D&D General A Setting! A Setting!

[Brendan Byrd]

Cynelsa has literal flying islands thanks to a connection to the Elemental Plane of Air, so Fantasy Physics does allow water to run in unique directions.

I'm really not sure what to, exactly, do with some of it. There are really practical reasons that these sort of rifts cause a headache even if they seem cool on paper.

Hmm...extreme surfing? XD
Gliders could be a popular form of transit. (Compressed air launch tubes???)

Do you happen to have a copy of Magical Industrial Revolution?

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[Indagare Nogitsune]

Hmm...extreme surfing? XD
Gliders could be a popular form of transit. (Compressed air launch tubes???)

Do you happen to have a copy of Magical Industrial Revolution?

I mean, it's certainly possible. Maybe pneumatic tubes?

I do not.

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View attachment 421138

I added in the elevations as best I could. I'll need to add in keys at some point. I did add in a couple names. The bay is called bitter in Welsh (I hope).

 

[Brendan Byrd]

There is a good summary/review here:
The Innovations and Tempo sections of the review are especially worthwhile.

OSR Thread '[Let's Read] Magical Industrial Revolution'

Oct 12, 2020

If magic is unrestrained in the campaign, D&D quickly degenerates into a weird wizard show where players get bored quickly, or the referee is forced to change the game into a new framework which will accommodate what he has created by way of player-characters.

Most D&D settings, OSR and otherwise, are pretty conservative in wanting to maintain a stagnated level of pseudo-medieval technology. Innovations, magical and otherwise, have various handwavium explanations for why they fail to impact society especially in regards to economy and...

• Libertad
• Replies: 6
• Forum: *Dungeons & Dragons

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[Brendan Byrd]

"The Earth Rift is slowly pushing the earth up around it while the Air Rift is slowly pulling the earth up around it. These are the causes of the elevation changes. In parts of Cynelsa it is not uncommon to see chunks of rock just start breaking from the surface and start floating because the Elemental Air Energy has sufficiently suffused them to do so. There are currently wards in place to try and keep things on the ground, since a huge crater with skiles above it is not currently a desired look."

If you are looking for a mundane explaination of the elevation change at the earth rift (if you think you need to reduce the magic level of the setting)...Mount Royal of Montréal is the result of a hot spot below the crust.

Is the air rift really tied to elemental air? I was assuming gaseous effects when I suggested compressed air and hang gliders. Is an earth rift more likely, given the anti-gravity effects that are generating that lovely pile of unobtainium? (I can see an industry made of stone importers bringing quarried rock into the area of effect and letting it "cure" to the desired degree of buoyancy.)

The contour map looks good.

 

[Indagare Nogitsune]

"The Earth Rift is slowly pushing the earth up around it while the Air Rift is slowly pulling the earth up around it. These are the causes of the elevation changes. In parts of Cynelsa it is not uncommon to see chunks of rock just start breaking from the surface and start floating because the Elemental Air Energy has sufficiently suffused them to do so. There are currently wards in place to try and keep things on the ground, since a huge crater with skiles above it is not currently a desired look."

If you are looking for a mundane explaination of the elevation change at the earth rift (if you think you need to reduce the magic level of the setting)...Mount Royal of Montréal is the result of a hot spot below the crust.

To be honest, I thought the rifts would be cool, especially considering Sharn, which is what Cynelsa is based on. You and Stormonu seem to be the only other folks interested, so I'm happy to keep magic levels as they are while using as much mundane as necessary.

Is the air rift really tied to elemental air? I was assuming gaseous effects when I suggested compressed air and hang gliders. Is an earth rift more likely, given the anti-gravity effects that are generating that lovely pile of unobtainium? (I can see an industry made of stone importers bringing quarried rock into the area of effect and letting it "cure" to the desired degree of buoyancy.)

The contour map looks good.

All the rifts are tied to their elemental planes, though the effects can vary and allow for things like gaseous effects too.

 

[Brendan Byrd]

To be honest, I thought the rifts would be cool, especially considering Sharn, which is what Cynelsa is based on. You and Stormonu seem to be the only other folks interested, so I'm happy to keep magic levels as they are while using as much mundane as necessary.


All the rifts are tied to their elemental planes, though the effects can vary and allow for things like gaseous effects too.

I'll take a look at Sharn, since I'm not familliar with it.
I had Alphatia (writ small) in mind.

The Alphatian Province of Ar

Kingdom of Ar -- Map Scale : 8 Miles per Hex Although Floating Ar is the name most commonly used when outsiders refer to this f...

bruce-heard.blogspot.com

Nothing wrong with elemental rifts.
I was thinking in terms of the magic budget so that there is room for gobsmackingly gonzo stuff later.

 

[Indagare Nogitsune]

I'll take a look at Sharn, since I'm not familliar with it.
I had Alphatia (writ small) in mind.

The Alphatian Province of Ar

Kingdom of Ar -- Map Scale : 8 Miles per Hex Although Floating Ar is the name most commonly used when outsiders refer to this f...

bruce-heard.blogspot.com

It's cool There are similar themes, especially with connections to air that allow for interesting features.

Nothing wrong with elemental rifts.
I was thinking in terms of the magic budget so that there is room for gobsmackingly gonzo stuff later.

Well, I figure elemental rifts are somewhat bog-standard features on the world, common enough to largely be considered unusual but not unremarkable, especially since some were created. So there is plenty of room for weirder stuff. This just establishes that it can be much, much weirder.

 

[Brendan Byrd]

It's cool There are similar themes, especially with connections to air that allow for interesting features.


Well, I figure elemental rifts are somewhat bog-standard features on the world, common enough to largely be considered unusual but not unremarkable, especially since some were created. So there is plenty of room for weirder stuff. This just establishes that it can be much, much weirder.

If elemental rifts are "bog-standard" it may be a good idea to figure out which elements, and how they interact. It can vary across editions, settings, and technology levels. (ie. Alchemy vs. Chemestry)

Personally, I think "Ooh! It floats!" is more interesting when it is an "earth" elementalist adjusting material density and bouyancy (relative to the other elements) for those "Castles-in-the-Air" districts.

"Lift-off!!!" An "air" elementalist might aim for the same effect with hot air or helium.
"Wheeeee!!!!" is more the "air" elementalists bolting a jet engine onto a lump o' matter.

All of them are good.
And even better when they work together.
Ain't Fantasy Physics fun?

 

[Stormonu]

To be honest, I thought the rifts would be cool, especially considering Sharn, which is what Cynelsa is based on. You and Stormonu seem to be the only other folks interested, so I'm happy to keep magic levels as they are while using as much mundane as necessary.


All the rifts are tied to their elemental planes, though the effects can vary and allow for things like gaseous effects too.

You've gotten 898 views on this, so I think there's more than two people tuned in - others are probably lurking, waiting to see how this gets fleshed out or cribbing notes.

One of the things I've been thinking about is a Fire Rift; we have the other three, could there be a Fire one, perhaps suppressed or not well-known to protect the city from being burned down by careless individuals? It could be of benefits to keeping the city warm in an otherwise wintry clime, mined for live coals or manipulated for forges/hearths and the like. Perhaps it was sealed long ago, and the ancient portal lies in the deep caverns beneath the city, protected by ancient guardians or under the stewardship of a cult who wants the city burned down (figuratively as well as literally). A "fire brigade" rebellion or criminal ring would be interesting; a protection racket of "pay the fire god or he'll visit your establishment" sort of crime syndicate.

 

[Brendan Byrd]

You've gotten 898 views on this, so I think there's more than two people tuned in - others are probably lurking, waiting to see how this gets fleshed out or cribbing notes.

One of the things I've been thinking about is a Fire Rift; we have the other three, could there be a Fire one, perhaps suppressed or not well-known to protect the city from being burned down by careless individuals? It could be of benefits to keeping the city warm in an otherwise wintry clime, mined for live coals or manipulated for forges/hearths and the like. Perhaps it was sealed long ago, and the ancient portal lies in the deep caverns beneath the city, protected by ancient guardians or under the stewardship of a cult who wants the city burned down (figuratively as well as literally). A "fire brigade" rebellion or criminal ring would be interesting; a protection racket of "pay the fire god or he'll visit your establishment" sort of crime syndicate.

Certainly an opportunity to redefine "fire ants".
Faction idea: The Formic Legion

Hackwark has a fire rift location, I think.