I have an idea and want to see if there would be any interest in a pbp campaign along these lines. Here it is. Using Open Content for the 3.5 system, a group of players and I would collaborate to design a campaign world in which to adventure. We would begin by detailing one region of the world, making maps and detailing a few communities in that area. Players would contribute details for communities in which their respective characters were raised, and could collaborate if, for example, two players both want to originate from the same city; the player of a rogue might detail the thieves' quarter while the player of a cleric might detail the temple district.
Adventure hooks would be provided by the players, each of who would also detail a few potential adventure sites in the region. Ancient ruins, infamous dungeons, or the tower of an evil wizard would be good examples. In this way, the players would have some input over what types of adventures they will have the opportunity to get involved in.
Next, and this is perhaps the best part, players may, if they wish, design and play their own character classes, with the caveat that the other players must approve of the class by a majority vote, with the DM having veto power. To design a class, the player should include how the class is viewed by society, what role it fills in the party, and the rules specifics for a 20-level progression for the class. Players could use a pre-published class from another source as inspiration or come up with an entirely original concept of their own.
As the campaign is expanded, the players will work with the DM to design new parts of the world to be explored. Players will provide broad schematics, while the DM would fill in the details and add a few surprises of his own. If you would like to see a community of elves who live with pixies as pets, write it into the world and maybe you will able to travel there someday.
I would like to run a game like this. Using the EN Wiki and other cool new functions of EN 2 we could track all this stuff. Tell me whether you would be interested in joining as a player.
Edit: Campaign rules and guidelines included in OP, below.
Edit (10/18/08): Retraining house rule added.
Character Generation
Ability Scores:I have given character creation some thought, and this seems to be the best way to do this. Since the theme of this campaign is that the players get to have a hand in building the world, I figured they should get more control over their characters. So you may pick whatever ability scores you like, within reason. Now as to what I consider reasonable, think of a time you've had a pretty good roll of ability scores. It didn't include two 18s, and nothing below a 15, but it was solid. If it had a low number in it like a 6, you didn't mind because the other numbers were fairly high and you weren't playing a class with MAD. If nothing was below a 12, the rest were spread pretty evenly up to 17 or 18. In other words, I'm not talking about that once-in-a-lifetime roll you might have made, but a good one nonetheless. Now that might be different for different people, but that's fine. Pick something you would be happy to play. Me? I might take the following array: 18, 15, 14, 14, 12, 9.
Equipment: Select any combination of coins and equipment up to the maximum allowable for a 1st-level character of your class.
Height/Weight: Select any combination that falls within the normal range for your race.
Sources: You may only use the d20 SRD, including psionics, as well as any rules we work out here. The bestial champion class is available, as is the akolite, pending final approval. You may only play as the core races found in the Player's Handbook.
Background: This part is entirely up to you. Your background is going to be dependent upon how involved you wish to be with developing the world. If you want your character to come from a halfling burrow, give us a write up about it and what halflings in that community think about adventuring. If you want to be from the city, describe at least a small part of the city where you grew up, including a location or two there. If you just want to join in the campaign, then your character is assumed to be an orphan on the lam. You could even let everyone think you are an orphan on the lam until you come up with something good to place on the edge of the map at a later date. As an added incentive for good background write-ups, I will provide bonus magical equipment and/or XPs pertaining to your character depending on the quality of your write-up.
Other Incentives: As the campaign progresses, I will provide other incentives to those who continue to contribute to the world-building process. While not mandatory, this is a prime attribute of the campaign that I believe will help everyone enjoy and appreciate the world more. There is never a bad time to add a write-up or a bit of background for the campaign.
Skill Spoilers
Whenever you see a spoiler block with a skill DC listed, you may roll that skill check. Special conditions may also be listed, such as "within 30 feet of the lantern" or "automatic for [character x]." If you succeed on the skill check and/or fulfill the special condition, you may read the skill spoiler. Use the honor system. If the skill is trained only, there will usually be a reminder to that effect with a parenthetical note.
House Rules
Psionic Tattoos
A psionic tattoo does not fade when used, although they can be removed with certain methods. Rather, a psionic tattoo can be used once per day in the described method. You still have 20 tattoo slots on your body, however, higher-level psionic tattoos take up respectively higher-level slots. So a 2nd-level psionic tattoo is larger and more elaborate and takes up two slots. Only those with psionic power may actually use psionic tattoos however and they may not be transferred to another person. Psionic tattoos use the owner's manifester level, and they may not be augmented by the owner, although they may be augmented at the time of inking. Psionic characters without a psionic character class or the ability to manifest psionic powers have a manifester level equal to the lowest-level needed to activate the tattoo.
Experience and Level-Dependent Benefits
Replace Table: 3-2 Experience and Level-Dependent Benefits with the following table with regards to feats and ability score increases.
Retraining
You may retrain one of your feats at any time. Doing so costs 50 gp and takes one week. Feats may not be retrained in this manner more than once per level. So for instance, if you have the Toughness feat at 3rd level and decided to retrain to lose Toughness and gain Weapon Focus instead, you would not be able to retrain Weapon Focus until you attained 4th level.
Forgive me if you're already aware of it, but this sounds a lot like Living Enworld. Have you checked that out?
We're also started planning a 4th Edition version, called Living 4th Edition. Follow the links in my sig to check L4E out.
I think Airwalkrr is looking at something a little smaller in scope. One group, one DM, carving out a world as they play in it.
I took part in something similar once. It was definately one of the best times I've had on these boards. I've been considering a return to PbP. . . and I'd be interested if you'd have me.
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Ah, I see. Well, in that case, while I'm not interested in a 3.5 game now myself, I wish you the best of luck in finding a group! Shared world PbP is a lot of fun, and we're making a lot of use of the EN Wiki ourselves in L4E. It's very handy for just this sort of thing.
__________________ Gary Hoggatt - www.garyh.net "Such heroic nonsense..."
Hey, this project sounds really cool (especially for anyone able to get in at the ground level). I have tried several times to create whole worlds of my own and usually get bogged down by the workload associated with doing it alone. I would love to try this out with you and make this more of a multi-perspective world creation.
I'm not new to D&D nor am I new to creating classes/races/places, but I am very new to Play-By-Post and EN World. So, if I'd love to help out and play with your guys, but if I'm too much work to 'train' just let me know.
hafrogman has it right. I am looking for a single group, although it could potentially be more fluid than a traditional adventuring party. Living EN World looks great, but it is too much structure for me, and my proposal gives players a greater impact on the world.
hafrogman and Alexandros, I would love to have you both along for the ride. I'm not really sure whether this will work or not, but I have always wanted to give shared world-building a try. The way I see it, a big advantage of the format I propose is that there are two parts to this campaign, the in-character, and the world development. If you log in one day and no one has posted anything new in-character, you can always feel free to try a thought experiment with world development. Obviously, players will get out of this project what they put into it.
Part of the beauty of this is that we don't need to create an entire world, just a big enough portion for the adventure. As the campaign begins, characters will be low-level and unable to influence events on a geopolitical level anyway, so one kingdom or region would suffice. Details on a few geographical features and adventuring locales would be plenty for early exploration.
If you still think this kind of thing is right up your alley, let me know what kinds of ideas you'd like to try. I'm going to attempt to be as hands-off as possible. I may occasionally step in on something silly like a land where dwarves live in the clouds and sing songs all day, but for the most part, I will merely offer editorial advice. And I will be developing some of my own bits of the world myself of course.
To start with, here is an idea for a city run by an assassin's guild. It takes part of the requirement of the assassin prestige class and molds it into the world.
Narovan
Narovan is a city shrouded in fear and darkness. By day, the city seems normal enough. Merchants peddle their wares and travelers move to and fro, but when night falls the local citizenry knows that to be caught out late means almost certain death.
The reason for this the Crucible, a practice of the Midnight Guild in which a target is selected at random for assassination for entrance into the guild by a prospective member. Aspiring assassins have three nights in which to track down and eliminate this person. The murder must be performed under three conditions: 1) the applicant must act alone, 2) the murder must take place after sundown, and 3) the murder must take place outdoors. Because of the latter, the assassin is often forced to lure his target out into the open. This is widely considered to be the most challenging aspect of the Crucible because the entire populace is paranoid about the dangers of being outdoors after dark.
The town is ostensibly run by a council of five elders who are elected for life on an as-needed basis. However, their power to stop this barbaric practice is limited. They are in-truth, a puppet government. The Midnight Guild always ensures that at least three elders are assassins themselves, thus securing a majority for any critical votes.
Looks interesting. I'm not sure if I'll have enough time for this game at this point, but you can sign me up for now. Just know that while I'm not new to worldbuilding, I never designed d20 classes or races before.
I don't know if we want to set an overall theme to our world, or just start going at it peice-meal. I guess if we want, we can tweak anything later to match the plan.
I was going to take a look at the EN Wiki, but the link just wipes my cookies instead. But I guess we can start in this thread and move it to the wiki later.
Narovan seemed interesting, and got me thinking about a few things, a few little additions to your city.
Narovan
People:
The people of Narovan are an odd assortment. Few would chose to live in a city where death lurks every night, and yet the city's population is stable, if not thriving. Most of the people are simple townsfolk, too poor, stubbon or downtrodden to leave their homes for an uncertain life elsewhere.
There are, of course, criminals who come to what they perceive as a lawless town, eager to prey upon the weak. They are often unpleasantly surprised to learn that the Midnight Guild brooks no competition, and takes pointed measures to insure that the townfolk are secure from everything except the guild itself.
Still, the council's restrictions are few, if any. And much that is frowned upon or outlawed elsewhere can be found on the streets of Narovan. If one is careful not to tread on the guild's toes, there is a great deal of profit that can be made in such a place.
And so in one town, assassins mingle with tradesmen, mercenaries and travelers crowd the inns, while the simple townsfolk attempt to scrape together a normal life.
The Dawn House:
There is one tiny force at work against the Midnight guild in Narovan. In truth, it survives only because the guild leaders have not taken steps against it. Perhaps this passive act of resistance amuses them, or they enjoy the element of challenge that it adds, or they just have not gotten around to it yet.
Once the sun has set, and all wise people have holed themselves away, safe behind locked doors, death stalks the streets of Narovan. But death plays by the rules. Every night, as the sun sets, the Dawn House opens its doors, shining light into the night. All who are caught outside after dark may try to make for the light as a refuge.
The house also serves as an orphanage, taking in children who have lost their parents to the Crucible. Most of the orphans eventually leave the care of the house, but some chose to remain and take over custody of the house, maintaining the sanctuary and watching over the younger children.
But either way, a city full of assassins may not be where we want to start our adventures (or it may be exactly where we want to). So I figured I'd start on at least one alternative.
West Fork
The Dyne River runs through the kingdom, providing a route for people, goods and information traveling to all reaches of the land. The river flows south, away from the king's capital, into the more sparsely settled frontier lands. Somewhere in the middle, a major tributary flows from mountains to the east and joins the river, combining their flows.
At the confluence, a small town has arisen to serve the trade barges that travel the river. The area itself is not much to look at. Poor weather and bad farming have stopped the town from ever growing too large, but the river itself provides a livelyhood for most of those that choose to settle there. The town may be small, but there is always a steady stream of traffic on the river, and it is said that at one point or other, everyone finds themselves passing through West Fork.
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SOUL: Secret Organization for Underground Levity
You can't stop the laughter!
THE HIVE: One Mind, No Purpose. Public Member of the Secret Fraternal Order of the Hive.
As for themes, I'd love to have the party try out several themes where we were all mounted or all underwater or whatever. But maybe try some of the unexplored areas of the rules and characters. Those that you always wanted to play but they never fit in a diverse group. But I'm flexible and up for anything.
Heck for Narovan we could all start as appentice thieves/ assassins. That'd be fun.
I don't know if we want to set an overall theme to our world, or just start going at it peice-meal. I guess if we want, we can tweak anything later to match the plan.
I think piece-meal is fine for now, until we decide if we want a theme.
Quote:
Originally Posted by hafrogman
I was going to take a look at the EN Wiki, but the link just wipes my cookies instead. But I guess we can start in this thread and move it to the wiki later.
Yea, I don't know what's up with the EN Wiki, but that sounds good.
I like your additions to Narovan and the town of West Fork. You make some mentions of a king and kingdom. I was thinking what if we just have a region instead that is populated by small city-states. Narovan could be one of them. West Fork could be another or a satellite of a more powerful city-state. The kingdom motif is a bit trite. City-states offers the opportunity for a little more political intrigue right off the bat. Perhaps they could be shattered remnants of an empire, or merely youthful communities in a freshly settled area just coming into their own.
City states sounds fine to me. Really just a matter of scale. I just threw in the word kingdom as a place holder off the top of my head. I didn't imagine West Fork as large enough to be its own entity, probably just a small settlement or even a military outpost beholden to a larger power. Possibly even Narovan itself.
__________________
SOUL: Secret Organization for Underground Levity
You can't stop the laughter!
THE HIVE: One Mind, No Purpose. Public Member of the Secret Fraternal Order of the Hive.
Ok, this game is now officially recruiting. World-building will start with Narovan, and we will work our way outward. Sometime this week, I will toy around with the EN Wiki and see if I can start moving some of the stuff we have already done over. Keep posting ideas and let me know if you are in for this project/campaign.
So how does this work? We all submit some ideas and then, when we feel we have enough to work with (for now anyway), we create characters and start playing?
We are currently running something like this with voidrazor at the helm, although our world is an epic lvl tech/magic hybrid world ;p Its set around a few very unique characters that effectively run the worlds where they live, and we are currently dealing with a destructive invading galactic evil, while still trying to deal with our own planetary politics and inter planetary relations. Its very slow going and we have lost people along the way, as few have the stamina for epic lvl creation or real story telling ability. We started out with several merchantile type characters who were investigating the disturbance on the edge of their solar system.
Feel free to check out the IC thread that can be found in my signature.
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Dr. Simons B5 Outrageous Fortunne - Croft Callo lvl 2 ICOOC
I had a larger scale idea I wanted to throw out there. It may not be interesting to everyone, so feel free to scrap it
Religion
There are only two sources of divine magic: the primal, fundamental forces of Law and Chaos.
Law is universally worshiped as embodied by the Lawgiver, a deity dedicated to laws, cities and order. The Lawgiver's worshipers build churches and temples to provide gathering places for worshipers. A rigid hierarchy of priests guides the flock, seeking to impose order. The Church of the Lawgiver is the only church, and they can be found in every one of the great city-states. Conflict sometimes arises between different branches of the Church, but the Lawgiver himself remains silent on the correct interpretation.
Worshipers of Chaos have no organization, no gathering points for worship. Reverence of Chaos is a very personal religion, and sometimes it isn't even recognized for what it is. A cultist seeking dark powers, a primitive tribesman praying to a fickle god, a gambler whispering entreaties to Lady Luck; all are in reality worshiping Chaos.
I like taking the normal good/evil god split and turning it on its side. Law vs. Chaos is the primary divide, at least among the divine. There are those who seek balance, druids and some others. But they do so with full knowledge of the two forces, trying to draw a little from both sides, rather than inventing a third side.
Also there are no gods declaring their demands on a daily basis. This leads to opportunities for conflict between different branches of the church, and intrigue inside a branch, and priests try and ascend in rank. And since all worshipers of Law, be they good or evil, are united in one church, jujst because you share a faith with another, it doesn't mean you can trust them.
__________________
SOUL: Secret Organization for Underground Levity
You can't stop the laughter!
THE HIVE: One Mind, No Purpose. Public Member of the Secret Fraternal Order of the Hive.
So how does this work? We all submit some ideas and then, when we feel we have enough to work with (for now anyway), we create characters and start playing?
I think you have the right idea. Right now we have the city of Narovan and the town of West Fork. Next step should be to detail the surrounding topography and some neighbors, be they rivals or allies. The best part is you get to decide.
dystmesis, glad to have you aboard.
Hafrogman, I like your idea of a Law/Chaos dichotomy. It might serve the campaign well if there were certain factions within the church however (e.g. a lawful good faction that ordains paladins and fights chaos and evil, a militant faction that seeks domination, or a faction that seeks blind justice). It could be vaguely analogous to the Protestant/Catholic/Orthodox split among Christianity (an example, not a model).
If there is a spot open, I'll like to take it. I don't know what you think of introducing a new cultural faction in this world. Currently I'm running a pbp game with an ancient china theme (see it in my link if you wish to) and I thought it could be a good idea to set a region of the land, ruled by a dynasty of emperors. It could be the start point for samurais (although they are Japanese) shugenjas ninjas (also Japanese xD ), monks and wu jens. I have some housrules for the oriental setting, a story of the rising of the empire and all, but I can create a new one of course.
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I just wrote this... I've actually got this homebrew class sitting around my computer without any real fluff, just a general idea, so I thought this is as good a place as any to unveil it to the world... So here's the general idea behind the Dreamblade... Tell me what you think.
Dreamblade
Every child in Narovan has had nightmares of the dreamblades - fabled creatures that come crawling from the deepest recesses of the psyche and strike men dead in their slumber. Even in the harsh city of Narovan, where merely being in the wrong street at night spells certain doom, the legend of the Dreamblades strikes a particularly deep chord in the hearts of many people living in the city.
Luckily, however, they are just that - a legend left over from an earlier time, no doubt designed long ago to instill fear into children. This is what most people think. But in reality, they are no legend, no dream. They do exist, and in far greater numbers than anyone realizes.
The Church of the Lawgiver continues a crusade against them to the day, but are no closer to rooting them out than when they started. The Midnight Guild gave up fighting against them along ago. As wild and fleeting as a dream, all attempts to do away with them are futile. The dreamblades have no leaders, no recruiters. Very few of them could even recognize each other. Without any system of hierachy or organization, the dreamblades are a chaotic group of unrelated people hailing from all races and walks of life with only two things in common.
Firstly, they all claim to see endless visions during their sleeping hours - insane dreams and nightmares telling them to do things they'd never do; showing them things that could never come to be.
Secondly, all dreamblades share the ability to channel the world of dreams into reality, forging a weapon of pure dreamstuff with their will. These bizarre weapons can take any shape the dreamblade desires, from a simple sword or axe, to smoke and bursts of light, or abstract concepts.
Driven by strange otherworldy messages, dreamblades can appear anywhere at any time. Anyone on the street could secretly be a dreamblade, and there is no way to detect one until they manifest their weapon. Their goals are completely unknown - sometimes to even themselves.
Some are induced to performing insane, sadistics acts alone in the dead of night. Others are stirred by a message telling them to defend people from evil. Still others are led to form mysterious, loosely-formed cults, where they perform mad rites to bizarre, imaginary beings.
I haven't capped it to a specific number of players yet, Voda Vosa, so you are welcome to join and contribute. I believe I will probably see how many players who profess interest stick with it through the basic development processes.
I think the dreamblade shows promise. Did you have this in mind as a class or a prestige class? It seems at least partially inspired by the mindblade, so that might be a useful model to look at. I don't think we need to tie them to Narovan. They could be a world-wide phenomenon. I could even see dreams as being a signature element of the campaign, with dream mages, dream monsters, and a dream plane. That is assuming that the other players like that idea of course.
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