Tales and Chronicles
Jewel of the North, formerly know as vincegetorix
Well people, the title pretty sums it all. I'd like to see what would a setting based around the myths and legends of the Americas instead of the usual faux-medieval Europe tropes.
Ideally, we could go with a colonial-era technology level, but without the trope of the ''new world'' to explore and conquer. One of the main draw of the Americas is their large territories. Its pretty easy to have a bunch of peoples on the main land while still having a lot of wilderness to explore.
We can go with new ancestries, or refluff the PHB's one, but I'd prefer if we avoid the (too) obvious ''dwarves are Mayans because they build stuff'' ''elves are Iroquois because they live in the forest'' tropes. We can also use old D&D tropes to subvert them a little and see what their colonial equivalent would be like. Ex: knightly orders, mage academies, medieval weapons and armors etc
So, a few ideas:
Creatures:
were-caiman
chasse-galerie (fiendish-undead sentient canoe that can fly the PC anywhere...at a cost)
Dame-blanche (some kind of water-based banshee)
loup-garou (greater werewolves)
Various dragon-turtle (dragon-tortoise)
dire beasts (moose, eagle, tapir, bison etc)
spirit beasts (fey type?)
undead pirates
various aberrations as ''old ones'' and mythos creatures
Chupacabra (vampire kind?)
Gargantuan sequoia-treant
Dark stranger (fiendish wandering bard)
Sky-whales?
Ancestries & culture
Arroyo Dwarves
Floating Iceberg dwarves
Witch-clan
Civilized, sentient undeads?
Effigies (mix of firbolg and warforged, sacred construct animated to protect a territory)
Factions
Various explorer guilds
Super powerful merchant guilds
Courreurs des bois (wood runners and trappers)
Spy rings
Secret orders
Exiled ''old faith''
The Gargoyles: founded by a knight cursed into a medusa form a long time ago, they are a secret order of monster hunters. Their name comes from the ritual of joining that requires a secret concoction of basiliks and gorgon blood. It grants them a stony resilience to damage and greater immunity against poison, but eventually it will kill them, turning them into stones. When their time has come they will perch themselves on high structures until they turn to stone, becoming ever watchful even in death. They wear grimacing masks in battle.
Lama-knight?
The Theater of Catastrophes: a cult dedicated to satisfying a demon-lord so that it stays asleep. They produce huge operas and plays based on cautionary tales to scare the people to give offerings to satiate their dark lord. Their creations are often used in villages local plays to scare children into behaving. (Mix of Ravnica's Rakdos and the church of Talos in Faerun).
So, hit me with your ideas if you have some and have a good day!
Ideally, we could go with a colonial-era technology level, but without the trope of the ''new world'' to explore and conquer. One of the main draw of the Americas is their large territories. Its pretty easy to have a bunch of peoples on the main land while still having a lot of wilderness to explore.
We can go with new ancestries, or refluff the PHB's one, but I'd prefer if we avoid the (too) obvious ''dwarves are Mayans because they build stuff'' ''elves are Iroquois because they live in the forest'' tropes. We can also use old D&D tropes to subvert them a little and see what their colonial equivalent would be like. Ex: knightly orders, mage academies, medieval weapons and armors etc
So, a few ideas:
Creatures:
were-caiman
chasse-galerie (fiendish-undead sentient canoe that can fly the PC anywhere...at a cost)
Dame-blanche (some kind of water-based banshee)
loup-garou (greater werewolves)
Various dragon-turtle (dragon-tortoise)
dire beasts (moose, eagle, tapir, bison etc)
spirit beasts (fey type?)
undead pirates
various aberrations as ''old ones'' and mythos creatures
Chupacabra (vampire kind?)
Gargantuan sequoia-treant
Dark stranger (fiendish wandering bard)
Sky-whales?
Ancestries & culture
Arroyo Dwarves
Floating Iceberg dwarves
Witch-clan
Civilized, sentient undeads?
Effigies (mix of firbolg and warforged, sacred construct animated to protect a territory)
Factions
Various explorer guilds
Super powerful merchant guilds
Courreurs des bois (wood runners and trappers)
Spy rings
Secret orders
Exiled ''old faith''
The Gargoyles: founded by a knight cursed into a medusa form a long time ago, they are a secret order of monster hunters. Their name comes from the ritual of joining that requires a secret concoction of basiliks and gorgon blood. It grants them a stony resilience to damage and greater immunity against poison, but eventually it will kill them, turning them into stones. When their time has come they will perch themselves on high structures until they turn to stone, becoming ever watchful even in death. They wear grimacing masks in battle.
Lama-knight?
The Theater of Catastrophes: a cult dedicated to satisfying a demon-lord so that it stays asleep. They produce huge operas and plays based on cautionary tales to scare the people to give offerings to satiate their dark lord. Their creations are often used in villages local plays to scare children into behaving. (Mix of Ravnica's Rakdos and the church of Talos in Faerun).
So, hit me with your ideas if you have some and have a good day!