Eastern European-flavored setting (in progress)

[Jacob the Impaler]

I'm thinking of starting up a campaign sometime soon, and I want to make something with an Eastern European flavor. I want a region that's creepy and dangerous but fun. I'm thinking dark pine forests, werewolves, vampires, Gothic castles, foggy mountains, etc...Most people, even adventurers, would take superstitions and tall tales very seriously as danger is everywhere. Most adventures would probably focus around saving villages from supernatural threats or exploring ruined castles.

Sorry if I'm not being very specific, but are there any materials out there that could help me design a campaign like this? If you have any ideas yourself, that would be cool too.

 

[Rystil Arden]

Check out Dog Soul's Ennie-nominated Baba Yaga supplement with setting material on a Russian-flavoured fantasy setting.

 

[Land Outcast]

Have ye heard 'bout a place they call Ravenloft me friend?

Ideas?
well, first of all, when the PCs [and players] laugh about the story the old drunkard told them, have them meet the story in flesh and blood... make it a "silly" thing like:
Ya, the old well wanted to eat me, I tell you, was walking on its border and he tried to eat me, I tell you...

When the PCs walk beside the well and it stretches out a gaping, toothed maw... and then returns to it's inoccuous "well" state, and doesn't budge, at all... that is bound to freak them out a bit at least.

That was a poor exaple maybe, but you get the idea. I'll keep an eye over this, I just love this kind of settings.

 

[Jacob the Impaler]

Thanks, I'll have to check that Baba Yaga thing out.

Some ideas I've come up with:

Humans: Overwhelmingly dominant in the region. Most live in fortified farming or logging villages on the edges of the great forests and frigid mountain rivers. The villagers are no strangers to trouble, and most have at least one level in warrior from fighting back a steady flow of monsters from the forest. Because of the constant threats, the fuedal system works remarkably well. Peasants love the support of the king's soldiers, and hard work and limited freedom seems like a small price to pay in exchange for protection.

Elves: Not the happy tree-huggers in the rulebooks. They're more like magical, shifty forest people who manipulate nature for their own ends. They make small, chaotic communities among the dark pines, using magic to protect them from the dangers of the forest. Most of the time they are tolerated by humans, although in many places people put their guard up. Sometimes they help human out with their magic when they see a benefit, although they usually ask for sacrifices that can range from large amounts of wine to newborn children.

Dwarves: Lived in the region long before anyone else, but their numbers are dwindling due to incursions by hobgoblins and dragons. Their centuries-old stone bridges in the valleys are still used by humans. For the most part, they stay in their mountain strongholds, emerging only to trade with humans or strike against the forest denizens at the base of their mountains. They sometimes come into open war with the elves, although they are often defeated due to their unfamiliarity with the forest and magic. They make the best weapons and armor in the land, and they alone know the secret of making enchanted steel.

More to come when I think of stuff...

 

[Shadowbane2]

Eastern Europe? There's always the worry of a foreign invasion via terrifyingly large horde. Always. In History it was Mongols, then Turks. For your setting, it could be Goblins or Demons or Something.

 

[Mistwell]

I also second both Baba Yaga and Ravenloft.

 

[BOZ]

naturally, forget ye not that Dracula comes from that part of the world.

 

[Paradigm]

Eastern Europe? There's always the worry of a foreign invasion via terrifyingly large horde. Always. In History it was Mongols, then Turks. For your setting, it could be Goblins or Demons or Something.

Celts
Germans
Huns
Slavs
Magyars
Mongols
Germans
Turks
Germans
Russians

Have fun not getting invaded!

 

[Jacob the Impaler]

I've done some thinking about the invasion thing:
The region is not currently free. It is a puppet state of a massive human empire that is beginning to spread itself out too thin. Sort of like...I dunno...that one historical empire that grew too big and collapsed on itself. Orcs and hobgoblin armies, sensing the weakness in the region, are gathering along the northern border while ships from an African-themed empire are gathering on allied islands off the region's small southern coast.
Not that much of this will matter, because most of the time players are going to have their hands full with forest monsters and undead.

Oh! Speaking of Undead...
Ages ago, this region was placed under a terrible curse. Anyone not cremated and laid to rest would rise as an undead creature in a week. Most of the time, this is not a problem, as the people have become very systematic in dealing with funerals. Missing bodies are fervently searched for. A peasant may rise as a zombie or skeleton, while more powerful people return as wights, ghouls, ghosts, etc. The most powerful become vampires or wraiths. Special teams of battle clerics routinely patrol the roads and follow sightings to destroy the bands of undead that sometimes form.

 

[Herobizkit]

For inspiration, I suggest doing some research into the Castlevania series of video games. They're pretty heavy with gothic "horror" content... I use "horror" lightly because, really, the games are just a big kill-fest for the hero. But when you consider the sweeping arc of the Belmont bloodine through most of the games, combined with the exotic locales, it makes for a sweeping gothic epic.