Avalar - developing a setting inspired by Spyro

[Tonguez]

Anyway I recently purchased a cheap copy of 'Spyro A Hero's Tail' for my son (age 6) and have been playing it with him (well thats the story I tell his mother).

Anyway I got thinking about using crystals as currency and for powering magic and tech items and from there got thinking about the whole setting

So anyway I was wondering if anyone had ever looked at developing a similar setting.

You have a world which mixes magic and super-tech inhabited by dragons, fairies and anthro-animals, sapient dragonflies, (gn)orcs, lizardfolk, merfolk, sahuagin, Yetis, giant spiders, robots, golems and even undead

Various 'Realms' (of unlimited variety) that can be got to through magical Warp Gates or Super-Tech teleporters

Dragons can be divided between juviniles like Spyro and the Elder Dragons

SO any ideas?

 

[Turanil]

<...> I got thinking about using crystals as currency and for powering magic and tech items <...> a world which mixes magic and super-tech inhabited by dragons, fairies and anthro-animals, sapient dragonflies, <...> robots, golems and even undead <...>

SO any ideas?

My idea is that can make for an excellent setting... as long as you don't overdo it, and clearly establish the genre. If it were me I would do it like this:

-- Rules: if I were to use d20, I would favor Grim Tales over D&D 3.5. As such, it would be the first indication it's not a traditionnal D&D setting full of magic. Spellcasting in Grim Tales, is difficult and exhausting, but with the use of crystals it would be a little easier, and then strange magical tech using the crystals would replace magical items. My point is, that using D&D and its easy magic and abundance of magic items, would render the crystals secondary.

-- What distinguishes a robot from a golem from a game mechanics point of view? Not much. It's all about genre. Golems are really about fantasy, while robots are more about "steampunk". The same idea applies with creatures: while dragons could be adapted to steampunk, fairies and anthro-animals, sapient dragonflies are clearly fantasy, so IMO wouldn't fare very well along robots.

-- Lastly I would put all of this into a different kind of culture / scenery. I wouldn't make it into a medieval like world with traditionnal castles and Arthurian knights. I would choose something else, like a world on the verge of industrial revolution*, or something "Atlantean" with Aztec like pyramids and flying Vimanas.

-- Lastly, such a civilization with magical tech would be found only in a few places, not all over the planet. Most of the world would be covered with savage nature (probably tropical for a change with most European temperate fantasy backgrounds), plus ruins of antique and alien civilizations of yuan-ti and mind flayers.

(*: see in the Homebrew link below, the Baeg Tobar or Virtual Verduria worlds for possible examples.)

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

If you haven't, check out the original PS1 games -- better than at least the first PS2 Spyro game. You can get them all in a three-pack for cheap, and they're really good. You can get a rundown on them at http://www.SpyroHints.com/

I'd make the tech into magical steampunk, which is pretty well supported in a variety of D20 products.

I'd also look at starting off characters as hatchling dragons, but giving them fire as a default fire breath weapon, which can be temporarily changed by magic items and spells.

I'd also want to make his various attack maneuvers into feats.

Sounds like a fun idea; my wife and I love those games.