Prince of Happiness
First Post
Devyn said:
F'n coooooooooooooooooooooooooooooool!!!
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What minor worldbuilding details have you added to your campaign world?
- Thread starter Whizbang Dustyboots
- Start date
F'n coooooooooooooooooooooooooooooool!!!
el-remmen
Moderator Emeritus
I have a ton of that stuff for Aquerra, so much it is hard to pick out any few examples. . .
Let's see an example of each race:
* Dwarves: Dwarves believe anything of importance should be discussed standing up, and always stand to receive news or make any business agreements.
* Elves do believe in and practice marriage, but have a very open attitude to love. It is not uncommon for elves of the same sex to marry and it has even been known for three elves that love each other greatly to all marry each other. These types of relationships are openly accepted in elven culture, but since this is most often misunderstood by other races, elves tend to think of themselves as superior in that way. An old elven saying is, Humans do not live long enough to learn the intricacies of love. They also have a less developed incest taboo than other races, and cousins and siblings are allowed to marry, as are nephews/nieces to their uncles/aunts. However, the taboo against romantic or sexual relationships with a parent/child is still very strong.
* Gnomes: All gnomes value their noses and talk of them proudly. A long and large nose is a sign of good luck and prosperity to gnomes. Ironically, humans use the term "longnose" to try to insult gnomes, who chuckle to themselves believing themselves complimented.
* Halflings: Morningfeast: Once a week, devout halflings have a very structured morning meal to honor their goddess Rhianwen. It is held in several halfling households, with several neighborhood families going over to a different family's home for the meal each week.
* Lizardfolk: Parenthood is not a strongly held custom among lizardfolk. Typically, lizardfolk young are raised collectively by a tribe, with familial-like bonds being made between "clutch-brothers", and whatever tribe elder a lizardfolk might happen to bond to by means of showing skill at a particular task. There is a high mortality rate among lizardfolk young, which contributes to this custom of no particular bonding with adults until they have lived five or six years. And, lizardfolk will eat their young under certain conditions.
Let's see an example of each race:
* Dwarves: Dwarves believe anything of importance should be discussed standing up, and always stand to receive news or make any business agreements.
* Elves do believe in and practice marriage, but have a very open attitude to love. It is not uncommon for elves of the same sex to marry and it has even been known for three elves that love each other greatly to all marry each other. These types of relationships are openly accepted in elven culture, but since this is most often misunderstood by other races, elves tend to think of themselves as superior in that way. An old elven saying is, Humans do not live long enough to learn the intricacies of love. They also have a less developed incest taboo than other races, and cousins and siblings are allowed to marry, as are nephews/nieces to their uncles/aunts. However, the taboo against romantic or sexual relationships with a parent/child is still very strong.
* Gnomes: All gnomes value their noses and talk of them proudly. A long and large nose is a sign of good luck and prosperity to gnomes. Ironically, humans use the term "longnose" to try to insult gnomes, who chuckle to themselves believing themselves complimented.
* Halflings: Morningfeast: Once a week, devout halflings have a very structured morning meal to honor their goddess Rhianwen. It is held in several halfling households, with several neighborhood families going over to a different family's home for the meal each week.
* Lizardfolk: Parenthood is not a strongly held custom among lizardfolk. Typically, lizardfolk young are raised collectively by a tribe, with familial-like bonds being made between "clutch-brothers", and whatever tribe elder a lizardfolk might happen to bond to by means of showing skill at a particular task. There is a high mortality rate among lizardfolk young, which contributes to this custom of no particular bonding with adults until they have lived five or six years. And, lizardfolk will eat their young under certain conditions.
A few details from the World of CITY...
... it's entirely possible that the Devil spends most of his time in a certain hotel bar, drinking gin and playing canasta.
... the high temple of the goddess of love is called 'the shapely Pleasuredome'. It's on Xanadu St...
... the goddess of love won divinity as part of divorce settlement.
... another goddess used to be a waitress.
... the holy ovens in one city are lit by men made of fire (Azer). They invented trade unionism.
.. the most famous artist in the world is a romance novelist named Arabia Wainwright. Author of At Long Last Lost Love, Shogun, Show Me Your Heart, and the Refusal Trilogy which begins with No Love Like Death. Unknown to most, she is world's greatest historian.
... there's a sport played at university calling 'Skulling'. It's like rugby played by knights in full armor. A ball is involved. As are flails, hammers, and mauls.
... there are monkey-men who ride collie dogs and teach the martial arts.
... one part of CITY is infested with tiny gods, the Leeres and Pinyates. Leeres are little red peeping-tom imps. Pinyates break open a scatter minor miracles when beaten with a stick.
... there's a barbaric people called the Polyneecheeans. They wear grass skirts, smear themselves with cocoa butter before battle, and believe they are the master race. They wordhip Tiki-Ishii, the volcano on their home island. Which exploded it a fit of divine pique..
You get the idea.
... it's entirely possible that the Devil spends most of his time in a certain hotel bar, drinking gin and playing canasta.
... the high temple of the goddess of love is called 'the shapely Pleasuredome'. It's on Xanadu St...
... the goddess of love won divinity as part of divorce settlement.
... another goddess used to be a waitress.
... the holy ovens in one city are lit by men made of fire (Azer). They invented trade unionism.
.. the most famous artist in the world is a romance novelist named Arabia Wainwright. Author of At Long Last Lost Love, Shogun, Show Me Your Heart, and the Refusal Trilogy which begins with No Love Like Death. Unknown to most, she is world's greatest historian.
... there's a sport played at university calling 'Skulling'. It's like rugby played by knights in full armor. A ball is involved. As are flails, hammers, and mauls.
... there are monkey-men who ride collie dogs and teach the martial arts.
... one part of CITY is infested with tiny gods, the Leeres and Pinyates. Leeres are little red peeping-tom imps. Pinyates break open a scatter minor miracles when beaten with a stick.
... there's a barbaric people called the Polyneecheeans. They wear grass skirts, smear themselves with cocoa butter before battle, and believe they are the master race. They wordhip Tiki-Ishii, the volcano on their home island. Which exploded it a fit of divine pique..
You get the idea.
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Roadkill101
Explorer
Anymore I use a homebrew setting. It's been influnced by Robert Jordan's "Wheel of Time" series, such that magic and hi-tech can co-exist side by side, where one can bolster the other. Some places are heavy in magic use, some places are heavy in tech use, some places balance the two, while in yet even more places the use of one or the other ot both are shunned/feared and mistrusted.
Magic is skill that is semi-psionic (a mind over matter concept) in outlook. It is broken down into eight different schools that must be learned to produce various spell effects. Some of the schools overlap to various degree's.
Most intelligent races other than human (i.e. demi-humans and humanoids) are mutations of human stock. Such mutants come from either a lab (scientific and/or magical), or have evolved naturally due to some form of long term (think generations) radiation exposure. Interbreeding is not possible between the races (no half anythings).
The universe was created by on over-deity who in turn created the other deities (for a single pantheon totalling nine). The next two most powerful deities have been exiled and only a true priest may speak their names without fear of being paid a visit by a divine agent. All of the deities are neutral in outlook with various sub-aspects of good/evil and law/chaos.
A day is thirty hours long. A month consists of five, seven day weeks (always thirty-five days). Equinoxes and solstices (two each) fall on the third day of a five day Holyweek, that is always between months. There is no leap year.
BTW, this is not run using any form of D20 based systems.
Magic is skill that is semi-psionic (a mind over matter concept) in outlook. It is broken down into eight different schools that must be learned to produce various spell effects. Some of the schools overlap to various degree's.
Most intelligent races other than human (i.e. demi-humans and humanoids) are mutations of human stock. Such mutants come from either a lab (scientific and/or magical), or have evolved naturally due to some form of long term (think generations) radiation exposure. Interbreeding is not possible between the races (no half anythings).
The universe was created by on over-deity who in turn created the other deities (for a single pantheon totalling nine). The next two most powerful deities have been exiled and only a true priest may speak their names without fear of being paid a visit by a divine agent. All of the deities are neutral in outlook with various sub-aspects of good/evil and law/chaos.
A day is thirty hours long. A month consists of five, seven day weeks (always thirty-five days). Equinoxes and solstices (two each) fall on the third day of a five day Holyweek, that is always between months. There is no leap year.
BTW, this is not run using any form of D20 based systems.
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Crothian
First Post
Dwarves have a toast "Grum the Stout". Any mention of Grumm around dwarves will cause the dwarves to shout back the toast and drink whatever alcohol is in front of them.
The word Shadow has evil connotation
Knights of the Valentane are always trustworthy and honorable.
Lady Haverlorn is the most beautiful women period.
The word Shadow has evil connotation
Knights of the Valentane are always trustworthy and honorable.
Lady Haverlorn is the most beautiful women period.
Justin Cray
First Post
Adamantine can only be worked with adamantine tools. There is a "First Tool" and a lineage of tools. There are families of tools, each with distinct characteristics. Where did the First Tool come from and the following tools are part of philosophy.
At least that's what dwarves think.
At least that's what dwarves think.
Aeric
Explorer
Fashion.
Clothing is taken for granted in most games I've seen, and it usually ends up a mish-mash of different styles from different eras. While I don't need (or necessarily want) my games to have a historical look or feel to them, I do need (and want!) some consistency. When I flip through a book like Eberron and see a guy dressed like a Mongol talking to a woman in what looks like a contemporary evening gown, I cringe. It shatters my suspension of disbelief. So for my world, I drew examples of different outfits for men and women for each of the world's cultures. I don't know if it's important to any of my players, but it's important to me!
Clothing is taken for granted in most games I've seen, and it usually ends up a mish-mash of different styles from different eras. While I don't need (or necessarily want) my games to have a historical look or feel to them, I do need (and want!) some consistency. When I flip through a book like Eberron and see a guy dressed like a Mongol talking to a woman in what looks like a contemporary evening gown, I cringe. It shatters my suspension of disbelief. So for my world, I drew examples of different outfits for men and women for each of the world's cultures. I don't know if it's important to any of my players, but it's important to me!
A few of the things:
Some classes or variants are restricted to certain regions.
Cultural naming practices
Clothing and adornment by culture, social rank, clan, clerical order and/or organization
Cultural Weapon groups for the different "barbarian" peoples.
Tenents for divine casters of each deity
The priestesses of the deity Shitarra all have their hair turn silver upon taking their final vows.
Some legends, stories, etc that only characters starting from a given culture know.
A set of monsters automatically known by culture
Some classes or variants are restricted to certain regions.
Cultural naming practices
Clothing and adornment by culture, social rank, clan, clerical order and/or organization
Cultural Weapon groups for the different "barbarian" peoples.
Tenents for divine casters of each deity
The priestesses of the deity Shitarra all have their hair turn silver upon taking their final vows.
Some legends, stories, etc that only characters starting from a given culture know.
A set of monsters automatically known by culture
In my Greyhawk campaign, there's a different visual effect for the followers of various gods' undead turning. Pholtus's is light radiating out from the skeleton's body, while Zagyg's is a kazoo sound while the skeleton's head spins around and pops off. Those are the only two I've thought up (the only two PC clerics).
I'm Cleo!
I'm Cleo!
mhacdebhandia
Explorer
Incidentally, I see this a lot, but it's grammatically incorrect.Roadkill101 said:
You mean to say "These days I use a homebrew setting" or "I don't use anything but a homebrew setting anymore".
So that this post isn't entirely rude correction of someone else's English . . .
In the Wasteland, nearly all wizards (as opposed to sorcerers, hexblades, and warlocks) are trained for three years by a single mentor, then exchanged for another wizard's student for a further year and a day. It's very common for rivals to arrange apprentice exchanges, both in order to deride their counterpart's methods and teachings and to ferret out what secrets they can from the hapless apprentice.
Because necromancy dominates the body of magical knowledge in the Wasteland, most settlements where magic is widely-used cling to religious or philosophical beliefs which firmly hold that the soul is the essential "self", and that the body is nothing more than a shell for this spirit. That said, people can be emotional in contradiction to their beliefs, so all but the most heartless and uncaring (or powerful) mages conceal the forms and features of their undead servants lest someone recognise a loved one's corpse lurching around.
Among the druidic sects of the Wasteland's frontier and wilderness areas, druids and rangers are considered spiritually equal; spellcasting ability is not the measure of wisdom, merely a side-effect of one's particular focus. It's as common for a ranger to serve as the spiritual head of a sect as for a druid to hold that position. The only exception is that it's extremely rare for new minority sects to form around a wise or charismatic ranger; almost all are first founded by druids.
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