[Community Project] The Crucible

[Ishamael]

I posted this in House Rules, but it doesn't seem to get the same traffic as it did since "The Great Migration".

anyway..

I was working on my new setting when inspiration struck me. Who else would be interested in putting together a campaign setting similar to the way Deamonforge was done?

The world is a bit "grittier" than others. Kinda like Ravenloft meets Dark Sun meets Greyhawk meets our own possible future. Magic is very rare, while psionics is only slightly more common. Even rarer than Arcane magic, is Divine magic. The gods have all but left the world (Though the pantheon is not yet defined.)

War is also a huge part of the setting. Many, if not all of the existing nations are in at least some state of conflict. Either with other nations, or the Legion, a goblinoid army from the north.

Rules: As stated before, Spellcasting is very rare. The Sorcerer is a prestige class that anyone with 4 ranks in Knowledge: Arcane can get into. Paladins are the only class capable of divine magic. To balance the Sorcerer (who actually learns and casts spells like a D&D Wizard), they gain access to healing spells. However, their healing spells do not actually heal hit points, they convert them to subdual damage.

Very likely Ken Hood's Grim and Gritty system will be used. Those not familiar with it should really check it out. See here: http://www.sleepingimperium.rpghost.com/downloads/GrimNGrittyHitPointRules.pdf

As you read through some of the "history" of the world, some will seem a bit familiar. I am attempting to put together a fantasy world that, on the surface, is very different from our own, yet actually takes place about 2,000 years into our post-apacolyptic future. If I may use such cliche terms.

I'm looking for individual's capable of taking ideas and running with them.

Let me know if you are interested. We can discuss it here or by e-mail.

Here is a bit to wet your appetite:

Table of Contents: (So far...)

Chapter 1: The Crucible
History
Day in the life of…

Chapter 2: Characters

Races
Humans
Dwarves (Droman)
Elves (Prane)
Halflings (Hinolians)
Half-Elf (Praris)
Half-Dwarf (Drale)

Classes
Barbarian – not changed
Fighter – better skills
Rogue – not changed
Mystic – psychic monk replacement
Paladin – minor changes
Ranger – no spells, major changes
Gifted – psychic

Feats
Regional Feats

Equipment
New Weapons, Armor and Equipment
Piecemeal armor rules
New metals and materials

Prestige Classes
Sorcerers - only arcane casters

Chapter 3: Way of the Warrior

Grim and Gritty Combat
Martial Arts Rules

Chapter 4: The Supernatural

The Faith – paladin rules and the gods
Psionics – skills and feats system
Magic – changes to spellcasting and spells
Magic & Psionic Items – new stuff

Chapter 5: Geography and Cosmology

Amria
Kardon
Vector
Salistan
Chrimsha
Targis
Mondrael
The Legion
The Planes (Ethereal, shadow, Astral)

Chapter 6: Appendix
New creatures


Exerpt from HISTORY

What Has Come Before

The world you know now is not as it always was. Indeed, the world has so changed that its beginnings may forever be shrouded by the mists of time.
The year is 1125 A.R. Even a millennium later, we still bare the scars of the Rupture. Though we have come a long way in such a short time, we may never again reach the heights of days gone by. We may never again see the towers that touched the sky, or the winged vessels that bore us across the seas.
The legends tell of a day when the sky split and the horrors of the Abyss fell upon our great cities and fortresses. We were not prepared for such an assault. The reason for the Rupture itself has never been discovered. The fiends loosed by the wounds in the sky were terrifying in their ferocity. In the end, we won, but not without a price to pay. The greatest sorcerers of that time came together to forge a weapon that would turn the tides on our demonic foes.
Called “The Crucible”, the weapon was turned on the tide of monsters that poured through the gates of Hell. The destruction it birthed was unthinkable.
The lands were torn asunder. Billions died, both human and not. The demons were driven back, and the wounds in the sky cauterized by the Crucible’s terrible fires. What was left of the world could never be the same. Many of the creatures of the earth had been twisted and so few of us remained that all of civilization collapsed. Gone were the great magics of the day. There was only the struggle to survive.
The years fallowing past in chaos. People fought each other for food and resources. The Crucible’s residual power wrought monsters unlike anything the world had seen. The few attempts to recreate a society proved futile. People lacked ambition. By this time, no one remembered the world before the Rupture and understood nothing but desperation and strife.

The World as We Know It

Until the year 1113 A.C., we knew a time of peace. Unfortunately however, peace cannot last forever. The Black Legion has returned and nations battle each other for land and resources. Political instability has become a problem yet again, and the Legion seeks only to make things worse. The nation of Kardon has fallen and its spoils are divided between Vectorian and Salistian forces. It seems every country is at war with the next. The Barrier Peaks have become a blood bath and even the walled nation of Sanctuary has seen its people die.
The Legion brings with it evil magics and not all of it’s ranks are filled with goblinoid warriors. It seems that they are accompanied by other races from across the Sea of Storms and Barrier Peaks.
We no longer know our enemy as we once did. With the addition our own kind to the Legion’s rank, they have become smarter and more dangerous than ever before.
We are seeing the beginning of the end of an age. However the fighting is resolved, the world will never be the same.

 

[Neowolf]

Ooops! When I read the topic of your message, I assumed you were referring to the Arthur Miller (correct me if I got that name wrong, it's been a while) play involving the Salem Witch Trials. I voted 0 based on that assumption, but after reading the post, it sounds pretty good. I'd actually rate it more like a 4.

 

[trimeulose]

just a few thoughts:


make magic feared. Anyone accused off doing any kind of magic other than divine will be put to trial (salem witch trials).

make the wizards the prestige class, Sorcerers must make a roll to see if they have the "potential" to become one. There are two types of sors, trained and wild magic, wild magic is what happens when someone becomes a sor and doesn't have a trainer. Both positive and negetive effects. trained has no "fluctuation". Even still Arcane magic is highly feared. the only people that can train a sorcerer are wiz of at least 3 levels higher or trained sors 2 levs higher. To become a wizard one must have 6 ranks into knowledge arcana (which is not a cross-class skill for all but wizard).

Monks are secluded and misunderstood.

Clerics are often false, because they never truly believe. (that is why gods have taken a vacation)

Druids are near extinct. The don't really exsist, and more often than not the only people that become druids are the children of druids. In "villages" where druids exsist, Barbarian class is more prominent.

Barbarians, the "simpler" folk. exsist in the back woods. Use Druids as leaders and healers.

Bards: art long forgotten. to take as prestige class must have 8 ranks into perform and 6 ranks in knowledge arcana. Arcane magic is hunted.

Rogues: common place. Some guilds are publically known. People have become resistant to the attacks of rogues, decrease damage die for SA to 1d4

Fighters: Best of the warriors in the land. Warriors are a dime a dozen. Fighters are more often seen as leaders of small raiding squads. They tend to be more intelligent than the average person because of the things they have seen. Pre req: Int 13

Wizards, spells take massive amounts of time and energy to research. Spells cost spell level squared days to research and twice that to master it. All spell cost 200 x spell level squared xp to research. half that to master. A spell must be mastered before a metamagic feat can be applied. this includes scribe scroll. Arcane magic is hunted. To take a meta magic feat, square the amount that the spells level increases and multiply it by 3 that is the number of weeks it takes to learn a metamagic feat.


magical beasts and beasts that have magical lineage are rare as they have been hunted to near extinction (or extinction in most cases)

 

[Ishamael]

Guess I should throw out a few more bones.

Sorcerers are the only Arcane spellcasting class. They are VERY feared. Use of Sorcerery is illegal in all nations. In some nations, those who practice it, must be licensed and join the military.

Exerpt:

Creatures

The taint placed on the world by the Crucible is responsible for the creation of many species of creature. The Goblin races are one such example, but also are ogres, orcs, doppelgangers, beholders, dire animals and other abominations.
Another curious effect wrought by the Crucible’s destruction is the rise of the undead. It is unknown what causes these, but some areas become a sort of pocket of evil that corrupts the corpses of the fallen. These usually manifest in area of intense emotion or evil, giving rise to skeletons, zombies, ghouls and the occasional ghost, wight, or wraith. Rarer still are demons and devils that are brought into the world through gates that form in these areas.
The Crucible is not the only source of strange creatures. The sorcerers that walk the land sometimes create monsters to do there bidding and sometimes they continue to go on even after their master no longer has a use for them. Magical experiments get out of hand and demons are called into the world. Strange creatures walk the land and many of their origins have been lost in time, never to be known by mere mortals.

Psionics

Called the gifted by some, these people have the talent to project their will upon the world. These people can read minds, see the future, and move matter by shear will alone.
The gifted are feared by some, and respected by all. A certain amount of unease come with knowing a person can hear your thoughts or set you aflame by merely wishing it.
Some countries, such as Targis and Amria require the gifted to be marked when they begin to exhibit their powers. Many nations employ psychics for various jobs. Some work as healers, some as soldiers, and some as judges or advisors in the court systems.
In Vector, psychics are taken for slaves and forced to wear a slave crown. These devises damped their powers, and allow another person to control the wearer of the crown. Vectorian law prohibits known psychics to live uncrowned, as they believe that such power should not be left to individual people. Taking their power and free will from them is seen as the only means to protect other’s from them.
Everywhere else across the known world, there are temples and sanctuaries where one of the gifted can go to practice, hone their talents, and be free from the prejudices of other people.

Magic

Nothing changes the rules of war like a sorcerer on the battlefield. Most common folk fear the sorcerers and want no part of their doings. Not as accepted as the gifted, many sorcerers must live their lives in secret or else pledge their services to their countries.
Most places will not tolerate sorcery. At the very least, a sorcerer will be required to register with the military and be subject to the whim of the government.
The magic that is channeled through the sorcerer’s body is harmful and eventually takes its toll on the spellcaster. For this reason alone, sorcerers are rare among society. Most are not willing to sacrifice their health to gain the power that comes with extensive study and practice of the Arcane Art.
In some nations such a Vector and Mondrael, sorcerers without government sanction are hunted and killed. The only way to get government sanction in these areas is to be nobility or a ranking officer in the military.

 

[Rubeus Hagrid]

Why I voted that I wouldn't play it...

It looks OK for what it is. Just...

DARKdarkDarkDARKGRIT!GRITgritgrtigrit! Dark!

Gah, I am so sick of it all...

OK, Rant over, back to my forests and unicorns and generally high-fantasy, high-cheer, "haven't killed more than two PCs in as many decades because the stars of the TV show don't get killed off" games.

But it looks good, otherwise.

 

[Ishamael [At Home]]

Agreed.. Gritty has been done before. The Scarred Lands and well....Dark Sun.

However, in both of those, magic is fairly common and combat is not realistic. That is what sets my game apart.

Maybe 1 in 200 has the POTENTIAL to use psionics.

About 1 in 100 can use magic, but only about 1 in 800 do because of the Taint it carries.

If you havn't already, read the Grim and Gritty rules. Combat suddenly becomes a bit more realistic. The 10th level fighter might want to pay some attention to that commoner sneaking up behind him with that dagger.