Campaign Creation

[NewLifeForm]

My Most Popular Homebrew Features...

1) Magic as technology in small amounts - Light spell street lamps, printing press, etc.
2) Orcs and Goblins as displaced natives victimized by expanding Human Kingdoms
3) Elves are descendants of Faerie Explorers to our plane that got stranded here
4) Magic items get more powerful the older they get - take on aspects of owners
5) Alignment Gods of an almost elemental nature - Physical Embodiment of LG, CE, etc.
6) Giants are really, really big. You could use a foot print as a fox hole.
7) Dragons are vastly more powerful - originally created by the gods to help build the world
8) There is a race of "Half Elves" - Elves, Humans & Half Elves inter-marrying over centuries
9) Many intelligent species - Cat People, Dog People, Drakes (Small, Dragon-like, Nonhumanoid
10) Major trade in magical components - Chain of Components Stores in major cities

Just to name a few...

NewLifeForm
"Mostly Harmless"

 

[Wraith Form]

For my homebrew-

1) Population concentrated into Italian City-States.
2) Flintlocks and Musketteers.
3) Meditative schools of sword prowress.
4) Monotheistic religion holding back unseen eldrich terrors.
5) Polytheistic religion holding back common monstrous beasts.
6) Races are mostly human off-shoots, and interfertile.
7) Crystals concentrate and amplify power.
8) Magic is dangerous, but can only kill you. Psionics are safer, but drive you mad.
9) Minor numerology: 3, 5, 7, 12 are significant numbers.
10) Names are significant.

I want to be in this game ASAP. Niiiiiiiiiiiiice. (Sorry, I'm no-where near Oregon. A shame, really.)

 

[Cherub]

I want to be in this game ASAP. Niiiiiiiiiiiiice. (Sorry, I'm no-where near Oregon. A shame, really.)

this is an unexpected positive spin-off from this experiment - i.e. potential players / DMs seeing the main features of currently prevailing campaigns and thereafter possibly linking players and DMs together if geographically viable...fantastic!!!

let the ideas flow, my dear brethren...

 

[Cherub]

i will give this a bump to see if more would like to play...

 

[Ravilah]

In my world, there are 9 material planes, stacked like pancakes. Each is mostly ignorant of the others, save for the few high level adventurers who go to the outer planes and see the truth of the matter.

1.) Ramat-Exti: A world of extremes: Giants and pixies, scadling deserts and hard cold glaciers, thousand foot trees, heinous abysses, insane gibbering mobs and rigid mechanical judges. No middle ground.

2.) Predetor: A world of endless forests and tremendous, ravenous beasts. A tarrasque would feel at home here.

3.) Syblis: An endless ocean, with huge floating cities, a civilization of pirates, underwater kingdoms of warring sea-elves, and a portal to the Elemental Plane of water to keep things wet.

4.) Ronce (pronounce it like you're French): A world where the elves are an extinct race, and the nations of the world generally fear magic. Magic is all "elf-craft" and those who study elvish history and search their ruins are considered dangerous. "Burn the witch!"

5.) Parapalas: A high magic world, ruled by a powerful good-hearted kingdom called Ianova. For hundreds of years they have battled the minions of the Hollows, a race of psionic halflings who seek revenge on Ianova for banishing them to the Predator plane.

6.) Peregavin: Admittedly, a run-of-the-mill DnD world. However, it is the central material plane (The Prime Material), and every thousand years a handful of demi-gods seek to maniplate followers into bringing them bodily into the world in order to gain enough worshipers to attain full godhood.

7.) Uer-Peregavin: A mirror-reflection of Peregavin, though with a wildly different history. The churches of the world have been on a continuous crusade against each other for as long as history has been recorded. Every ruler, soldier, craftsman, and commoner is highly pious, most with a level of cleric or adept.

8.) Kran: One continous city, all but infinite in all directions. Much of Kran is desolate empty ruins, and other sectors are hotbeds of carnality and poverty. Palaces, themselves the size of cities, rise beside gardens the size of Central Park. Ruling over it all is a mysterious being with almost omniscient awareness of all the city's happenings. They call him. . .The Mayor.

9.) Thempras: A world with no magic. It is as if an Antimagic field covers everything. The peoples of Thempras are advanced scientifically (something akin to the industrial age) and are the most utterly ignorant of the other Material planes. One of the Hollows (see Parapalas) has recently found his way to this plane using a psionic method of travel. "No magic here? My psionics still work here? Hmm...interesting."


To give myself a tenth, here's an idea I'm working with right now (I'm setting on a lost continent of Ronce):

10.) The continent was ruled by an Elven Utopia, until humans came from across the sea in great ships, and defeated the elves much like the Spanish did the Aztecs. Disease and gunpowder defeated Elven magic, though powerful Elven spells (in the forms of a desert, swamp, and jungle) still keep the humans from venturing further south to desecrate their ruined cities and tombs.

 

[Taloras]

I am assuming this sort of experiment / feedback has not been attempted by anyone. Just to experiment with an idea that Joshua Dyal tossed up in his Dungeoncraft Articles - please post 10 COOL campaign setting ideas that you would like to have if you were crafting a home-brew. I will start the ball rolling:

1) Presence of Demonic entities on the prime material;
2) Humans are a degenerate species (strong but dull wit)
3) No wizards;
7) Single dominant world religion with a monotheistic system with a neo-conservative approach;
8) Druids belong to independant cults that are hunted and persecuted by the dominant religion;
9) Strong movements of rebellion against the dominant religion, but often under ground;

your serve...

Waaaaaaitaminute here.....we arent talking about Earth, are we?

 

[Evilhalfling]

1. An Archipeligo of Fantasic Islands, each with there own inhabitants and rules - as in greek or medeval tales.

2. A world that considers itself civilized and modern, but collapse everytime a leader/king dies - into civil wars lead by adentureing groups. City states that ebb and merge as different strong individuals come to power

3. more evil sercret societies
4. Openly evil contries
5. Non barbarian savages.
6. A world where ascending to god-hood was possible with the creation of fantastic places or nation of worshipers (ala masters/immortal sets) Leaving the world littered with fantastic sites created by the current and failed divinities.
7. a nation of undead.
8. A world where dragons are firmly in control - not humans etc.
9. A world where humans demi humans and humanoids stand in for small tribes/nations/races
as in early Europe, SE Asia or prehistoric america. Each with a language, coinage, religion & society.

10. a shared world built by players.
ie each have a specific home land, and political system.

 

[Quickleaf]

I'll play!

1. Voodoo-esque magic: All practitioners are in exotic, dangerous locations pursuing wicked goals, hiding from the witch-hunting mobs, or turning their backs on society. Abilities include laying tricks (spell-trapping a place), creating hot foot powders (to drive your enemies out of town), and . Of course, there's always the chance for your spells/tricks to go awry.

2. Boneman's Kingdom: Dying is a big deal in this campaign, and the beginning of a whole new adventure. Down in the "boneman's kingdom" you can adventure alongside your living allies as a wraith, but your adventures always reflect an internal battle within your heart & mind. The boneman's kingdom can be physically visited, usually when a wicked thief or demon tricks you to enter. Though people fear death, it is not because they won't return, it's because their soul becomes vulnerable to theft, manipulation, enslavement, and blackmail. In fact, some priests specialize in making sure that the dead don't get resurrected, as one can buy oneself back from death...at great cost. There are no detect undead spells, and undead (zombi) are very hard to identify.

3. Yocals: People are insular and superstitious. There are no "save the kingdom" missions. Most PCs will be either exiles, rejects, enemies, or rejects of their society. There are no royal roads, postal systems, or vast empires. This world is a conquering lord's nightmare: "You mean to collect tribute from the village I've got to send my scouts through Dimroot Swamp, risking mosquito blindness and demoncrocs, then undercover through territories controlled by a hobgoblin warlord, and once they've reached the village, they'll have to convince the pitchfork-wielding villagers they're not demons?"

4. Central civilization: There is only one major city, and it is the seat of religion, culture, enlightenment, and paladins. It is kind of like heaven on earth, with a twist, inspired by "Utopia" by Thomas Moore. The farther away one gets from this capital, the more rural, rugged, idol-worshipping, and backward the villages get.

5. Invisible gods: The people never see their gods. The closest they get is once a year, when the temple priests parade the god's shrouded palenquin/statue through the city. Priests are rarely faithful servants, and more often seek to manipulate the gods to do their will through the knowledge of ancient True Names.

6. Druid tribes: Barbaric tribes led by druids seek to restore the Goddess religion, and use guerilla tactics against their foes. Many are afflicted with a minor form of lycanthropy, but learn how to control their condition. Considered enemies-of-the-state.

7. Wicked prince: A prince was born who prophesy foretold would destroy the kingdom should he ever have sex. The prince, fearing that he should fall to his lusts, attempts to make a strict Puritan society, punishing women severely for any show of beauty. He has created a harem of man-slaves, who plot his assassination. Unfortunately, the prince is hard to kill, having bathed in the blood of the phoenix, granting him invulnerability.

8. Shades of grey: Everyone has dark secrets in this campaign (in fact all PCs choose one at first level). Sample dark secrets are "mentally ill loved-one" and "marked by dark lords". Conflicts are never black and white. Whether it's intense competition, a misunderstanding, unfortunate happenstance, debate on the best way to solve a problem, or good intention gone awry, conflicts are much more personal, escalate quickly, and often will end tragically (what if the villain you're fighting has a dark secret of a missing son.... only to discover at his death it's you!).

9. Daring do: Campaign incorporates the stunt rules by Lizard, and the daring stunts from Adventure! d20. Heroes can attempt amazing manuevers of agility.

10. Amazing astronomical events: Think aurora borealis. For several years, the night sky has become very interesting, with shimmering curtains of light, lightning moving in strange directions, odd shaped clouds, meteor showers, etc. Only the most skilled voudanistas and the people in the central city know the truth: The Dream World is going to collide with the earth, spilling its denizens into known reality. And it's much closer than we thought.

 

[Cherub]

1. Voodoo-esque magic: All practitioners are in exotic, dangerous locations pursuing wicked goals, hiding from the witch-hunting mobs, or turning their backs on society. Abilities include laying tricks (spell-trapping a place), creating hot foot powders (to drive your enemies out of town), and . Of course, there's always the chance for your spells/tricks to go awry.

2. Boneman's Kingdom: Dying is a big deal in this campaign, and the beginning of a whole new adventure. Down in the "boneman's kingdom" you can adventure alongside your living allies as a wraith, but your adventures always reflect an internal battle within your heart & mind. The boneman's kingdom can be physically visited, usually when a wicked thief or demon tricks you to enter. Though people fear death, it is not because they won't return, it's because their soul becomes vulnerable to theft, manipulation, enslavement, and blackmail. In fact, some priests specialize in making sure that the dead don't get resurrected, as one can buy oneself back from death...at great cost. There are no detect undead spells, and undead (zombi) are very hard to identify.

3. Yocals: People are insular and superstitious. There are no "save the kingdom" missions. Most PCs will be either exiles, rejects, enemies, or rejects of their society. There are no royal roads, postal systems, or vast empires. This world is a conquering lord's nightmare: "You mean to collect tribute from the village I've got to send my scouts through Dimroot Swamp, risking mosquito blindness and demoncrocs, then undercover through territories controlled by a hobgoblin warlord, and once they've reached the village, they'll have to convince the pitchfork-wielding villagers they're not demons?"

4. Central civilization: There is only one major city, and it is the seat of religion, culture, enlightenment, and paladins. It is kind of like heaven on earth, with a twist, inspired by "Utopia" by Thomas Moore. The farther away one gets from this capital, the more rural, rugged, idol-worshipping, and backward the villages get.

5. Invisible gods: The people never see their gods. The closest they get is once a year, when the temple priests parade the god's shrouded palenquin/statue through the city. Priests are rarely faithful servants, and more often seek to manipulate the gods to do their will through the knowledge of ancient True Names.

6. Druid tribes: Barbaric tribes led by druids seek to restore the Goddess religion, and use guerilla tactics against their foes. Many are afflicted with a minor form of lycanthropy, but learn how to control their condition. Considered enemies-of-the-state.

7. Wicked prince: A prince was born who prophesy foretold would destroy the kingdom should he ever have sex. The prince, fearing that he should fall to his lusts, attempts to make a strict Puritan society, punishing women severely for any show of beauty. He has created a harem of man-slaves, who plot his assassination. Unfortunately, the prince is hard to kill, having bathed in the blood of the phoenix, granting him invulnerability.

8. Shades of grey: Everyone has dark secrets in this campaign (in fact all PCs choose one at first level). Sample dark secrets are "mentally ill loved-one" and "marked by dark lords". Conflicts are never black and white. Whether it's intense competition, a misunderstanding, unfortunate happenstance, debate on the best way to solve a problem, or good intention gone awry, conflicts are much more personal, escalate quickly, and often will end tragically (what if the villain you're fighting has a dark secret of a missing son.... only to discover at his death it's you!).

9. Daring do: Campaign incorporates the stunt rules by Lizard, and the daring stunts from Adventure! d20. Heroes can attempt amazing manuevers of agility.

10. Amazing astronomical events: Think aurora borealis. For several years, the night sky has become very interesting, with shimmering curtains of light, lightning moving in strange directions, odd shaped clouds, meteor showers, etc. Only the most skilled voudanistas and the people in the central city know the truth: The Dream World is going to collide with the earth, spilling its denizens into known reality. And it's much closer than we thought.

one word: awesome-cool

 

[Tormenet]

Now that's a fine thread.

Different ideas, maybe not all for one setting:

1) The Thirty Years War, Grim Tales style. I always wanted to start an adventure with the siege of Magdeburg.

2) More political factions like the real world where you spend half your time trying not to be outmaneuvered by your friends.

3) Colony of an Ottoman Empire-like regime. The colony is a dumping ground for troublesome peoples (following the ancient practice of transplanting entire peoples) where and sets its cruelest governors to keep them in line. The landscape is rich in ruins and deadly in and of itself. Then one day, the ships from the home continent stop coming. Now all these tense factions that were kept in line by a Stalin-like fist are free to pursue their own agendas.

4) Tunguska event, only it leaves in its wake a plague that empties the cities and leaves them occupied by crazed, life-hating shades, and the survivors are the only ones who are immune. Stay close to the fires at night...

5) A world like C.S. Friedman’s Erna (Coldfire Trilogy, at least the first book was great) where the world is reactive to its sentient occupants, and your dreams can actually take shape and life. Your sword master makes you hunt down and kill all the things your overactive imagination brings into being.

6) Something like the Haiti described in The Serpent and the Rainbow, where shadowy voodoo groups enforce the social order through threat of zombification, while letting the government delude itself into thinking its really in charge.

7) An early modern era (circa our 1650) Atlantis, where Amerigo’s land is a fable just waiting for heroic souls to exploit. An Atlantean Indiana Jones exploring a half-sunken new world.

8) A setting that is Earth but certain places, like crossing fast running water, takes you into a fantastic mirror world, maybe something like the Star Trek episode where they went into the evil Empire and Spock had the cool beard. Some shadowy organization has learned the secret of crossing between the two and is doing something that threatens both.

9) A setting based on ancient Bactria (Central Asia, northern Afghanistan), where you had Alexander’s colonists living among Persians and dealing with wild tribes in the mountains we call Hindu Kush and Indians on the other side. Two far from the major powers for them to have real influence but right smack on major overland trade route. An experiment in compelling disparate cultures to get along. Wait, that sounds like my home brew…

10) A setting where my sister’s lack-wit ex-husband is always the monster getting slaughtered in new and exciting ways each session. Now that’s a cool setting.