All giants live in the sky!

[fireinthedust]

This is just a snippet of a larger setting. The sky of giants is just an element for high level play and backdrop for giants in play before that. This is supposed to be used in actual play of D&D and the rough baselines of "solid land" is pretty standart for D&D, to be honest. Also, to giants it isn't sky. It's "sky" to the cluless berks below the sun, moon and cloud islands (if you'll excuse my planar cant)

Oh, I'll excuse it, cutter (smiles, then turns to talk to the Camera) ...this time! (shakes fist)


Seriously though: what I'm saying is that if we're talking flying islands, we're talking sky above and sky below. "sky" as we know it normally no longer exists. While this is fine for most stuff, it does ask the question: what is up with the Moon? Is it just another rock, or does it orbit the clusters of flying islands in a way that stands out from, well, just another floating rock? How far away is the Sun? That's what I was getting at.

 

[Tonguez]

Oh, I'll excuse it, cutter (smiles, then turns to talk to the Camera) ...this time! (shakes fist)


Seriously though: what I'm saying is that if we're talking flying islands, we're talking sky above and sky below. "sky" as we know it normally no longer exists. While this is fine for most stuff, it does ask the question: what is up with the Moon? Is it just another rock, or does it orbit the clusters of flying islands in a way that stands out from, well, just another floating rock? How far away is the Sun? That's what I was getting at.

What you mean other than the sun is a big flaming ball and the moon a gigantic silver orb that dominates the upper sky, while the lower sky happens to be the amorphous base of the cloud-islands?

I once used an area known as the 'Under Sea', a realm under the bottom of the sea where the inhabitants walked as they did on land and occasionally schools of fish and even whales would break the surface of the 'sky'

 

[Tonguez]

Oh, I'll excuse it, cutter (smiles, then turns to talk to the Camera) ...this time! (shakes fist)


Seriously though: what I'm saying is that if we're talking flying islands, we're talking sky above and sky below. "sky" as we know it normally no longer exists. While this is fine for most stuff, it does ask the question: what is up with the Moon? Is it just another rock, or does it orbit the clusters of flying islands in a way that stands out from, well, just another floating rock? How far away is the Sun? That's what I was getting at.

What you mean other than the sun is a big flaming ball and the moon a gigantic silver orb that dominates the upper sky, while the lower sky happens to be the amorphous base of the cloud-islands?

I once used an area known as the 'Under Sea', a realm under the bottom of the sea where the inhabitants walked as they did on land and occasionally schools of fish and even whales would break the surface of the 'sky'. I'd assume the Sky-land would be similar

 

[Gold Roger]

Some more on elves

Elves who inhabit the surface world (as opposed to underdark and sky) are usually cathegorized by three groups.

"Wild" elves do not mix with other species. they live rather primitive lives in small groups, stick to uncivilised lands and prefer to remain unseen.

"Common" elves live among civilisation but can't cope with the livestyle. As vagabonds or homeless city dwellers, they have little sense of property and still stick to sleeping outside. By clichee they are seen as thieves, scavangers, prostitutes and drug users. The most visible type of elf, many will asume every elf is like that.

"Made" elves adapt to and prosper in civilisation. Often adventurers artists, farmers, servants (from gardener to spy) or true criminals, there's far more of them, than you'd expect, but with elves actually quite rare, that doesn't say much.

Where slavery is practised, the three "kinds" are called prey, property and valuable property.


Half-elves are a matter of legend, as there's no relation between elves and other species.
No doubt fired up by some popular conman acts, half-elves are said to be of exceptional charisma and mind, combining the best qualities of their parent species.

Has there ever been such thing as a half-elf?

Will there ever?

If so, how came such a being into the world?

We won't know until there's a PC half-elf.

 

[Loonook]

I like the idea that mountains are the stairways to heaven. Gives you a chance for giants to deny the heavens to man if they ever get too angered by actions below. The giants send the least of their ilk to guard their mountain stairways, and they are none to happy for the experience.

Slainte,

-Loonook.

 

[Dioltach]

I hope those giants have a really good waste-recycling system, otherwise a cloudy sky might predict some *really* bad weather.

 

[Aeolius]

I hope those giants have a really good waste-recycling system, otherwise a cloudy sky might predict some *really* bad weather.

Blue Ice , eh?

In my game, there is a floating cloud island known as Cloudsea, for it holds a "stolen sea" in the form of a saltwater lagoon. Cloudsea was once the home of a cloud giant, though he perished long ago.

Now a covey of storm hags ( Cailleachan ) resides within the castle ruins, searching for the cloud pearl which will grant them control of the floating island's powers of movement.

 

[Gold Roger]

Before we get to some of the comments, let's look at something I touched uppon before:

Dragons!

Weeeeeee.

Ahem.

They're in the name of the game, so I don't want to stray to far from D&D standart assumptions. So:

Big scary lizards, conveniently color coded (but not for alignment).

Pretty rare and really very self-centered.

Used to rule the surface world. Now? Not so much anymore.

Speak and, good gods, write draconic.

Get way old and dabble in theyr own form of sorcery.


Basics clear? Cool, lets get to the chunky bits:


Used to have their own gods, but most are awol ore mia (propably dead in some corner of the astral)

Worship of dragon gods is a bit different from the worship of less powerful and egomanical beings.

So sponsored worship by proxy is rather common, meaning a being that suites the god is worship as divine itself and its worshippers gain the blessing of said god.

Not only dragons worship dragon gods.

Four draconic gods are still active:

Tiamat used to be the draconic fertility godess, but thanks to a bad deal with the archdevils she's now a gloryfied watchdog. These days she's pretty much completely bonkers, spawning countless absurd monsters and crackheaded cults.

She might be one of the reasons dragons have become so rare, as, through her madness, many hatchling emerge twisted or not at all.

Bahamut is a god of justice, law and righteousness. Sounds neat, but this is a dragon god we speak of, so his worshippers see their own views of good and law and such as absolutes. Some are still decent. The others you don't want to meet.

Chronepsis is a god of death, time, history, hoarding and observation. More and more dragons follow his creed and resign themself from an active place in the world. Unless you need a prophecy or a greedy watcher has set his eyes on a particular trinked, you'll only get endless monologues on history, phillosophy and theology out of his adherents.

Last, Garyx is the divine incarnation of draconic power, ego and megalomania. Most fond of worship by proxy, if you believe yourself to be awesome and destined for greatness, chances are you have his blessing.

It should be noted that dragon gods pander to the draconic ego, not embody it. Garyx for example is not worshipped by shouting how great he is, but by the worshipper shouting how great he or Garyx proxy is.


Dragons have always had their minions, as they disdain any ordinary matter, but still once had a striving culture. While a dragon can survive without minions, it seems most minions are helpless without masters.

Kobolds are the least of these minions. Without a master to guide them, they are to insignificant to amount to anything. Masterless kobolds are considered no more than clever pests, just the thing for novice adventurers to sharpen their skills on.

Lizardmen are mostly workforce. They seem unable to procreate without a master around. Only if they find another way to do so (through a demon infused lizardman king for example) you'll ever meet bigger groups of them. There's also talk of unfettered "dragonborn" lizardmen. Sounds like drunk talk to me.

Last there's the fearsome aquatic sahuagin. These creatures seem to fall to frenzied madness without master around.

I like the idea that mountains are the stairways to heaven. Gives you a chance for giants to deny the heavens to man if they ever get too angered by actions below. The giants send the least of their ilk to guard their mountain stairways, and they are none to happy for the experience.

Slainte,

-Loonook.

I was thinking the north might be so cold, as that's where the stairway to heaven stands, guarded by armies of frost giants.

I hope those giants have a really good waste-recycling system, otherwise a cloudy sky might predict some *really* bad weather.

Giants build with solid clouds, ice and fire. Physiology and food of giants are very diferent from humans, so who can tell their excrement from other "sky stuff"?

Well, elves propably can, I see agriculture and waste disposal as their main jobs in the sky.

The possibility of the occasional literal crapstorm on the high sea also entertains me.

Blue Ice , eh?

In my game, there is a floating cloud island known as Cloudsea, for it holds a "stolen sea" in the form of a saltwater lagoon. Cloudsea was once the home of a cloud giant, though he perished long ago.

Now a covey of storm hags ( Cailleachan ) resides within the castle ruins, searching for the cloud pearl which will grant them control of the floating island's powers of movement.

Stolen sea, hm? I could see giants confiscating landmarks and selling them to neogi, mercanes and other spelljamming planar traders.

 

[Gold Roger]

Greetings once more,

So I want to keep this thread around. It amuses me.

So, eventually this will become the "gold roger just writes his whole setting down, until the mods tell him that's what wikis and such are for" thread.

Really, I should write about the world in general now and where to start, and I will. But for now, I've had long evening, so I'll write some weird stuff, that has been kicking around for some time.

Troglodytes

We all know the humble Troglodyte. Stinky, reptilean and fodder for low to mid level adventurers.

We also know there is a whole bunch of intelligent humanoids in D&D, that really make you wonder how they all coexist in the same world.

My aproach to the old trogs seeks to do two things:

-Consolidate a whole bunch of classic beasties I can't do without into a whole

-Create an antagonistic force that is as terrifying and plain weird as deep ones and the good old mi-go.

Thus in this world, which I call Tainted Legacy (more on that later), Troglodytes are the primary master of the Underdark (because, like, due, it ain't D&D without underdark).

But Trogs aren't just the common Troglodyte. They are also grimmlocks and bullywugs. And doppelgangers. Kuo-toa? Those too. Skum? Kinda. Even the nonhumanoid Aboleth and Froghemoth. A bunch of other nice monsters too.

Hell, I might even throw in ettercaps (tadploes corrupted by drow?) in, for and giggles.

So what are trogs? Here's the basics:

All kinds of trogs mix features of reptilians, amphibians and fish in some kind of way.

Most are vaguely humanoid in shape, but not all.

All kinds of the species evolve from the tadpoles that swim in their spawning pools.

You seriously don't want to know about spawning, trust me.

Skum don't come from tadpoles, but surface dwellers. You want to know less about that, than you want to know of spawning.

Only the weakest kinds (common trog and bullywug), spies (doppelganger) and the mighty, but stupid, froghemoth evolve on the surface.

Don't try to mess with a trogs mind. It'll mess with you.

They work on no way of thinking known to others. They can't understand surface dwellers, but they can immitate their minds (evident by doppelgangers) and keep trying.

They mostly worship demons, as well as dead and shunned gods. But sometimes you'll find them worshipping your gods in really weird and disturbing ways. Some say they've twisted many gods through their weird religion.

You can't reason with them, but deal with them peacefully. Learn their language and you go mad. Learn their script, and it's of to the sanatorium. Learn monitor martial arts? You've been part of the loony bin from the start. Their magic? I...we...percieve...oughyan..taste...plains of...igganiaggan...pray...prey...pray

They fight one another more than any others. They do so over no percievable reason and it allows others to survive in the underdark (like drow and ancient snakemen).


That's it for tonight kids, but there's one more thing.

There's no threads without feedback so:

Is this stuffinteresting, or booring?

I know the writing style might be something else. Engaging, confusing, annoying?

What would you put into a setting like this. I might already have my own ideas for a lot of stuff, but it's always interesting to read others stuff.

I enjoy nothing more than others worldbuilding and actual play stories.

I hope to entertain and maybe inspire others through this stuff as well as myself. After all that's what our hobby is about for me.

Making our world a more wonderous, crazy and interteining place.