D&D 5E The Tale of the First World: What Do We Know About it and How Does it Connect to the Rest of the Lore? (+)

[Parmandur]

I think the DMG does a good job setting up "The First World" as an explanation why one DM's game can have any given piece of D&D in it: infinite echoes and reusable pieces.

 

[dave2008]

I believe the Tiamat and Bahamut entries in the lore glossary also mention the first world

Yes, here are the relevant passafes:

and

Not a lot to go on!

 

[Dire Bare]

The First World / Eberron creation myth and the idea that some dragon gods are just elder dragons who are god-like has made me want to build a campaign world where all the "gods" are just super-powerful dragons. I haven't developed the idea very far, but it would make use of the First World / Eberron creation myth for starters.

So there were three dragons who created everything. One killed one of the others, shattering it into pieces, and then the third imprisoned the first and so on. Somehow other, non-draconic creatures have come into being to populate this world that the three progenitor dragons created, but all the "gods" those creatures believe in are actually real elder dragons (or are inspired by them at least). I'm not sure if I'd want that to be a campaign secret or something that is obvious to everyone. Either way could be fun. I could see a world like Theros where the gods appear in the sky and sometimes even walk the earth, except that instead of appearing humanoid, they're dragons. Or it could be more like Eberron, where no one really knows if the gods exist, but the deities that make up the Sovereign Host (or whatever) are actually based on real, god-like dragons.

It requires a lot more thought, and I'm not sure I have the time or mental energy to think it all through yet. (I've been considering asking for help in fleshing it out here but I'd like to get my thoughts gathered together a bit more first.)

The "Odyssey of the Dragonlords" adventure from Modiphius presents a Greek myth style setting where the gods are all dragons, and your player characters can join them!

 

[Dire Bare]

I just finished reading The Chronicles of Amber (1970-1991) by Roger Zelazny, a series of novellas about immortals from the City of Amber. In the setting, Amber is the "first city" and all other places in the multiverse are "shadows" of Amber. I think this idea meshes well with the "First World" of D&D . . . all other planes or world are echoes or shadows of the First World . . . which could still exist!

In the Amber stories, the protagonists learn that things aren't necessarily as they believe, and that there are deeper truths . . . is Amber truly the "First City" and center of the multiverse? Or is there a deeper, more primal level of existence?

 

[SkidAce]

I just finished reading The Chronicles of Amber (1970-1991) by Roger Zelazny, a series of novellas about immortals from the City of Amber. In the setting, Amber is the "first city" and all other places in the multiverse are "shadows" of Amber. I think this idea meshes well with the "First World" of D&D . . . all other planes or world are echoes or shadows of the First World . . . which could still exist!

In the Amber stories, the protagonists learn that things aren't necessarily as they believe, and that there are deeper truths . . . is Amber truly the "First City" and center of the multiverse? Or is there a deeper, more primal level of existence?

One of the Top Five Classic Books of All Time!!!


p.s. I use the "pattern" as a plot point for my cosmos.

 

[SkidAce]

I read them as they were published....lol.

 

[Clint_L]

(Wait, did Wizards of the Coast just turn Tiamat into the good guy? Or at least a sympathetic villain? That was unexpected. I'm not entirely against it, but this also is kind of a shocking revelation.)

Yes, and I am so there for it!

I've been using her that way for a long time now, and Bahamat is kind of a chump in my setting, so this dovetails nicely.

 

[SkidAce]

Agreed. Tiamat is complex. When encountering her in "human" avatar, she can be quite pleasant (vain, beautiful). Defend her own, protect the Material World, appreciates art, beauty, wealth.

However, piss her off and its ancient Sumerian chaos and destruction from the deep.