D&D 5E Ideas For a World of Islands? (+thread)

[77IM]

I was planning an island campaign a while back (I ditched it in favor of Ghosts of Saltmarsh, which was a mistake; that's a good campaign but most of it is sadly land-based). The dominant religion was worship of the Moon as a goddess, because of her control over tides. Although the details of her worship varied considerably from place to place, one universal was that the priestesses of the Moon were respected as judges in disputes, leading to a legal framework that was just barely standardized enough to support widespread commerce and travel.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

I was planning an island campaign a while back (I ditched it in favor of Ghosts of Saltmarsh, which was a mistake; that's a good campaign but most of it is sadly land-based). The dominant religion was worship of the Moon as a goddess, because of her control over tides. Although the details of her worship varied considerably from place to place, one universal was that the priestesses of the Moon were respected as judges in disputes, leading to a legal framework that was just barely standardized enough to support widespread commerce and travel.

I keep seeing ideas like this, and I have to wonder...how much of history do y'all think had trade and travel governed by strongly structured legal frameworks?

 

[Eltab]

I keep seeing ideas like this, and I have to wonder...how much of history do y'all think had trade and travel governed by strongly structured legal frameworks?

IIRC, the oldest written documents are inventory lists. So trade needs some 'rules of the road' in order to work. How much structure that means? I dunno.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

IIRC, the oldest written documents are inventory lists. So trade needs some 'rules of the road' in order to work. How much structure that means? I dunno.

Does it? It benefits from it, but require? Nah. Just requires everyone bing able to fend off or discourage or avoid bandits, and seeing trade as better than the short term benefit of theft or robbery of a trade partner.

Anyway, this is a tangent. Trade certainly benefits from all involved parties being relatively peaceful and agreeing to common rules regarding trade and travel.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

What about the Gods, then?

Or more accurately, what about religion?

I definitely prefer an Eberron take where multiple types of religion can make sense, because there isn't a proven and undeniable set of gods who absolutely definitely exist, but on the other hand I want to play around with DnD and IRL gods in fun ways.

I think that might work by stealing a bit from Keith Baker's ideas about the Dwarven clan founders and the heroic tales of each clan. If you are a Kundurak Dwarf, you tell stories about Kundurak and his exploits, but many of those stories are actually things that a dwarf a thousand years removed from the life of Kundurak did. As well, your exploits may eventually become stories that dwarves tell about Kundarak.

Translating that to the gods, a were-wolf knight who fights bravely and ferociously, but with honor, and leads others into battle with them and inspires them to greater honor and courage and ferocity like a wolf leading their pack, becomes the Red Witch in her guise as the wolf-knight. Your works become stories told about the Red Witch. Some of your later level class abilities might be flavored as blessing of the Red Witch, and no one actually knows if she is literally real of if even her oldest stories are the stories of mortal heroes deified in song and epic poem, but everyone knows that She blesses those who serve her well and embody her ideals.

So, that leads to three ways to handle the gods, which can be left up to the DM and/or the group as a whole.

1. The Gods are literally real, always have been, and don't need worship at all. The impact the world mostly through inspiriation because most of them agree that it's the best way to be gods of a world, and those who disagree are outnumbered and overpowered. Sometimes the gods knock on your door and test your hospitality, but most stories about the gods are actually about people who have been inspired by the gods.
2. The Gods are stories. Full stop. The world exists mechanistically, and gods exist exactly because they are worshiped and stories are told about them and the deeds of heroes attributed to them. When the gods bless you, it is actually a result of your deeds and prayers interacting with the unconscious collective will of all those who believe in the gods.
3. The gods are real, and some have always been real, but others became gods due to stories and faith. Like Irish mythology or even Greek myth, heroes can become gods, but the main/oldest gods simply are, were before mortals existed, and will be long after the world ends.

So, that being said, what sort of stories are told about various gods, and who are the most common gods across the islands of the world?

The Raven Queen - patron of Death, War, Fate, Navigation, dangerous power, trickery, and corvids. Despises undeath, pursues war as the terror of death, striking from shadow or obfuscating an attack with illusion or trickery, striking primarily when a single strike can accomplish the goal, and then fading back into darkness. Dichotomy of trickery and terrifying competence of the best assassins and duelists. Delights in "the crowing" wherein a single champion will call out an enemy captain to single combat before a battle, and demoralise the enemy force in that captain's defeat. Aso a patron of those who wield dangerous and forbidden power while fighting against it's corruption. Often sought out by those who regret warlock deals and are seeking a way to work against their "patron", or a way out of doing more harm than good. Her gift to such individuals is simply the ability to keep their power without being forced to do their patron's will. Lastly, patron of those who seek power and knowledge and aren't afraid to be put through hardship and self-sacrifice to gain it. Like a cross between Odin and The Morrigan.

• Patron of Shadar-kai, Changelings, Kenku, were-ravens, assassins, duelists, and warlocks.

The Red Witch - patron of War, Transformation, Lycanthropes, The Hunt, the moons and tides, and wolves.

• Pursues War honorably but with a ferocity that ignores self preservation.
• Loves a fight that involves defending the innocent against overwhelming odds, and/or leading those who saw themselves as weak, and making them see and accept "the wolf within".
• Delights in those who take down enemies seemingly much more powerful than them, though she doesn't not favor those who hunt dangerous game just for the thrill. Instead, she demands that such thrill seekers seek out monsters and enemies who threaten those who lack the power to defend themselves.
• Would be a patron of heroes who defend a small town from the overwhelming forces of a bandit lord, or those who hunt a rampaging dragon.

The Lady of Silver Mists - secrets, the hunt, asymmetrical warfare, mists, and those who explore deep into the unknown and learn more about the world as a result.


Moradin - patron of builders, settlers of new islands, defenders against supernatural evil, druids who work with settlements to live sustainably within the natural world, and the cycle of renewal that comes after destruction, both in the context of nature, and of civilization rebuilding after disaster or war.

The Lady of Silver Mists is the spymaster of the Three Sisters, who creates the conditions for their forces' success. She is a patron of guerilla fighters, revolutionary provocateurs, and of noble vampires. Her blessings often bring mists that shroud one's allies without impeding their vision, allowing the warriors and assassins of her sister's chosen to do their bloody work. What few realize is that of the three, she is the most lethal, the most dangerous. The secret hand in the mist.

Pelor - patron of those who bring light into dark places, god of renewal and hope, athletes, voyagers, and the joy of the open sea and a strong wind at your back.

called The Rising Sun and The Dawning Hope, often shown as a barrel chested older man of especially dark skin with a huge smile of perfect teeth and hands the size of a man's head, and long flowing curling red hair that shines like the dawn.

Champions include paladins and rangers who wander in search of just causes, known for risking their lives to achieve justice for people with no relationship to them in any way, and using whatever wealth they attain to bring up those who have less. Also often take in orphans and train them to follow the Dawn, and often end up as surrogate parents to extensive found families.

When someone says that a smile is bright as the dawn, they're referring to Pelor and his champions.


Melora - The Wild Heart - patron of hunters, divers, goddess of storms and untamed wilderness.

Sehanine - patron of scouts, thieves (especially those who target challenging heists and/or marks who "deserve it"), noble lycanthropes, most animal-folk and shifters, changelings, secret lovers, just retribution against abusers who are above the law or otherwise untouched by traditional justice, sex in general, and navigation by the stars.

Goddess of the Moon, lover of The Red Witch, sister of Melora,

Depicted usually as a lithe, dark, raven-haired, silver-eyed, hunter in dark green with a longbow and an elegant dueling spear. Painfully beautiful, and accompanied by either long haired forest cats, or otters, or sometimes by foxes.


Basically, the idea is that the gods are kinda messy, not as organized and gamified as the usual dnd deities, but have clear roles in relation to eachother and in terms of what sort of person tends to become their champions, serve as their priests, end up with their blessings, etc.

Most individuals don't have a single patron deity, however, and most people also venerate local spirits and ancestors.

Something...like a mix of Eberron and Theros. Supernatural gifts and piety would be appropriate here, but also no one is sure if the gods are real, and there are also forces and entities that are centers of devotion, but aren't gods, as such.

 

[Tonguez]

Does it? It benefits from it, but require? Nah. Just requires everyone bing able to fend off or discourage or avoid bandits, and seeing trade as better than the short term benefit of theft or robbery of a trade partner.

Anyway, this is a tangent. Trade certainly benefits from all involved parties being relatively peaceful and agreeing to common rules regarding trade and travel.

Chicken and egg really, Trade, from basic gifting through barter and up to modern commerce, certainly needs some mechanism for agreeing value and enforcing rules of exchange and giving those rule ritual and religious force certainly helps to avoid violence.

Most Island trade has resulted in one or more Trade states controlling the flow of goods, Srivijaya and Mahajapits in Indonesia, Rhodes in Hellenistic Greece, the Hansa League in Northern Europe, the Yap Stones in Micronesia all come to mind

 

[Aldarc]

@doctorbadwolf, If you would like your pantheon to be a mix between Theros and Eberron, then how about actually tying the gods into the constellations as per both? How different cultures or peoples across the world view the gods may then differ both in an abstract sense but also in a real spatial sense of how different geographic locations perceive the constellations differently in the night sky. But this would then give you a relatively small set of major deities to work with, possibly 10-15 depending on how many deities or astrological constellations you would like. There may be different names for the deities depending upon the culture or location. You can tie in the importance of nautical navigation by stars to the deities. You can tie in Theros-like blessings and destinies to the constellations.

In this setup, maybe the Dragonborn actually perceive the constellations not as a group of different deities, but as a singular entity: Ouroboros, the eternal dragon-serpent that continuously wraps around the world.

 

[Bitbrain]

If you would like your pantheon to be a mix between Theros and Eberron, then how about actually tying the gods into the constellations as per both? How different cultures or peoples across the world view the gods may then differ both in an abstract sense but also in a real spatial sense of how different geographic locations perceive the constellations differently in the night sky. But this would then give you a relatively small set of major deities to work with, possibly 10-15 depending on how many deities or astrological constellations you would like. There may be different names for the deities depending upon the culture or location. You can tie in the importance of nautical navigation by stars to the deities. You can tie in Theros-like blessings and destinies to the constellations.

In this setup, maybe the Dragonborn actually perceive the constellations not as a group of different deities, but as a singular entity: Ouroboros, the eternal dragon-serpent that continuously wraps around the world.

I love this idea!

 

[Cap'n Kobold]

What about the Gods, then?

Or more accurately, what about religion?

I definitely prefer an Eberron take where multiple types of religion can make sense, because there isn't a proven and undeniable set of gods who absolutely definitely exist, but on the other hand I want to play around with DnD and IRL gods in fun ways.

I think the suggestions there, a confused mix with a lot of duplication of aspects and multiple unconnected aspects, makes sense for an island world.
With no "real" gods, each island would have different patron gods, and even those with the same gods may assign them different aspects.
Hence explaining why there are multiple gods of war, navigation, and even lycanthropes.

I think that might work by stealing a bit from Keith Baker's ideas about the Dwarven clan founders and the heroic tales of each clan. If you are a Kundurak Dwarf, you tell stories about Kundurak and his exploits, but many of those stories are actually things that a dwarf a thousand years removed from the life of Kundurak did. As well, your exploits may eventually become stories that dwarves tell about Kundarak.

Many islands may well have a Maui-like figure.

 

[Haldrik]

Most races are Small, because of Insular Dwarfism.