velaria’s security against it's far-shore enemies the Drakken Domnion and the Feywild Nation. Velaria is unlike any Empire in the worlds history. Never have all the races united, much less acquiesced to human ruler-ship, as they've successfully done for the past 1000 years. Those enlisted in the Empirical Military or Navy are seen as Heroes, carrying on the Empires traditions, and passing on its ‘sacred knowledge’ (the various class skills and abilities) in defense of the Homeland.
Many who pursue these very personal, powerful abilities are proud to blindly put them to use in defense of Velaria. Many good enlisted men and women have died and there seems to be no shortage of 'new recruits' eager to take their place, but... there has always been an undercurrent within the populous, people who seem to pursue personal power (meaning, progress within a class) from more curious, or hungry, parts of their being. These ‘subversive’, ‘dissident’, ‘seditious’ elements, as they are called by loyal, honest folk of the land, usually attempt to find alternate paths in pursuit of their adventuring passion. Many flee the homeland, casting their fate to the winds seeking to tame wild lands or one of the many independent island nations scattered across the watery globe. Others join missionary ventures such as the Knights of Toeh-Mas who seek to slay all 'infidels' from the face of the globe. Many who go alone crash and burn under the flame of their own candle. Those who work together rise to sway power.
There have been the good as well as the evil among these adventure seekers. But in the eyes of the authority of the Empire, there is little difference between the two. Because of disruptions made to the good citizens standards of living and considering the collateral damage caused by personal, epic supernatural activity, whether those involved were of ill intent or good, all have been subjected to the authority of the Empire in equal measure. History includes deterrents such as imprisonment, exile, and various methods of ‘reform’. When an undesirable element appears, it is usual for it to be quickly identified and dealt with (most often, pressed into service). Human enforcement agencies are organized and efficient. Yea, indeed, humanity has a certain knack for working in unison in the face of a threat...
Fortunately... today, in the day and age we enter the setting, there is a viable choice for people of this ‘alternate persuasion’. Enlisted service is still an option... but... 10 years ago, The Empire of Velaria made a discovery which seems to have all the promise of relieving this pressure upon their society: the discovery the Legendary Lost Continent of Venusha, a mythological place spoken about in the oldest history books. Today, the Empire needs the aid of those who call personal power to themselves to tame this strange, new wilderness, giving ‘adventurers’ all the support they can through the facility known as the Royal Academy of Research and Exploration."
I know it's a more cohesive method to build the campaign with the players, but I've been itching to give this setting exposition for a long time and wanted to break it out.
For anyone who has the time and inclination to critique, this is what I think I might put forth as a campaign summary. I welcome your impressions. Self editing is a personal weakness of mine so please forgive the casual use of grammar and punctuation.
The campaign title is 'Adventure on the Lost Continent of Venusha'
"Whether they originate from the city or a farm, be they highborn or low, all Player Characters participating in the campaign setting will be considered to have embraced the life of an Adventurer. In the setting, the campaign homeland is so peaceful and secure, that the skills acquired pursuing ‘the adventurous professions’ (meaning, those who advance within a ‘class’) have a much diminished application in ordinary, everyday life. Class skills and abilities have little use in civil lands and are mostly outlawed from use in public places.
Such is the case in your homeland, the imperialistic, island-continent of Velaria; home of the Velarian Empire. That your character possesses and pursues these abilities makes them distinct from much of the rest of the population, which clearly has no interest in such things. In the Velarian Homeland, beyond living memory are the days when there were 'dungeons' to delve, when monstrous hordes would cause havoc upon native soil, or when there were ancient ruins left to explore. Through it's racially united superiority, the Velarian Empire is enjoying a Golden Age of abundance and people just don't want you and your collateral damage around their parts. Still, there is ample application for these skills: enlisted service.
The knowledge of these skills and their practitioners are seen as vital to Velaria’s security against it's far-shore enemies the Drakken Domnion and the Feywild Nation. Velaria is unlike any Empire in the worlds history. Never have all the races united, much less acquiesced to human ruler-ship, as they've successfully done for the past 1000 years. Those enlisted in the Empirical Military or Navy are seen as Heroes, carrying on the Empires traditions, and passing on its ‘sacred knowledge’ (the various class skills and abilities) in defense of the Homeland.
Many who pursue these very personal, powerful abilities are proud to blindly put them to use in defense of Velaria. Many good enlisted men and women have died and there seems to be no shortage of 'new recruits' eager to take their place, but... there has always been an undercurrent within the populous, people who seem to pursue personal power (meaning, progress within a class) from more curious, or hungry, parts of their being. These ‘subversive’, ‘dissident’, ‘seditious’ elements, as they are called by loyal, honest folk of the land, usually attempt to find alternate paths in pursuit of their adventuring passion. Many flee the homeland, casting their fate to the winds seeking to tame wild lands or one of the many independent island nations scattered across the watery globe. Others join missionary ventures such as the Knights of Toeh-Mas who seek to slay all 'infidels' from the face of the globe. Many who go alone crash and burn under the flame of their own candle. Those who work together rise to sway power.
There have been the good as well as the evil among these adventure seekers. But in the eyes of the authority of the Empire, there is little difference between the two. Because of disruptions made to the good citizens standards of living and considering the collateral damage caused by personal, epic supernatural activity, whether those involved were of ill intent or good, all have been subjected to the authority of the Empire in equal measure. History includes deterrents such as imprisonment, exile, and various methods of ‘reform’. When an undesirable element appears, it is usual for it to be quickly identified and dealt with (most often, pressed into service). Human enforcement agencies are organized and efficient. Yea, indeed, humanity has a certain knack for working in unison in the face of a threat...
Fortunately... today, in the day and age we enter the setting, there is a viable choice for people of this ‘alternate persuasion’. Enlisted service is still an option... but... 10 years ago, The Empire of Velaria made a discovery which seems to have all the promise of relieving this pressure upon their society: the discovery the Legendary Lost Continent of Venusha, a mythological place spoken about in the oldest history books. Today, the Empire needs the aid of those who call personal power to themselves to tame this strange, new wilderness, giving ‘adventurers’ all the support they can through the facility known as the Royal Academy of Research and Exploration."
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