People propelled Campaign

[Aedh]

Dear EnWorld,
I have been playing D&D for 5 years, and have written countless full campaigns, detailing worlds and countries and adventures galore! However, I wish to try a new challenge. I wish to create a world used by more people than my gaming group. I would like to create a world used by you, a world you wish to play and use. New races and classes, if you wished them, could be created and it would be a complete world for use in your 4E games!

This will be a 4-6 month project, with extensive playtesting by my group and you, hopefully! First things first:

European Fantasy (traditional D&D)
Steampunk
Oriental
Other

Which one? Work will begin by the end of today, if the amount of replies is sufficient!

Yours,

Max a.k.a aedh

 

[Neubert]

Well, my vote would go towards good old-fashioned "European Fantasy", and I think you would reach more people by doing that... However, it is also been done (some would say overdone) plenty of times before, so with the others there may be fewer people to reach.

Actually, you might reach the same amount of people, no matter if you do a traditional D&D setting (where there are more players, but likewise more settings clawing for attention), or one of the other options.

Taking one of the other options could be a strength as well, as it is a less explored path and ideas are more likely to be unique.

 

[eriktheguy]

Welcome, this is what these forums are for. In any case you will be competing against others who have designed similar settings in trying to get your campaign world out there. Your challenge is to make it amusing, flavorful, balanced and unique compared to those. You should aim to do these things rather than let us choose your campaign setting for you. Choose which one you like the most.

Some general advice on making a new campaign world with classes, races etc... Save yourself some effort by using powers/classes/races that already exist and changing the flavor text. For example, the DMG suggests that in a Wuxia (Oriental) campaign setting, telleport spells are described as great leaps, changing only flavor and not gameplay. A fighter power than normally deals a 'stunning blow' might instead target a pressure point. You can save a tremendous amount of book keeping by making the classes from the PHB available, but requiring the character to change the flavor themselves. For example, fighter becomes samurai, rogue or ranger becomes ninja, wizard becomes mystic.
If necessary, change the classes slightly, but still use most of the class features to save bookwork. In steam punk wizards combine steam technology with magic or alchemy, using black powder in their fire spells and have Machinery as a class skill.

You could base your weapons on existing ones. In a steam punk setting you might change all bows into guns but keep the same stats. In an oriental campaign, longsword becomes katana.

There are a few pages of good advice in the dungeon master's guide to help improve your campaign setting with less work. 134-137 gives advice on various campaign themes. 184-185 for creating monsters. When creating powers, try to use powers for similar classes/levels as reference from the PHB.

 

[Aedh]

Dorum: City of Smog and Gears... Dorum is one of the newest cities in the country of Velora, and the cradle of invention on the continent. Seated in the centre of the Plain, it was founded 200 years ago and the time of the Great Union. Advertised to potential settlers as the "Eden of Thought" its purpose was always to be the sanctuary of great minds, wishing to be free of burden of sanctions and restriction. Hundreds of philosophers, inventors and artists flocked to the city, and the arts flourished. In the first hundred years, known as the Era of Golden Thought, Dorum became one of the wealthiest cities Velora. It exported the inventions that came from its patrons, from the Clockwork Airship to the Coal-Guard, and bought in all the food that its citizens did not plant and plough themselves. The inventors produced their products with care-free abandon, and this was to prove their undoing. With coal being used in huge quantities, the fumes of the thousand furnaces and machines gathered above Dorum, blotting out the sun and causing the young and the weak to die, choking on the sulphurous cloud. Unable to leave the safety of their home, the people of Dorum blocked themselves in. 25 years passed, the city deserted and silent. Starvation set it, and thousands died in the initial months. Survivors began to link up the houses by tunnels, grouping together and sharing resources. It was during this time the survivors discovered their careless abuse of resources and invention had led to far more severe consequences than they had known. Fumes, seeping into the blocked houses, caused babies to mutate. When the groups realised what was occuring, they abandoned the children, fleeing from them to safer, more secure houses on west side of the city. Every time a women got pregnant, if the baby was mutated, on the far side of the city. 25 years ago, the smog began to lift. The people of Westside began to leave their homes for the first time in 25 years, and repopulate the city. Contact was made with House Velor, rulers of Velroum, and the House sent supplies and new inventors to reinstate the city to its forum glory. A new leader, Lady Ashara, was voted to rule Westside, as the smog still covered the Eastside. 25 years on, Lady Ashara sent a message to House Velor, informing them the smog had lifted. And with its departure came the Lost Children...

Will you heed the call of Dorum?


----------

Any feedback? How was that? Obviously this is for Steampunk....just an idea. I think it covers quite alot and gives plenty of room for development. Ladt Ashara could be an amazing person to develop. Constructs etc could be made.

@Erik - The idea of classes is excellent, thanks alot! and i'll check out the DMG.

@Neubert - Thanks, this idea is, clearly, Steampunk, for a bit of variety. With this there is always the option to simple have a "Steampunk State" and the rest of the world to be Classic D&D.

All feedback welcome!

Aedh

 

[Lakoda]

There is a column in LevelUp that does some "re-skinning" of powers to change the flavor; which seems along the lines of what Erik mentions, if you want another reference.

Personally, I'm a bit spent on the euro model, and I have never been in a big fan of oriental themes. Steampunk would be cool, though! I really like your lead in here, very flavorful.

 

[eriktheguy]

Hey Aedh, the setting looks great so far! Keep up the work. I actually like steam punk a lot (FF VI is my favorite game). This setting looks like it is going to be a little along the lines of horror. Exploring the smog layered east city, avoiding crazed mutants or mindless constructs, all patrolling the streets for their own purposes or purposelessness. From the description of your campaign, it sounds like most of the steam technology was lost in the 25 year event. In this case are the characters limited to regular weapons at fist? They are going to be thrilled when they find a steam powered chain sword or a rifle when they were expecting just a regular old +1 sword or bow.

Quests should also be easy to get the adventurers into. Find a family who never made it out of the East city, still marooned in some boarded up house somewhere. Search the lab of the late gnome inventor for secret treasures, while his still animate constructs protect his treasures long after his death.

 

[Aedh]

Hey, thanks for the response!

@ Lakoda - Thanks for the support, i'll be sure to check that out! As Arcane doesnt really fit in my world, I was thinking Tinkerer? Lots of gadgets etc. Maybe a Psionic link to their machines? Burning Hands = Flamer Gloves etc? Seemed like a pretty fun idea to me!

@ Erik - Thanks for the excellent responses! I was veering for horror, especially in this city. And I like the idea of stumbling across the coal weapons! Great stuff! The adventures were pretty sweet too =D

I was thinking, as for development for the country goes, a race between the Coal (Dorum) industries and a Clockwork industry. Coal is practical and purposeful...lots of hulking guards and iron and, indeed, smog.

Then there would be the Clockwork - all gold, silver, clean! A huge clockwork city, revolving in the sky? The two factions could compete for support from the House etc! Hows this fitting in? There wouldn't be a good or bad side, just two different industries? Leads to some interesting ideas...

Steam powered armour and, as you said, Chainswords.

Clockwork Guns? Steeds?

Or should I keep it all dark and coal based? This campaign will be for you guys aswell, so keep up the excellent responses!

yours

Aedh

 

[chronoplasm]

Why not all of the above?

You could have two empires warring against each other; the western empire (european) and the eastern empire (oriental). Maybe the western empire uses coal-based machines while the eastern empire uses clockwork?
It might also be interesting to have two more empires for north and south.
Maybe the northern empire could be based loosely on elder things to bring a Lovecraftian element into it; the forgotten empire slumbers beneath the ice in the north and has a biopunk theme.

 

[eriktheguy]

Hey, thanks for the response!

@ Lakoda - Thanks for the support, i'll be sure to check that out! As Arcane doesnt really fit in my world, I was thinking Tinkerer? Lots of gadgets etc. Maybe a Psionic link to their machines? Burning Hands = Flamer Gloves etc? Seemed like a pretty fun idea to me!

@ Erik - Thanks for the excellent responses! I was veering for horror, especially in this city. And I like the idea of stumbling across the coal weapons! Great stuff! The adventures were pretty sweet too =D

I was thinking, as for development for the country goes, a race between the Coal (Dorum) industries and a Clockwork industry. Coal is practical and purposeful...lots of hulking guards and iron and, indeed, smog.

Then there would be the Clockwork - all gold, silver, clean! A huge clockwork city, revolving in the sky? The two factions could compete for support from the House etc! Hows this fitting in? There wouldn't be a good or bad side, just two different industries? Leads to some interesting ideas...

Steam powered armour and, as you said, Chainswords.

Clockwork Guns? Steeds?

Or should I keep it all dark and coal based? This campaign will be for you guys aswell, so keep up the excellent responses!

yours

Aedh

Well, in reality clockwork doesn't make steeds/guns/guardians, but this is fantasy, so go for it! I'm assuming that the campaign combines magic with steam or clockwork. i.e. the steam golems run on coal, but their ability to follow orders and think in battle comes from magic.

Where do the clockwork machines get their energy from? Are they wind up, steam powered, or do they run completely on magic? Is the clockwork power an upgrade of its steam powered counterpart, or is it a different technology entirely. Did the clockwork empire rise out of the ashes of the coal cities disaster, or are they separate entities.
Steam and clockwork gives you plenty of leeway to introduce cool magic items.

If you want to make the two technologies distinct, perhaps the characters find some powerful powder or steam based guns in the ruins of Dorum only to discover they reload too slowly. Then, a tinkerer in Clockwork offers to upgrade them with a special clockwork reloading device that makes them more combat usable. The combination of the two technologies can lead to the most powerful items, but when the villain of the campaign finds out she begins plotting to create an indestructible army...

Steam blade: When you grip the hilt just so, scalding steam leaps from the blade.
Replaces flaming weapon
Special: A citizen of clockwork can install a mechanism to recharge the blade's daily power during a short rest by placing powdered coal in the back of the blade.

Steam armor: This suit of metal threatens to release bursts of steam when struck too hard.
Replaces razor armor
Special: A citizen of clockwork rigs the armor to deal damage to any attacker that hits at the user's command as a daily power.

 

[chronoplasm]

Where do the clockwork machines get their energy from?

From wound up springs.

The interesting thing about the clockwork guys is that they could have access to Babbage's difference engines and analytical engines.
Here's an idea:
Perhaps the coal golems gain their magical intelligence from fire elementals trapped inside them. Though powerful, they can be wild and chaotic at times.
The clockwork golems however have a computers of sorts inside them to reduce the need for magical animation. Clockwork golems tend to be calmer and more rational.