Building a World

[Cevalic]

Revised Vortices

There are three types of vortices: arcane, divine, and the cross. Arcane are caused by the crossing of fey lines and are detailed above. They stay the same.

Divine vortices come in different forms. A vortice of divine magic comes into being by one of a few ways. If a deity imbues a certain area with his power it functions like an arcane site (the powers of the site are determined by the deity, so it could be anything). At these sites the power only works if the caster is the same alignment as the deity who blessed the site (a lawful good site can only be accessed by a lawful good character ect.). There are also certain places that just seem to attract the divine power. These places are ancient forest groves, or crystal like ponds high in the mountains, certain type of landscapes that reflect a gods beauty (or ugliness in the form of swamps). These are places of perfection, that just absorb divine magic. Note: these sites aren't actually blessed by deities but they are looked favorably upon.

There is one divine site that is rumored to bring the dead back to life, if left in the center of the grove overnight. Lost limbs are said to regenerate there. Youth is restored. None have ever found the site, or if they did, they aren't saying.

The third type of site is the rarest. The only way it can be brought about is to have to gods battle in one spot on the ground. The cataclysmic energies release both divine and arcane magic that charges the site (when talking of arcane, the lines of magic are actually drawn to the site, thus crossing. This brings 100 lines together). The rarity of two gods actually meeting on the mortal plane, let alone fighting, is so astronomically high that the possibility should never occur. However, it has occurred twice in the past ten thousand years.

Sjbigred: I really like the idea with the sorcerers and the vortices. Anyone have any idea of what the consequences could be? Also, what extra bonuses could the vortices grant to the sorcerers? Maybe their spells would be harder to resist (+2 difficulty)?

Thanks again for the ideas guys.

 

[Cevalic]

Originally posted by ChillyWilly:

The bugbears would need alor a captives to maintain and expland their economy. This would allow the bugbears to be more concerned with expansion and other militaristic issues. The slaves woiuld be used for all the labor intensive jobs with little social statis. Slaves would be a huge plus for their society. I didn't think about that.
The Bugbear Navy could be designed like the Vikings were. The longships, rowed by slaves, could go up large streams to large rivers to make raids.

Also, Bugbears lifecycles are much faster than dwarves, elves, and maybe even giants. This could be a great concern if the Bugbears begin to expand. The bugbears could los every battle against against these foes but still win the war becuase they can replace losses faster than their opponents. I have to double check the facts in the MM though.

As far as religion goes, God of War could be the main god of their society. Tehy would also worship Gods of Strength, Destruction, and to a minor extent Death. They, as the society in general, could view religion as a means to a goal. Religion would have some prestige but not alot. The clerics could be kinda like members of a secret society. People would know how they are but wouldn't know their true agenda. Clerics would be using leaders to futher their own goals, i.e. spending Death, Destruction, and War across the land or bringing furth an great distaster.

About holy places, if a particular God blessed one spot then wouldn't his fellowers gain more power there. For example, a temple is built for and blessed by the God of Healing. The priests of this god would be more powerful here than a lawful good priest of a different god. Also, priest of the opposite alignments, chaotic evil trying to use a spot of lawful good, could be inflicted with a curse or some sort of negative action from that god.

About the magical spots, would there be a group or groups controlling them? Control of these places would be a great boost to any empire or force.

I'll post some stuff about the Halfings on Tuesday, I think. They could be pretty neat. They'll end up real tougher than people will expect for Halflings.

 

[Cevalic]

Chilly, your idea of having the bugbears using longboats with oars was something I hadn't thought of (I was thinking of enormous sail boats). There are some rivers that they could use to strike into the continent, and the orc empire (eventually).
The idea of adding curse at the magical place is good. So now anyone who is of opposite alignment who casts a spell is afflicted by a curse, as per the spell with no saving throw.

Most of the known vortices are guarded or controlled by people, obviously magic users. There are some that haven't been discovered yet, and others that just are to remote to be controlled, although druids and rangers frequent those. Indeed, the vortices are extremely valuable, obviously to magic users more than anyone. They are viewed somewhat like artifacts, as being rare and powerful.

I'm not sure about the bugbears worshiping Destruction. They want to build an empire and make a dynasty so I'm not sure if they would actually be into destruction as much. I was thinking they wouldn't destroy the towns they captured, because they could just use the buildings instead of rebuilding.

A group of clerics that are secret from the rest of the bugbears? I like it. They could call themselves the Cabal or some such thing. I don't know what their goals would be, I'd have to think about that one. They could be very manipulative, maybe even striving to take over the empire if it ever comes to be.

I'll be putting up the info on the dark elves under Draligar forest soon...

 

[Cevalic]

Originally posted by Mastermind:

Originally posted by ChillyWilly:
The Bugbear Navy could be designed like the Vikings were. The longships, rowed by slaves, could go up large streams to large rivers to make raids.
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Vikigs didn't use slaves to row their boats, they did it themselves if the need came. But I still think that the Bugbears should use slaves.
I like the way this world is going, very neat! I can't say I have anything to contribute, but hey, keep up the good work!!

 

[Cevalic]

Current State of Draligar Forest

The Dz'engriak (Dark elves)

The Dz'engriak have carved out a literal underground empire, that stretches beneath all of Draligar forest and goes for almost a hundred miles north into the plains. The sheer numbers of dark elves in this area beneath the surface is thought to be greater than all the other dark elves combined.

The history of the Dz'engriak elves stretches back over three thousand years. A few dark elves on an exploration mission for one of the greater dark elf nations in the north, stumbled across an immense cavern, one that could easy fit a city of tens of thousands of elves. Instead of returning with the news and bringing in to the wizard-king, the group kept the information secret when they got back. The group went about, quietly buying supplies and getting like minded elves, ones that wanted a new life, a chance to rise above the status they were given. Most of the group was female. Along the way, the females were approached by a demonic creature that told them of a way they could gain power, of someone who would bring them to glory. And so, they became priestess of Lloth, and the new city was started. It was given the name Quasiet'inal, and gradually more females flocked to the city along with a few males who didn't know what they were getting into.

The females were dominant right away, and quickly set up a matriarchal society. Men were the equivalent of servants. The city was built over the course of seven hundred years, progressing faster as more slaves were gained (the drow captured goblins and orcs from nearby underground communities). The city became of bastion of evil, soon housing almost 13,000 dark elves and 3000 slaves. As the first section of the city was finished (they planned on building outward, circle by circle, in the cavern, predicting that 75,000 dark elves could live there when it was finished) the dark elves looked to conquer the nearby areas, to secure the area and gain more slaves. After four hundred years of war the dark elves managed to take control of the plains and were expanding into the section that would be the forest.

It was near this time, that the dark elves became aware of a dwarven presence the area. The war is detailed above in one of the first posts on this thread.

With the magical spell cast and the resulting explosion, the dark elves retreated to their city, not wishing to lose any more of their kind to the war with the dwarves. Before they knew it though, their own city was under siege. A Doppelganger had posed as a dark elf priestess and made its way into one of the few meeting the matriarchs had. It assassinated three of them before two killed it. At the same time, an army of mindless goblins and orcs led by a group of mindflayers, charged through the tunnels. They entered the cavern, and the war was underway.

The echoes of battle rang throughout the enormous cavern for one hundred years, before the tide finally turned. A male dark elf appeared before the five matriarchs (the three had been replaced) and offered them a solution. If he was given one corner of the cavern to set up a fortress, where he ruled he would take care of the invading army. The scoffed at the idea, but when they found out that the gates were falling, they quickly reconsidered and agreed.

The wizard teleported away. He appeared in the center of the gates, before the army in front of him. With one spell, the army's stopped, and came out of their daze. Immediately they turned on the mind flayers. The drow, seeing their chance, attacked without abandon. The wizard cast a spell that restored the gate, then summoned a swarm of fire elementals that cremated anything that moved. By the end of the day, the army was destroyed, and the elven city saved.

On the next morning the matriarchs met, to discuss how to kill the powerful wizard before he could build his fortress. They knew he would be a threat to their power. It was then that they heard a voice telling them to look through their window, high in a tower in the center of the city. They did, and immediately knew fear. In the corner of the cavern a fortress had arose, as if overnight, made from what looked to be black crystal. Whoever the wizard was, they knew he was to be taken seriously.

In the past thousand years a few things have happened to the Dz'engriak. They completed the city's third ring (it now houses 32000 dark elves in the city, and 15000 slaves). They are working on the forth. For the most part they have stopped their conquests as they rebuild and strengthen their position.

The fortress of the wizard still stands in the corner of the cavern, although none have seen the wizard since that day. The few that dare sneak in the tower are never seen again. Most whisper that the wizard is actually a demon in disguise. Others say he has turned into a lich. Whatever the case may be, the matriarchs are looking for ways to find out what the wizard is up to and then dispose of him.

Two years ago the matriarchs also sent a party to see what the dwarven empire was like, and found a forest above inhabited by elves. Immediately they decided that the elves had to be taken care of and learned as much as they could. Secretly (they wanted to get the first blow in the war, and knew that the only way to do that was to keep their presence quiet), the dark elves found out the current situation in the land above and began weaving a web to bring down their surface dwelling cousins.

The plan is to have the goblins attack the elves in full force, catching them off guard. They think that the gnomes might actually ally with the goblins if given a reason (the dark elves are going to start spreading rumors that elves are torturing the gnome servants, and other propaganda like that. They even plan on using a Doppelganger to become a gnome, battered and beaten, and show up in the gnome village to speak of the atrocities being committed). This will then bring them into the war, and the centaurs owe the gnomes one, so they too will attack the elves. At the same time the dark elves will attack from their caverns, swarming through the capital city of the elves, killing the wizards and prince as they sleep. They plan the conquest to be short. They will then take elves as slaves. They plan on using the goblins to kill the centaurs, while the drow kill the gnomes. Finally the dark elves will turn on the goblins and take as many of them as slaves as possible. They know that the dragon is the wildcard in all this, but they don't think it will care if all this takes place.

 

[Cevalic]

Thanks for the kind words mastermind. I'm glad you like it. I have a lot more to post, so I think this might be here for a while. I want to do some more stuff with Draligar forest (I don't think it's detailed as well as it should be). Obviously the place is right on the edge of war, and it doesn't look like it can be avoided.
One of the main reasons for this new continent is to try things that are different to me. I still don't know if I like the idea of dwarven wizards, but I'm making an nation of them to try it out. Just some things to change things up for once, put a fresh spin on old concepts (the empire of good orcs, dwarf wizards, ect.). At the rate it's looking I think I might call it the Monster Continent, as there currently aren't any plans for humans to be on it.

Once again, anyone with an idea for a nation, or advice, is encouraged to post it, and please feel free to use anything you see here. Thanks!

 

[Cevalic]

Originally posted by Rincewind:

The slave:drow ratio seems a bit low to me, with only 1 slave per two drow the elves would have to do quite a lot of manual labour themselves. They'd probably want more slaves.
Also, what is the posistion of the slaves? Are they totally supressed, or are there rumour of rebellion? Might surface elf instigators cause them to rise up in the middle of the (coming) war, catching the drow off guard?

 

[Cevalic]

To answer your questions Rincewind:
The drow are looking at getting more slaves, and they plan on getting them from the war they hope to start on the surface.

The drow have a reason for the number of slaves they currently have. They don't want the slaves to outnumber them, just in case they do rebel. This is highly unlikely. When the dark elves take slaves, they watch to find out who the trouble maker is and who is the quiet one. They take both and torture them for a week in front of the other slaves, to give them an idea of what they are in for if they disobey the elves. Then the slaves are subjected to a brutal, often deadly, bootcamp. The elves make sure that every slave is completely broken down, mentally and physically. They are broken apart from family members and friends. The dark elves randomly read slaves minds to see whether they harbor such intentions as revolt. The slaves that go to the highest members of the society are usually mind wiped just for extra precaution. There was a slave revolt once in the last ten years. The elves easily put it down, then took the leader of him and publicly tortured him for a year upon which time they gave the goblin to a demon as a meal. The slaves moral for rebellion is at an all time low.

Another reason for the current amount of is the magical power of the city. The sexes are split 40(women)-60(men), but about 70% of females are priestess, 20% wizardess, and the other 10% is assorted. Obviously with that much magical power, the city has found ways to curb labor without even using slaves. They summon earth elementals to help with the building, and use magical spells to do small things. Another thing you shouldn't overlook: the males of the city are treated like servants, so the number of servants is actually greater. The males are for the most part fighters, and the slaves most likely to be used in the first wave of an attack. There is also a monastery (which I'll detail in another post) that trains the elite warriors of the dark elf city.

One more fact that I forgot to mention. The population of dark elves in the surrounding areas, their empire, is quadruple what they have in the city, and out there the number of slaves is equal in ratio (2 to 1).

Hope that answers your question...

 

[Cevalic]

Originally posted by MaverikWierdo:

I think you need more than one "naval superpower" or they would dominate Draligar Forest. The Bugbears are on one side of Draligar Forest, so somewhere past the other side of the forest you could have the "other sea power". Conflicts between them would keep either from dominating.
You could have them be minotaurs or lizardmen. They would be merchants, interested in economic conquest. They would have larger and slower(depending on the wind) ships than the Bugbears, better to carry cargos. Their culture would be totally comfortable with magic and all their ships would have wizards to defend them.

These merchants would have a less harsh "slavery" than some cultures. Slaves would be "indentured servants" paying off debts. Aproximatly 10% succeed in paying off their debts and are freed. Just enough so that the hope of freedom would keep them from revolting.

 

[Cevalic]

Originally posted by sjbigred:

Well, as for the vortices, I am unsure what the best bonus for sorcerors would be. The DC idea sounds good, but make sure it evens out with the negative that sorcerors have there. If sorcerors are much more likely to be burnt out, then make them much more powerful than wizards at these points.
Regarding the divine vortices, I think the best way to look at it would be to think that the god blesses those who deserve it and curses those who do not, at least in his eyes. So say you give all similarly aligned divine spellcasters a bonus, but all spellcasters of his religion an even larger bonus. If he is a good god, then nothing happens to neutral spellcasters, and evil ones find some negative side effect. If the god has an archenemy maybe followers of that religion are even more affected.

Also, it sounds like the gods have a reasonably high contact rate with this world, so I would think it'd be cool to have gods speak to people in these places. Or maybe grant extra strength sometimes, if a person (PC or NPC) is on a quest from that god. Just to add a little more flavor, I think that aspect would be neat.

As for the dark elf society, are men likely to revolt? What do the women do to stop this? It seems like they take great precautions with their slaves, I would think that to keep this consistent they would act similarly towards men.

Good luck, and I hope you don't mind if I borrow your idea of vortices for my campaing.

-Tom