D&D 5E Ridiculous Campaign Setting Idea

Ash Mantle · May 20, 2020

Imagine the thundering stampede of a barbarian horde descending upon you like a manifest storm, yet the calamitous commotion sounds wrong, it sounds panicked. The horde sweeps all before it, gathering all upon this battlefield like gathering wheat, sweeping them away on swift wings. This horde will live, you will live, but this battle will have been lost.
For this is a world invaded, it is a world in submission to horrors from beyond, it is a world in flux from its own wars as ties between nations become tenuous and nationalism threatens to overwhelm nations, it is a world in transition into technological revolution.

Suddenly, the barbarian that had gathered you up, from Khaarakos from his garb, convulses, you look back and his head and entire thorax splits into a toothed and tentacled maw. The horse breaks from under you, sending you both into compacted earth, what do you do?

Signs and Portents. This world nears the apocalypse, sending the signs and portents of the end in dreams or reality. The sky rains blood, it rains fire, it rains vermin. The sun wanes and becomes bloodied, soon the dreams tell us, the sun will be black.

Visions of Oblivion. It is said the very first barbarian that received the visions of the apocalypse went sane from this revelation, gathering armies to them, breaking into other nations and demanding their submission to join into a world-army. Others, leaders of nations, and random civilians, have received these visions. Some unite to face the terrors, others seek to elevate their own people.

Go Not Without Rage Into the Night. This world is on the cusp of technological evolution. Magic and technology are being placed into weapons, magic is being placed into technology (think magisteampunk, so kinda like Eberron), and it's widespread application is being taught to the world. Occasionally, the blood of the defeated horrors is used as conduits to power, sending its imbibers to unprecedented heights of strength.

Eternity of the Blind. The horrors that have invaded like to consume eyes.

Perun · May 20, 2020

Ash Mantle said:
Visions of Oblivion. It is said the very first barbarian that received the visions of the apocalypse went sane from this revelation, gathering armies to them, breaking into other nations and demanding their submission to join into a world-army. Others, leaders of nations, and random civilians, have received these visions. Some unite to face the terrors, others seek to elevate their own people.

I like the emphasised bit. It's a distinctive deviation from similar ideas on horror-inflicted settings

An interesting idea otherwise. How are you justifying the (widespread?) technological evolution if the world is "in submission to horrors from beyond"? Need promotes innovation, but if the invaders are already wreaking havoc on the world, the knowledge and resources would presumably not have time or means to spread. And if the 'free' world is swept by barbarian hordes, there probably isn't much room for technological research.

Stormonu · May 20, 2020

This inspired my own riff on this:

Insanity Rules: The horrors of Lovecraft have won. Cthulhu rules from a coral castle on the bone-dust seashore. Nyarlathotep whips mutated slave gangs to build his basalt pyramids on lightning blasted scrublands. Dagon's raiding fleet of Deep Ones rises from the black depths to demand tribute of the boiling lands, while the Hastur surveys his blighted crops of literal peasants from his mountainous castle. From the twisted thickets of woods nearby, the deep-throated bray of Shub-Niggurath's children cavort in sun-starved glades.

Humanity is not what it was: Humanity has survived - after a fashion. It's shape has become a plaything of the mad gods, twisted and reformed as these great powers desire. There are no elves, dwarves and the like - such strange and stranger things encompass the twisted form mankind has endured, and more. Yet, it is not just the waking world that has borne the brunt of change, but even the mind and dreams of mankind have been chopped, twisted and overlaid upon itself so that sanity and clarity have been willfully lost to survive the madness that abounds. Sanity has become a burden for the weak, morality a luxury discarded.

Magic is the Tool of the Enslaved: Those who have given their bodies and minds willingly to the horrors wield the pact magic of their overlords freely, or draw upon the divine magic blessings of those they sacrifice to. Furtive, half-mad wizards peruse dusty tomes of ancient spells trading sanity for power - but not too much, lest they enslave themselves. Twisted descendants struggle to deal with the obscene magic they have inherited, doomed to the path of insanity and twisted shapes of their forebears.

Technology is the Tool of Rebellion: One among the sane learned of a powerful tool against the weird order of their overlords. The power of rational technology drives away the weird magics and insanity of the old ones. Only by growing in the mastery of its use can the world stabilize and hope to drive off the twisted madness from afar.

The Rebellion Grows: The inspired dreams of a barbaric survivor led her to discover the secret to freeing her tribe from the madness of the world around her. Since then, she has crusaded against the mad overlords and spread the roots of technology in areas that slowly grow stable and sane. These cancerous areas of stable reality produce safe blind spots against the maddened overlords, from which the technologically armed hordes can further spread.

Ash Mantle · May 20, 2020

Perun said:
I like the emphasised bit. It's a distinctive deviation from similar ideas on horror-inflicted settings

An interesting idea otherwise. How are you justifying the (widespread?) technological evolution if the world is "in submission to horrors from beyond"? Need promotes innovation, but if the invaders are already wreaking havoc on the world, the knowledge and resources would presumably not have time or means to spread. And if the 'free' world is swept by barbarian hordes, there probably isn't much room for technological research.

Thanks heaps, bro, yeah, tried to introduce something different into the mix

but I also can't claim all the inspiration for the seed of campaign setting idea. I was inspired by a video on Don't Stop Thinking's YouTube channel, and just embellished a lot more and changed it up a bit.

Good question, was thinking of the idea that some nations were already in the midst of technological evolution, another idea was also that the barbarian hordes sweeping the lands weren't necessarily a bad thing. These barbarian hordes sweep into countries, but may leave militaries and societal hierarchies intact rather than displace them. Some other ideas were that some nations have the means to shield critical infrastructure and strategic locations from the invaders, in their own ways, but these barriers could be breaking or could be taken down by the nations themselves because they're not needed anymore. Good call, I'll need to write more about this.

Ash Mantle · May 20, 2020

Stormonu said:
This inspired my own riff on this:

Insanity Rules: The horrors of Lovecraft have won. Cthulhu rules from a coral castle on the bone-dust seashore. Nyarlathotep whips mutated slave gangs to build his basalt pyramids on lightning blasted scrublands. Dagon's raiding fleet of Deep Ones rises from the black depths to demand tribute of the boiling lands, while the Hastur surveys his blighted crops of literal peasants from his mountainous castle. From the twisted thickets of woods nearby, the deep-throated bray of Shub-Niggurath's children cavort in sun-starved glades.

Humanity is not what it was: Humanity has survived - after a fashion. It's shape has become a plaything of the mad gods, twisted and reformed as these great powers desire. There are no elves, dwarves and the like - such strange and stranger things encompass the twisted form mankind has endured, and more. Yet, it is not just the waking world that has borne the brunt of change, but even the mind and dreams of mankind have been chopped, twisted and overlaid upon itself so that sanity and clarity have been willfully lost to survive the madness that abounds. Sanity has become a burden for the weak, morality a luxury discarded.

Magic is the Tool of the Enslaved: Those who have given their bodies and minds willingly to the horrors wield the pact magic of their overlords freely, or draw upon the divine magic blessings of those they sacrifice to. Furtive, half-mad wizards peruse dusty tomes of ancient spells trading sanity for power - but not too much, lest they enslave themselves. Twisted descendants struggle to deal with the obscene magic they have inherited, doomed to the path of insanity and twisted shapes of their forebears.

Technology is the Tool of Rebellion: One among the sane learned of a powerful tool against the weird order of their overlords. The power of rational technology drives away the weird magics and insanity of the old ones. Only by growing in the mastery of its use can the world stabilize and hope to drive off the twisted madness from afar.

The Rebellion Grows: The inspired dreams of a barbaric survivor led her to discover the secret to freeing her tribe from the madness of the world around her. Since then, she has crusaded against the mad overlords and spread the roots of technology in areas that slowly grow stable and sane. These cancerous areas of stable reality produce safe blind spots against the maddened overlords, from which the technologically armed hordes can further spread.

Good stuff, bro, that's really awesome!

Ash Mantle · May 20, 2020

Hex-Arctorius
Cold mountainous slopes and temperate, verdant forests dot the twin-countries of Hexenland and Echt Arctorius. It's a land known for hearty meals and strong ale, raising strong and hardy folk. Family is greatly important in Hex-Arctorius, and folk commonly live in communal dwellings where families live together under the one roof. Unsurprisingly, the armies of Hex-Arctorius number foremost amongst those militaries that work well in formation.
Thirteen grand duchies comprise its territory, originating from barbarians that descended from the mountains, and in the faith of these barbarians is found the Pillar of Light, the Lichtsaule.
The Lichtsaule is compared most appropriately to a mountain-sized candle, sending a tremendous column of light to the heavens. Hex-Arctorians send their will into the Lichtsaule, and the Pillar of Light in turn attracts and then traps horrors. Oath of Watchers paladins and Light clerics comprise the bulk of its guardians. Darker rumours suggest that some in the grand duchies are sacrificing souls into the Lichtsaule, and the Pillar of Light should really be named the Pillar of Souls.
It's a land also known for technological precision and ingenuity, such that its war mounts and engines are metal contraptions of steam and magic. Hex-Arctorian familial bonds have produced stunning works, but there is increasing worry that the onslaught of centuries is increasingly producing cultural stagnation and arrogance.
The invasion of horrors didn't catch Hex-Arctorius unaware, as the nation has a history and knowledge of supressing and containing horrors from beyond. Some, within the grand duchies, however have taken this opportunity to agitate for secession within its borders, arguing that some families have always been more equal than others, and in the end everyone should be equal.

Urriak Uruk · May 20, 2020

A little too Cthulhu for me, but it did remind me of Orken. Not really sure what Orken is (or will be), but SixMoreVodka is posting some great art for it.

MGibster · May 20, 2020

By ridiculous you meant ridiculously awesome, right?

Ash Mantle · May 21, 2020

Urriak Uruk said:
A little too Cthulhu for me, but it did remind me of Orken. Not really sure what Orken is (or will be), but SixMoreVodka is posting some great art for it.

No worries, I can understand it's a bit too much horror-tinged for some. Thanks heaps for the amazing artwork! Those are some really nice illustrations, I'm particularly taken by

I've an idea of a Piston Knight fighter subclass, where you get a pool of steam points that you can use to enhance the strength and ferocity of your attacks, and you could use it to propel yourself through the battlefield. Will try to think of some more ideas. With it, if you choose to do use the steam pool points, you can cause the pistons attached to your armour to fire, belching forth steam, greatly propelling your arms or legs with enhanced speed and force.

Ash Mantle · May 21, 2020

MGibster said:
By ridiculous you meant ridiculously awesome, right?

Thanks heaps, bro! Really glad you like the idea! Will try to post more, I just need to find the time

D&D 5E Ridiculous Campaign Setting Idea

Ash Mantle

Adventurer

Perun

Mushroom

Stormonu

Legend

Ash Mantle

Adventurer

Ash Mantle

Adventurer

Ash Mantle

Adventurer

Urriak Uruk

Gaming is fun, and fun is for everyone

MGibster

Legend

Ash Mantle

Adventurer

Ash Mantle

Adventurer

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