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World Building

When you publishers are creating worlds, do you take into account the clash of nations? Civilizations striving against each other, borders moving back and forth? Nations falling, with their culture being forgotten? Tech level disparities?

I'm just curious. (I'm in an Art History class, and we're covering from the Stone Age through the Iron Age, so big differences in tech levels....)
 

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Skald

First Post
Yes I do. I only have one product now, but within Maidenheim the clash of nations is much more volatile and prevalent than wide-scale conflicts with humanoids or monsters. In fact, this is one of the major themes of the setting. These nations of women fight and war far more among themselves than they do with barbarian invaders or even humanoids, at least for now. Cultures and ideas have been lost, old nations and deities have fallen and have been forgotten, territories and resources are still fought and argued over; kind of like real life.

As far as tech levels, I read in another thread somewhere on this board that clashing tech levels could coexist at the same time, like having a Bronze Age culture still existing near an Iron Age one. Maidenheim combines both of these tech levels simultaneously, with some nations and regions are still using bronzed weapons and armors, while others have already made or are making the transition to iron and steel. This transition stage places them all more or less on the same technological scale.

For the most part, I think the final product has satisifed those who have purchased the setting. Without the conflicting nations, I wouldn't even have taken the time to write and publish Maidenheim in the first place.
 
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mythusmage

Banned
Banned
I'm also using clashing nations in a world building project. You can catch a glimpse of it on my Author's page on The Gaming Outpost (link in sig below). You'll find it under the "Writing Practice" entries for April of this year.

To make a long story short, country A hated nonhumans. Country B had (and still has) a liberal policy re same. A tried to exterminate nonhumans. B spoke out against it. A declared war on B. B won. It got more involved than that, put that's the gist of it where A and B are concerned.

That part of the history has yet to be written, and there are more than two countries involved in the war.
 


Mystic Eye

First Post
Absolutely, In our Worldbook we discuss how each nation views each other. Who is allied and at war with who, etc.
We have nations with border disputes, nations who are bent on conquest, some that just want to keep their old views, etc.

All that and we have a globally reaching church that is LN in alignment so all those that don't follow them are simply wrong and need to be set right by sermon or fire.

That kind if intrigue can make a campaign in the long run IMHO.
 

Wolvorine

First Post
I've been wondering, personally, about format. I've been wanting to put together all the stray pieces of the campaign world I've been creating off n' on for the past 15 or so years, but I'm not sure how to organize it all. Is there any form of standard format that anyone uses? How do you break it down into logical, followable sections that allow you to cover... well, everything?
 

Frilf

Explorer
Our upcoming campaign world features political, racial, and tech-level differentials between the various nations. One of the primary features of our world is the fact that there is so much political struggle going on, in addition to the typical good v. evil conflict. Just my $.02 on that.

In our upcoming gazetteers, geo-political information will be included for each nation of the continents of the world. As far as how to organize it, we're still working on the final formatting details for that :)
 


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