Setting Search Innovations!
MaxKaladin
First Post
I had a henotheistic religion, for starteds. (worships one god, but does not deny the existance of other gods. In fact, this was important since other gods were said to have been created by the one god and who rebelled against him giving all sorts of crusading goodness.)
I also established a network of magical nexii which had the effect of making magical items easier to make, among other things. I was going to charge 10 times the xp for making an item anywhere but at a nexus (except for scrolls and potions). This would cause the nexii to be highly sought after and fought over, often kept secret, and generally great plot developments.
I also established a network of magical nexii which had the effect of making magical items easier to make, among other things. I was going to charge 10 times the xp for making an item anywhere but at a nexus (except for scrolls and potions). This would cause the nexii to be highly sought after and fought over, often kept secret, and generally great plot developments.
I had a couple crazy ideas, tied to the setting. The region was an Egyptian-style mythos with five native intelligent species. The natives were the Bastites (cats), Anubites (jackals), and Apshaians (insects), with the Refugees being Dwarves and Humans. No elves/halflings/gnomes/halforcs/halfelves.
The setting was a vast desert, with twin rivers flowing seperated by miles of wasteland down to the sea. Corruption was a physical part of the world - the waters of the rivers were actually the blood of a God that had been impaled in a war long forgotten. Get too close to the source of the rivers, and strange corruptions started happening to any who drank from it. However, the same power that caused the corruptions sustained life - get too far away from the "source," and the water would no longer "nourish" anybody, causing them to die of dehydration.
As a side-study, I was wondering what would happen to Dwarves who didn't have hard rock and metals to mine and work. Virtually all the terrain was desert or loose soil, with no real minable areas. The race, such as it was, was dying off, retreating more and more into "dreamforges," mystically created dreams in which the metals and ores of their forefathers could be brought into reality.
There was some other funky stuff as well...
The setting was a vast desert, with twin rivers flowing seperated by miles of wasteland down to the sea. Corruption was a physical part of the world - the waters of the rivers were actually the blood of a God that had been impaled in a war long forgotten. Get too close to the source of the rivers, and strange corruptions started happening to any who drank from it. However, the same power that caused the corruptions sustained life - get too far away from the "source," and the water would no longer "nourish" anybody, causing them to die of dehydration.
As a side-study, I was wondering what would happen to Dwarves who didn't have hard rock and metals to mine and work. Virtually all the terrain was desert or loose soil, with no real minable areas. The race, such as it was, was dying off, retreating more and more into "dreamforges," mystically created dreams in which the metals and ores of their forefathers could be brought into reality.
There was some other funky stuff as well...
I was trying to create a world where legends about monsters lurking at the edges of civilization had basis in the nature of the world. In the cities at the heart of humanity, only humans lived, in stodgy kingdoms like medieval Europe.
As you went out from here, towards the wilderness, people had more belief in legends, and more legendary things could exist. Border villages could encounter elves, dwarves, halflings, and be raided by goblins, but the city folk near the capitol would just shake their heads at the backwardness of those people. You had to go out even farther to find the really fantastic creatures, manticores and basilisks and dragons.
I was trying to tie this to a Belief rating for each region, 0 on up. In a region with belief 0, only humans lived, and no spellcasting. In a region with belief 1, CR up to 1 creatures might be found. I figured I would need to modify CR by creature type (a skeleton or zombie is more unbelieveable than a dwarf or orc, in my mind), and the whole system kind of collapsed under its own weight. If I went by straight CR, after all, you couldn't find a CR 4 Rhinoceros until the same region where you could find a CR 4 young black dragon (for example).
I never could figure a simple way to clearly define and explain this, so I never bothered to submit it. It's a shame, I liked the idea.
As you went out from here, towards the wilderness, people had more belief in legends, and more legendary things could exist. Border villages could encounter elves, dwarves, halflings, and be raided by goblins, but the city folk near the capitol would just shake their heads at the backwardness of those people. You had to go out even farther to find the really fantastic creatures, manticores and basilisks and dragons.
I was trying to tie this to a Belief rating for each region, 0 on up. In a region with belief 0, only humans lived, and no spellcasting. In a region with belief 1, CR up to 1 creatures might be found. I figured I would need to modify CR by creature type (a skeleton or zombie is more unbelieveable than a dwarf or orc, in my mind), and the whole system kind of collapsed under its own weight. If I went by straight CR, after all, you couldn't find a CR 4 Rhinoceros until the same region where you could find a CR 4 young black dragon (for example).
I never could figure a simple way to clearly define and explain this, so I never bothered to submit it. It's a shame, I liked the idea.
Jürgen Hubert
First Post
The one rules addition was that in my world are so-called "Nexus Towers" - magical pieces of architecture that can draw upon the life force of beings in its vincity to create magic items or power epic spells.
Here is what I can up with so far:
---------------------------------
Nexus Towers
Nexus towers draw upon the life force of living beings, and use this energy to create mighty spells, or craft magic items in great numbers. It could be argued that it is the nexus tower that is primarily responsible for modern urban civilisation, for the nexus towers are the reason most cities were created in the first place, and it is the nexus towers that continue to make these cities possible.
In general, a city has one nexus tower for each 100,000 to 300,000 inhabitants. If it had more, the magical emanations of the towers would interfere with each other's operation. If it had less, the nexus towers wouldn't be able to harvest the magical energies from all of its inhabitants.
Nexus Towers in Operation
Each nexus tower generates a base number of one energy point each year for each living being with a Charisma of 3 or greater within its area of operation (usually a specific neighborhood of a city, although if a community is small enough, it might be the only nexus tower in it). This number is modified by the following conditions:
Strength of Life Energy Drain: The operators of the nexus tower can decide on drawing more life energy from the inhabitants of its vincity than normal. Doing this is dangerous, however, as the people are starting to feel adverse effects from the drain. The following levels are possible:
* Slight Drain: The drain isn't noticeable for all but the most sensitive people, and any lost energy is soon replenished. The number of energy points generated is unchanged.
* Moderate Drain: The people in the area of operation are starting to feel apathetic. Anyone living there will loose one point of Charisma each month up to a maximum of -2. Moving away will cause the Charisma loss to regenerate at a rate of one point per month, but this loss cannot be healed through magical means except by a wish or miracle spell or equivalent. The number of energy points generated is multiplied by two.
* Severe Drain: It is hard to motivate the people who live in the area of operation to do anything other than their daily routine, and beings with a low life force will soon become cataconic and die. Anyone living there will loose one point of Charisma each month up to a maximum of -6. Moving away will cause the Charisma loss to regenerate at a rate of one point per month, but this loss cannot be healed through magical means except by a wish or miracle spell or equivalent. The number of energy points generated is multiplied by three.
* Deadly Drain: The pain everyone experiences in the area of operation as his life force is sucked out of his body is so intense that they can do little except eat and drink, and even that requires some effort. Anyone living there will loose one point of Charisma each month, and once their Charisma reaches 0, they will become cataconic and die unless tended to. Moving away will cause the Charisma loss to regenerate at a rate of one point per month, but this loss cannot be healed through magical means except by a wish or miracle spell or equivalent. The number of energy points generated is multiplied by four.
City Planning: Gathering life energy with nexus towers isn't just a matter of building a tower and waiting for the energy to come. The surrounding cityscape can have a tremendous effect on the efficiency of the gathering process. If buildings are located in the wrong places, they can interfere with the gathering process and let large amounts of energy go wasted. On the other hand, if all the streets and buildings are placed in a way to optimize the flows of energy, little or nothing of it is lost. The level of city planning is represented by the following categories:
* No City Planning: The nexus towers are built more as an afterthought, or the builders didn't want to alter the city just for gathering more energy. Regardless, buildings and streets are located without any regard for the needs of the energy flows. The number of energy points generated is divided by four.
* Minor city planning: The major throughfares and a few public buildings are placed according to arcane principles, but nothing more than those. The number of energy points generated is divided by two.
* Normal city planning: All streets are placed according to the principles of mystical architecture, and most buildings have to be built according to certain height and basic shape requirements. The number of energy points generated is unchanged.
* Strict city planning: All building plans and sites have to be approved by a central authority, which demands specific requirements for the size and shape of the building, up to exterior ornamentation of the building. The number of energy points generated is doubled.
* Invasive city planning: The level of detail neccessary to maintain this level of city planning demands exact strictures for the build of each room in every building. Regular inspections of each room are required to make sure that the furniture is placed in the right way. The number of energy points generated is multiplied by four.
All energy points gathered by the nexus tower have to be used within a year, or they are lost. The energy is generated continuously - if it is neccessary to calculate the gathered over a shorter period of time, reduce the amount proportionally.
Using Nexus Towers
The energy gathered within nexus towers can generally be used for two things: They can either be used to create magic items, or to cast epic spells. The persons who use the nexus tower for these jobs need to be within specially prepared chambers within the tower.
Creating Magic Items: If the nexus tower was created to support the manufacture of a certain type of magic item, the gathered energy can be used to pay for the XP cost normally associated with creating that item. Ten energy points can be exchanged for one XP in this way. All other requirements for creating magical items still apply.
Casting Epic Spells: If a spellcaster is within the tower's ritual chamber (usually located at or near the top of the building), he can cast epic spells (see the Epic Level Handbook for details) as if he had the Epic Spellcasting feat, even if he does not meet the prerequisites for this feat. Unlike normal epic spells, spells that require a nexus tower to function can be written down, copied, and learned by other spellcasters normally (the DC for the Spellcraft check to learn such a spell is 25). All other requirements for epic spells apply normally. A spellcaster has one epic spell slot for each full ten ranks in his Knowledge skill appropriate to his way of spellcasting (in other words, a spellcaster needs at least 10 ranks in his Knowledge skill to use this aspect of Nexus Towers at all). Only a single spellcaster can draw upon the energy of a nexus tower at the same time, but spellcasters in other nexus towers that are within line-of-sight of the first one can help with the spell as additional participants (see page 92 of the Epic Level Handbook), with each tower contributing an additional epic spell slot to the ritual. Drawing upon the energy of a nexus tower in this way costs 1,900 energy points for each epic spell slot used.
----------------------------
Note that I am still trying to develop this stuff - you can see it on my home page here - so I'd like to here some comments about how you would view it in terms of game balance and so on...
Here is what I can up with so far:
---------------------------------
Nexus Towers
Nexus towers draw upon the life force of living beings, and use this energy to create mighty spells, or craft magic items in great numbers. It could be argued that it is the nexus tower that is primarily responsible for modern urban civilisation, for the nexus towers are the reason most cities were created in the first place, and it is the nexus towers that continue to make these cities possible.
In general, a city has one nexus tower for each 100,000 to 300,000 inhabitants. If it had more, the magical emanations of the towers would interfere with each other's operation. If it had less, the nexus towers wouldn't be able to harvest the magical energies from all of its inhabitants.
Nexus Towers in Operation
Each nexus tower generates a base number of one energy point each year for each living being with a Charisma of 3 or greater within its area of operation (usually a specific neighborhood of a city, although if a community is small enough, it might be the only nexus tower in it). This number is modified by the following conditions:
Strength of Life Energy Drain: The operators of the nexus tower can decide on drawing more life energy from the inhabitants of its vincity than normal. Doing this is dangerous, however, as the people are starting to feel adverse effects from the drain. The following levels are possible:
* Slight Drain: The drain isn't noticeable for all but the most sensitive people, and any lost energy is soon replenished. The number of energy points generated is unchanged.
* Moderate Drain: The people in the area of operation are starting to feel apathetic. Anyone living there will loose one point of Charisma each month up to a maximum of -2. Moving away will cause the Charisma loss to regenerate at a rate of one point per month, but this loss cannot be healed through magical means except by a wish or miracle spell or equivalent. The number of energy points generated is multiplied by two.
* Severe Drain: It is hard to motivate the people who live in the area of operation to do anything other than their daily routine, and beings with a low life force will soon become cataconic and die. Anyone living there will loose one point of Charisma each month up to a maximum of -6. Moving away will cause the Charisma loss to regenerate at a rate of one point per month, but this loss cannot be healed through magical means except by a wish or miracle spell or equivalent. The number of energy points generated is multiplied by three.
* Deadly Drain: The pain everyone experiences in the area of operation as his life force is sucked out of his body is so intense that they can do little except eat and drink, and even that requires some effort. Anyone living there will loose one point of Charisma each month, and once their Charisma reaches 0, they will become cataconic and die unless tended to. Moving away will cause the Charisma loss to regenerate at a rate of one point per month, but this loss cannot be healed through magical means except by a wish or miracle spell or equivalent. The number of energy points generated is multiplied by four.
City Planning: Gathering life energy with nexus towers isn't just a matter of building a tower and waiting for the energy to come. The surrounding cityscape can have a tremendous effect on the efficiency of the gathering process. If buildings are located in the wrong places, they can interfere with the gathering process and let large amounts of energy go wasted. On the other hand, if all the streets and buildings are placed in a way to optimize the flows of energy, little or nothing of it is lost. The level of city planning is represented by the following categories:
* No City Planning: The nexus towers are built more as an afterthought, or the builders didn't want to alter the city just for gathering more energy. Regardless, buildings and streets are located without any regard for the needs of the energy flows. The number of energy points generated is divided by four.
* Minor city planning: The major throughfares and a few public buildings are placed according to arcane principles, but nothing more than those. The number of energy points generated is divided by two.
* Normal city planning: All streets are placed according to the principles of mystical architecture, and most buildings have to be built according to certain height and basic shape requirements. The number of energy points generated is unchanged.
* Strict city planning: All building plans and sites have to be approved by a central authority, which demands specific requirements for the size and shape of the building, up to exterior ornamentation of the building. The number of energy points generated is doubled.
* Invasive city planning: The level of detail neccessary to maintain this level of city planning demands exact strictures for the build of each room in every building. Regular inspections of each room are required to make sure that the furniture is placed in the right way. The number of energy points generated is multiplied by four.
All energy points gathered by the nexus tower have to be used within a year, or they are lost. The energy is generated continuously - if it is neccessary to calculate the gathered over a shorter period of time, reduce the amount proportionally.
Using Nexus Towers
The energy gathered within nexus towers can generally be used for two things: They can either be used to create magic items, or to cast epic spells. The persons who use the nexus tower for these jobs need to be within specially prepared chambers within the tower.
Creating Magic Items: If the nexus tower was created to support the manufacture of a certain type of magic item, the gathered energy can be used to pay for the XP cost normally associated with creating that item. Ten energy points can be exchanged for one XP in this way. All other requirements for creating magical items still apply.
Casting Epic Spells: If a spellcaster is within the tower's ritual chamber (usually located at or near the top of the building), he can cast epic spells (see the Epic Level Handbook for details) as if he had the Epic Spellcasting feat, even if he does not meet the prerequisites for this feat. Unlike normal epic spells, spells that require a nexus tower to function can be written down, copied, and learned by other spellcasters normally (the DC for the Spellcraft check to learn such a spell is 25). All other requirements for epic spells apply normally. A spellcaster has one epic spell slot for each full ten ranks in his Knowledge skill appropriate to his way of spellcasting (in other words, a spellcaster needs at least 10 ranks in his Knowledge skill to use this aspect of Nexus Towers at all). Only a single spellcaster can draw upon the energy of a nexus tower at the same time, but spellcasters in other nexus towers that are within line-of-sight of the first one can help with the spell as additional participants (see page 92 of the Epic Level Handbook), with each tower contributing an additional epic spell slot to the ritual. Drawing upon the energy of a nexus tower in this way costs 1,900 energy points for each epic spell slot used.
----------------------------
Note that I am still trying to develop this stuff - you can see it on my home page here - so I'd like to here some comments about how you would view it in terms of game balance and so on...
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