Campaign World Creation (diary)

[Sir Whiskers]

Step 3: National Government...
The kingdom will look like this:

King
Hand of the King (Kings justice)
Warden of the North
Warden of the South
Warden of the East
Warden of the West

The Wardens will be responsible for the day to day operations of their respective areas. I plan to start my game in the north, where the wall will be located.

So following with the second rule of dungeoncraft I need to come up with a secret for this new piece of campaign information. This time I'm going to leave it blank and see what kind of ideas I get

Secret #4?

Delgar

If you want to tie back in the wall, perhaps the Warden of the North is scheming for the throne (maybe his family were once royalty, but are now just another noble house). He has learned a bit about the wall, having sent agents to investigate the strange rumors. Meanwhile, fey on the other side have sent their own agents to determine what is wrong with the wall and whether humans are still a threat. The Warden of the North might have learned of the fey and is considering using them to pave his way to the throne. In return, he'll offer to guarantee that humans will never invade the fey realms - if he's king, that is. Now he just needs to secretly contact a fey agent and arrange things.

Of course the fey may not be idiots, in which case they'll suspect the Warden's intentions (what's to stop him from invading after he becomes king?) So they are using him to destabilize the realm. A powerful, well-governed nation on their doorstep is potentially far more dangerous than a chaotic nation wrapped up in its own civil wars.

Also, you could have factions within the fey. Some (the descendents of the fey who originally enslaved humans?) are more inclined to use nasty methods to ensure their safety. Others may be hoping for some sort of peaceful understanding, or are trying to re-empower the wall.

 

[Altalazar]

That's an interesting idea. Perhaps you'd like to expand on it.
Delgar

Well, you could make something sort of a "signature" of the various wardens - to use a probably bad example, like having one represent "peace" and the other, opposite one represent "war" - and so that opposite signature for north and south lends more fuel to speculation about the missing "west" warden - perhaps there is some ugly history there. Perhaps some scheming. Perhaps it is secret for a different reason - perhaps that warden also leads the secret police - a TRUE secret police that no one is even aware exists. Then through the course of things later players start seeing little things here and there that end up with them speculating even more about that missing warden. Best to keep it as open as possible - with the overt hints like the fact that there is no overt west warden makes it possible to leave out a lot of other clues - you don't need to bang the players over the head with this and as they slowly piece it together, they will really appreciate it, especially as it sheds light (perhaps) on some of their earliest adventures - double meanings, hidden meanings. Tying that into the (rather obvious) Warden of the West would likely be very satisfying for them and you. Since it is sketchy at first, you wouldn't even need to fully define it until late, letting some of it evolve with the organic path of the campaign.

I realize this is all very general, but I hope you can see what I'm getting at with this.

 

[handforged]

I also really like the way you are going so far. If the Warden of the North is plotting to take over the kingdom, and the players are in the north, they may have to choose which side of the coming civil war to be on. I very much like the idea of the lost gods calling out from the grove for new worshippers. They could be fey gods that the humans locked away once gaining their freedom from their previous owners.

I also would like a copy of the articles.

bcp0424atmaildotecudotedu

~hf

 

[Pyske]

Personally, I like the idea of having a Warden missing.

Also, when you get to religion, perhaps you will want to evoke a bit of the feel of the Masonic orders and their persecution. This will give you plety of room for secrets (since they are associated with secrets and conspiracies), a bit of religious conflict, and another reason the wall is failing.

. . . . . . . -- Eric

 

[nopantsyet]

Step 3: National Government

(snip)

Secret #4?

The King is only a figure head, the Wardens actually comprise a triumvirate that has been the true ruling body for over two hundred years. Since the coup, the succession of kings has been generally content to live a life of leisure, maintaining the guise of power, but having no real responsibility for ruling. His only official duties are ambassadorial.

However, as the monarchy is predicated on divine imposition, were it made known that the divinely-ordained ruler had been usurped, it would most certainly result in an exceedingly fractious conflict.

 

[Delgar]

Wow, thanks guys you have given me some excellent ideas so far. You're making it very tough to compile these first three steps, but I'll give it a try and have it for you sometime today.

Also, next up will be Religion and Cosmology, this one is going to be tough for me.

Keep the ideas coming!

Delgar

 

[Delgar]

Consolidation of Steps 1-3:

So Far: (Lower Magic, Human Dominated, Medieval World)

A large kingdom, all united under one king is made up of an entirely human population. All other races and monsters are considered mythical and legendary and are found mainly in childrens tales and the like. The kingdom is Feudal in structure and they have no allies or enemies (save internal conflicts). Originally the kingdom was made up of 7 smaller kingdoms that were eventually amalgamted under a single king. Also in positions of power are the Wardens of the different quadrents of the kingdom who are responsible for mainting their regions, known as the Wardens of the North, South, East and West. The kingdom has enjoyed many years of peace under protection of the northern wall.

The King himself enjoys protection from the Kingsguard, 7 of the most noble, loyal and accomplished warriors in the land, as a mark of their position they wear a pure white cloak trimmed with gold. They are sworn to protect the king with their lives.

The north is the most rugged and less populated of the 4 areas of the kingdom and houses the greatwall that is believed to once have protected the people from invaders from the north. However, little is known of the wall, who made it and for what purpose? The wall itself is still guarded today by all members of the kingdom and those who man the wall must cut off all of their former political and family ties and spend the rest protecting the safety of the kingdom from all dangers from the north. Once becoming one of the black cloaks was a position of honor, but now the ranks have been filled with criminals and murderers. Desertion from the ranks of the wall is punishable by death.

The campaign itself will start in a stronghold that is located in the northern part of the kingdom in a fairly secluded area. The stonghold itself serves as the northern training academy. All boys and girls, once they reach the age of 16, must serve a manditory 2 year term in military service where they are trained in all things millitary. The stronghold itself is made up of a small keep, several barracks and a few other basic necessities, the most unusual feature of the keep is a grove of ancient trees surrounded by it's own wall. It is forbidden to enter the grove and the punishment for disobeying is severe. The academy is purely Militaristic and all orders come from the top down.


As for secrets so far:

Secret #1: The wall; the wall itself was not built by the humans and has not always been manned, but several great stories and epics have been written about the battles that have taken place at the wall. Most of these are not common knowledge. Who built the wall and why remains a mystery.

I've decided that originally some race built the wall and many other structures that dot the landscape of the kingdom 1000's of years ago. Nobody knows who or what these people were as the only remaining clues of their existance lies in their abandonded structures.

Secret #2: Humans were once enslaved by a powerful race (undecided at this time) and a small faction of them were able to escape to the south across the wall and miraculously their captors could not follow past the wall, leaving the humans in peace. As generation after generation went by much of the past was forgotten.

Secret #3: The grove in the stronghold was once a place of worship of ancient gods long forgotten. The voices that are heard are actually the gods crying hoping to be heard.

Secret #4: The warden of the west has mysteriously disappeared and the King has appointed the warden of the east as the temporary replacement. This of course causes tension between all the regions. What actually happened to the warden remains even a mystery to me at the moment.


Anyway, as you can see I've consolidated the first three steps and I still have many blanks to fill in! Keep up the great ideas and even though I don't use them I still appreciate them immensely!

Next up will be Religion (ooo I dread this part)

Delgar

 

[Pyske]

One question: if there are no outside foes, why is there mandatory military service?

The primary suggestion that springs to mind is that the provinces (or parts of them) are rebellious and a strong central military is needed to keep the kingdom from fracturing.

If this is the case, 'though, we get another question: why hasn't the king simply replaced the Warden? Perhaps here there's room for a secret. For example, maybe the wardens must come from specific bloodlines (probably by treaty, since we want to keep this low magic). Alternately, perhaps the "heir apparent" for Warden of the West was foolish enough to make an enemy of the King.

. . . . . . . -- Eric

 

[Delgar]

Good, question. I was actually thinking that manditory military training was just a holdover from the old days. Although you do provide an interesting solution.

Delgar

One question: if there are no outside foes, why is there mandatory military service?

The primary suggestion that springs to mind is that the provinces (or parts of them) are rebellious and a strong central military is needed to keep the kingdom from fracturing.

If this is the case, 'though, we get another question: why hasn't the king simply replaced the Warden? Perhaps here there's room for a secret. For example, maybe the wardens must come from specific bloodlines (probably by treaty, since we want to keep this low magic). Alternately, perhaps the "heir apparent" for Warden of the West was foolish enough to make an enemy of the King.

. . . . . . . -- Eric

 

[Pyske]

Good, question. I was actually thinking that manditory military training was just a holdover from the old days. Although you do provide an interesting solution.

Delgar

Yeah, people don't tend to hold over things that are a hassle (like giving up 2 years of one's life) without a good reason.

. . . . . . . -- Eric