Hi, I'm working out the details/background for the campign setting i'm planning to run for D&D 4ed. I'm probably overthinking it, but i want ot get it right, therefore i'm looking for input from random strangers.
Still unsure how large an area i want/need to flesh out(50miles wide? 100miles?)
## double hash symbols denote notes##. #### quad-hash symbols denote names that i haven't thought up (i'm crap with names)
Planar geography: as per the PHB. you will only know about this if you have Religion or Arcana trained or if come from near a manifest zone. PHB gods are also in place, although distant.
World geography: there is a world, a little like ours. colder at the top, warmer at the middle. Due to the high level of magic and the events of “the sundering”, a lot of the rules of geography are more like guidelines. Underground caves/lakes/complexes exists much more commonly than in our world, for example.
Local geography: This campaign is set mostly in the #### valley area. This is a large natural valley that escaped widespread damage during the sundering (a number of small changes occurred though). Scholars note that there is a notable taint of elemental water in the area. Locals note that it rains a lot here.
The main river flows from the west to the east, where it joins the sea (large human town there). To the north there is a mountain range (dwarven city there). To the south there are a smaller set of mountains (An unsual clan of orcs resides in a smaller valley here).
##I think i'm getting confused about how large the fleshed-out area should be##
Micro geography
Highdock/Lowdock: a human/mixed town set around a waterfall (200’ tall) in a decent-sized river. The natives of this town consider the two parts to be separate towns. There is significant trade up and down the river, which would be blocked by the waterfall, therefore this town takes cargo in at either the upper dock or the lower one (and takes a cut) and winches the cargo up or down to the other side. The waterfall drives some water-wheels for milling etc.
####: A dwarven mining outpost, slowly mining out metal ores from some odd land that was transplanted in the sundering. Although they grow a lot of their own foods via farming, they still visit Highdock for trade and drinking.
Hebbon-on-the-water / The silent lake: A medium-sized but very boring human village by a very large and deep lake. The town is incredibly boring, farming their own crops and rarely trading. Hebbon is apparently too boring for monsters and raiders as well, they used to have wooden stockade walls but they took them down to build more houses. Hebbon has reported no attacks since.
## more to follow ##
racial profiling/locations:
####, closed city of the dwarves: From the outside, this a overly-defended dwarven trading post set at the foot of a mountain range. In fact, it's the entrance to a great dwarven city, the most powerful military/economic/political force for hundreds of miles... or at least it would be if the dwarves where willing to leave. However the closed city remains closed. No outsiders are allowed in, even dwarves that leave the city once will not be allowed back unless they are of high standing and left for a good reason. The security of the city is maintained by air-lock style linked doors.
The dwarves also have a multitude of small outposts scattered about, either farming or mining. Occasional dwarves are also common in mixed towns, as stereotypical guardsdwarves and/or tradesdwarves.
####, high city of the Elves: This mile-wide tree-top town is the local elven capitol, although only a small percentage of the elves actually live here. The elves are insular, but not as insular as the dwarves. Only outsiders of great standing or elves that have proven themselves will be allowed into the high city.
The rest of the elves live in separate small villages, part hunting, part farming. They are uncommonly found in mixed towns.
The Eldarin of the area refer to their city as "the city" as they feel it needs no other identification, after all, how could the city be mistaken for anywhere else? Accordingly, everyone else calls it "the Eldarin city". It's located close to a stable manifest zone to the feywild (a lot of effort to taken to make sure it remains stable).
Smaller Eladrin outposts exist, generally with some deliberate function. They also exist at the core of mixed towns, where the Eldarin started the town, hired the other race on as managers and let them deal with the work of running the town.
The Dragonborn have no major towns, just small outposts and wandering tribes. Often found in mixed towns.
Tieflings are mostly found in mixed towns, although some insular tiefling outposts exist. These outposts are more likely to fall into the old ways and are often avoided by travellers. One such outpost is owned by the 'Order of ####', it's a simple town built over a lost tiefling castle/city. who knows what wonders and horrors lie inside?
Halflings have no fixed capitol, but do have some long-term villages that do a lot of farming and trading.
The Humans have the second largest city (after the dwarves) at the mouth of the river, those of live in this city call it the human capitol, those who live else where probably think the humans have a capitol at all. Some human outposts are 95%+ human (dwarven smith as is traditional etc) but others are very mutli-racial, called mixed towns ##does this need another name?##
The orcs have two major clans in the area, with some minor tribes raiding further a field. The 1st major clan is better organised than usual and apparently governed by a creature that can keep them under control. They keep to their secluded/defendable side valley and don't raid, they even trade with and protect some local communities. They are the silverhand clan, who identify themselves with complex white tattoos on their right hand.
## second clan needs details, but they are normal evil-ish orcs ##
Macro timeline:
0 <only the aboleth know, and they aren't telling>
1 primordials renovate the world
2 gods arrive, renovate the world differently
3 the first urenageth, or war-in-heaven, as the gods and the primordials fight over the world
4 the gods mostly win, killing or exiling the primordials
5 gods finish renovating the world. either creating or adopting the 'higher races'
6 the holy age! everything is great! the gods rule the world from the city of the gods
7 the second urenageth, or war-in-heaven, as the gods fight amongst themselves until the primordials attack again
8 the time of chaos, the sundering. laws of physics not as much broken as simply ignored for 1-2 years (hard to tell the time when the sun sometimes doesn't rise and 10 mile square blocks of land randomly change places)
9 the age of trials. It's been 30-40 years since the sundering, time of growth, discovery and war. While some communities have tried to expand, a lot have become insular and hidden themselves away from the dark.
This campaign takes place in the age of trials.
Still unsure how large an area i want/need to flesh out(50miles wide? 100miles?)
## double hash symbols denote notes##. #### quad-hash symbols denote names that i haven't thought up (i'm crap with names)
Planar geography: as per the PHB. you will only know about this if you have Religion or Arcana trained or if come from near a manifest zone. PHB gods are also in place, although distant.
World geography: there is a world, a little like ours. colder at the top, warmer at the middle. Due to the high level of magic and the events of “the sundering”, a lot of the rules of geography are more like guidelines. Underground caves/lakes/complexes exists much more commonly than in our world, for example.
Local geography: This campaign is set mostly in the #### valley area. This is a large natural valley that escaped widespread damage during the sundering (a number of small changes occurred though). Scholars note that there is a notable taint of elemental water in the area. Locals note that it rains a lot here.
The main river flows from the west to the east, where it joins the sea (large human town there). To the north there is a mountain range (dwarven city there). To the south there are a smaller set of mountains (An unsual clan of orcs resides in a smaller valley here).
##I think i'm getting confused about how large the fleshed-out area should be##
Micro geography
Highdock/Lowdock: a human/mixed town set around a waterfall (200’ tall) in a decent-sized river. The natives of this town consider the two parts to be separate towns. There is significant trade up and down the river, which would be blocked by the waterfall, therefore this town takes cargo in at either the upper dock or the lower one (and takes a cut) and winches the cargo up or down to the other side. The waterfall drives some water-wheels for milling etc.
####: A dwarven mining outpost, slowly mining out metal ores from some odd land that was transplanted in the sundering. Although they grow a lot of their own foods via farming, they still visit Highdock for trade and drinking.
Hebbon-on-the-water / The silent lake: A medium-sized but very boring human village by a very large and deep lake. The town is incredibly boring, farming their own crops and rarely trading. Hebbon is apparently too boring for monsters and raiders as well, they used to have wooden stockade walls but they took them down to build more houses. Hebbon has reported no attacks since.
## more to follow ##
racial profiling/locations:
####, closed city of the dwarves: From the outside, this a overly-defended dwarven trading post set at the foot of a mountain range. In fact, it's the entrance to a great dwarven city, the most powerful military/economic/political force for hundreds of miles... or at least it would be if the dwarves where willing to leave. However the closed city remains closed. No outsiders are allowed in, even dwarves that leave the city once will not be allowed back unless they are of high standing and left for a good reason. The security of the city is maintained by air-lock style linked doors.
The dwarves also have a multitude of small outposts scattered about, either farming or mining. Occasional dwarves are also common in mixed towns, as stereotypical guardsdwarves and/or tradesdwarves.
####, high city of the Elves: This mile-wide tree-top town is the local elven capitol, although only a small percentage of the elves actually live here. The elves are insular, but not as insular as the dwarves. Only outsiders of great standing or elves that have proven themselves will be allowed into the high city.
The rest of the elves live in separate small villages, part hunting, part farming. They are uncommonly found in mixed towns.
The Eldarin of the area refer to their city as "the city" as they feel it needs no other identification, after all, how could the city be mistaken for anywhere else? Accordingly, everyone else calls it "the Eldarin city". It's located close to a stable manifest zone to the feywild (a lot of effort to taken to make sure it remains stable).
Smaller Eladrin outposts exist, generally with some deliberate function. They also exist at the core of mixed towns, where the Eldarin started the town, hired the other race on as managers and let them deal with the work of running the town.
The Dragonborn have no major towns, just small outposts and wandering tribes. Often found in mixed towns.
Tieflings are mostly found in mixed towns, although some insular tiefling outposts exist. These outposts are more likely to fall into the old ways and are often avoided by travellers. One such outpost is owned by the 'Order of ####', it's a simple town built over a lost tiefling castle/city. who knows what wonders and horrors lie inside?
Halflings have no fixed capitol, but do have some long-term villages that do a lot of farming and trading.
The Humans have the second largest city (after the dwarves) at the mouth of the river, those of live in this city call it the human capitol, those who live else where probably think the humans have a capitol at all. Some human outposts are 95%+ human (dwarven smith as is traditional etc) but others are very mutli-racial, called mixed towns ##does this need another name?##
The orcs have two major clans in the area, with some minor tribes raiding further a field. The 1st major clan is better organised than usual and apparently governed by a creature that can keep them under control. They keep to their secluded/defendable side valley and don't raid, they even trade with and protect some local communities. They are the silverhand clan, who identify themselves with complex white tattoos on their right hand.
## second clan needs details, but they are normal evil-ish orcs ##
Macro timeline:
0 <only the aboleth know, and they aren't telling>
1 primordials renovate the world
2 gods arrive, renovate the world differently
3 the first urenageth, or war-in-heaven, as the gods and the primordials fight over the world
4 the gods mostly win, killing or exiling the primordials
5 gods finish renovating the world. either creating or adopting the 'higher races'
6 the holy age! everything is great! the gods rule the world from the city of the gods
7 the second urenageth, or war-in-heaven, as the gods fight amongst themselves until the primordials attack again
8 the time of chaos, the sundering. laws of physics not as much broken as simply ignored for 1-2 years (hard to tell the time when the sun sometimes doesn't rise and 10 mile square blocks of land randomly change places)
9 the age of trials. It's been 30-40 years since the sundering, time of growth, discovery and war. While some communities have tried to expand, a lot have become insular and hidden themselves away from the dark.
This campaign takes place in the age of trials.
