Fallen Seraph
First Post
Hmm... Fragile Hot-Air Balloons huh, well that would fit for a more technologically advance culture.
D&D 4E Homebrew setting I'll use for 4e
Brother Richard
First Post
Very cool idea!
I really think this world is interesting.
I don't know how much of a real effect the mist will have to make the setting unique over just having vast oceans, but it is definitely cooler and more interesting. I feel like the best campaign ideas are ones that make everything more colorful and vibrant without vastly changing mechanics which means I like the fact that this setting would not play significantly different from an island campaign. Very neat idea.
By the way. Have you ever played Skies of Arcadia. It is EXTREMELY similar to your campaign world. If you have not, you should check it out and maybe pirate a few ideas from it.
Sorry, I am technologically inept, so I won't give you a link but just look it up on wikipedia. (Or play the game, it is really fun)
I really think this world is interesting.
I don't know how much of a real effect the mist will have to make the setting unique over just having vast oceans, but it is definitely cooler and more interesting. I feel like the best campaign ideas are ones that make everything more colorful and vibrant without vastly changing mechanics which means I like the fact that this setting would not play significantly different from an island campaign. Very neat idea.
By the way. Have you ever played Skies of Arcadia. It is EXTREMELY similar to your campaign world. If you have not, you should check it out and maybe pirate a few ideas from it.
Sorry, I am technologically inept, so I won't give you a link but just look it up on wikipedia. (Or play the game, it is really fun)
Ah, miasma! Be sure to check out both the manga, and the anime Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind. Especially check out the manga. Most likely the local library has it on hand, I live on a small island and they have both.
Definitely crucial readings for this type of setting.
Definitely crucial readings for this type of setting.
Andor
First Post
Very cool idea. Another setting with a similar feature is L5R. The shadowlands in that game are tainted. The taint is corruptive and insidious and can turn even the shiniest paladin into Darth Sidious. However jade blocks the effect by absorbing the corruption into itself. So you an travel the shadowlands without fear of the taint (there's plenty else to fear) but only until all your jade dissolves away into goo.
Some kind of similarly abalative protetion from the mist may have been discovered in some places, allowing short expeditions into the mist, as long as you don't run out of Potion X. It's a good way to put time pressure into a scenario, although this is less of a consideration in 4e than in 3e.
P.S. I'm totally pictureing zepplins towed by wyverns.
Some kind of similarly abalative protetion from the mist may have been discovered in some places, allowing short expeditions into the mist, as long as you don't run out of Potion X. It's a good way to put time pressure into a scenario, although this is less of a consideration in 4e than in 3e.
P.S. I'm totally pictureing zepplins towed by wyverns.
Rel
Liquid Awesome
Alright, I'm getting down to some real world building working from the inside out. Mostly right now I'm trying to nail down some of the economic and lifestyle considerations of the world I've created.
Obviously the foremost among these is that trade between plateaus is made vastly more difficult by the distances involved and limited connectivity between them. The wealth of an average kingdom will be primarily determined by how self sufficient it is (reducing the need for importing materials and finished goods) and/or whether it has surplus resources to export and how easily transportable these exports are.
For example a plateau might have a lot of trees growing on it. Wood will always be a valuable resource in this setting. But it doesn't make a fantastic export because it's so heavy and bulky that transport is extremely difficult. On the other hand, if they have a particular type of wood that is especially good for making bows then that plateau might export that material in small (but valuable) quantities.
This also brings up the idea that it will almost always be more profitable and sensible to ship finished goods rather than raw materials. The kingdom the PC's will start in (Semma) has a lot of sheep and prides itself on very fine wool. They could (and probably do to a small extent) ship this wool to other plateaus. But they also have a sizable population of weavers and tailors who turn the wool into finished cloth and clothing. This would minimize waste at the destination and reduce transport costs as much as possible (I think).
It also seems like it would encourage another theme: Guilds. With populations of craftsmen concentrated near the resource production areas, and with movement of the general populace more limited than in a normal world, it seems likely that there would emerge techniques and formulae that amount to "trade secrets" that might be closely guarded. I've never run a campaign where this idea was a major theme but I'm leaning towards it for this one. It sets up a host of mercantile entities that intermingle and frequently conflict with political power structures.
So right now I'm at the point of deciding what sorts of resources the various nearby plateaus have available. And this should point up some interesting trade relationships that can emerge from that interplay.
One final thing that occurred to me while envisioning this: Food is going to be an interesting comodity. Given the small geographical areas and lack of arable land it seems likely that the diet of the average citizen will be pretty limited. In Semma they eat a lot of mutton I guess. Only the rich can afford to eat a wide variety of foods imported from faraway places. Some foods might be extremely prized for their rarity to the point that it is illegal for any but royalty to eat them (maybe fish given that large bodies of water are few and far between).
Anyway, I'd love to hear your thoughts as usual.
Obviously the foremost among these is that trade between plateaus is made vastly more difficult by the distances involved and limited connectivity between them. The wealth of an average kingdom will be primarily determined by how self sufficient it is (reducing the need for importing materials and finished goods) and/or whether it has surplus resources to export and how easily transportable these exports are.
For example a plateau might have a lot of trees growing on it. Wood will always be a valuable resource in this setting. But it doesn't make a fantastic export because it's so heavy and bulky that transport is extremely difficult. On the other hand, if they have a particular type of wood that is especially good for making bows then that plateau might export that material in small (but valuable) quantities.
This also brings up the idea that it will almost always be more profitable and sensible to ship finished goods rather than raw materials. The kingdom the PC's will start in (Semma) has a lot of sheep and prides itself on very fine wool. They could (and probably do to a small extent) ship this wool to other plateaus. But they also have a sizable population of weavers and tailors who turn the wool into finished cloth and clothing. This would minimize waste at the destination and reduce transport costs as much as possible (I think).
It also seems like it would encourage another theme: Guilds. With populations of craftsmen concentrated near the resource production areas, and with movement of the general populace more limited than in a normal world, it seems likely that there would emerge techniques and formulae that amount to "trade secrets" that might be closely guarded. I've never run a campaign where this idea was a major theme but I'm leaning towards it for this one. It sets up a host of mercantile entities that intermingle and frequently conflict with political power structures.
So right now I'm at the point of deciding what sorts of resources the various nearby plateaus have available. And this should point up some interesting trade relationships that can emerge from that interplay.
One final thing that occurred to me while envisioning this: Food is going to be an interesting comodity. Given the small geographical areas and lack of arable land it seems likely that the diet of the average citizen will be pretty limited. In Semma they eat a lot of mutton I guess. Only the rich can afford to eat a wide variety of foods imported from faraway places. Some foods might be extremely prized for their rarity to the point that it is illegal for any but royalty to eat them (maybe fish given that large bodies of water are few and far between).
Anyway, I'd love to hear your thoughts as usual.
Then clearly someone will have developed ships that float on the mist... For some reason I'm picturing these to be long and wide and FLAT ... like a giant floating piece of plywood.
Xris Robin
First Post
The old PSX rpg Legend of Legaia had a Mist theme, too.
Your mountaintop archipelago world reminds me of other sci-fi storylines as well- Niven's Integral Trees stories and Hal Clement's Mesklin stories, collected in the book, Heavy World. Waterworld also springs to mind.
Like the Integral Trees stories, one of the limiting factors to any culture will be scarce resources.
1) With the high-points split up into a myriad of peaks like a chain of islands in the Pacific, your people are going to have a devilish time getting fresh water. This is assuming (as I believe) that high-altitude air can't hold as much H2O, which will translate into less precipitation, and thus, less easily retrieved water.
2) Nutrition in general will be more difficult. (Think of Easter Island or pre-freeze Greenland.) Some peaks might not be big enough or fertile enough to support a wide enough variety of flora and fauna to support long-term settlements. This could lead some settlements to have harsh population controls, enforced by government (Logan's Run) or religion (any faith involving ritual sacrifice).
3) If you have races that are miasma-native or miasma tolerant, you've got the basis for trade and conflict similar to fictionalized accounts of interactions between Atlanteans and "Surface Dwellers"...or Elves and Drow...or Eloi and Moorlocks.
Like on Mesklin, travel between settlements will be difficult, but with potentially high rewards for intrepid merchants.
1) Anyone who comes up with a new and reliable way to survive and navigate the miasma has an immense "technological" advantage.
2) The isolation of the settlements will mean that you'll have varied rates of tech and magic advancement, linguistic divergence, and possibly even genetic diversions & bottlenecks (see Darwin & the Galapagos for a refresher).
Divergent tech/magic could include things like:
1) Hot air baloons or dirigibles for travel. Perhaps some settlements have access to plant material (like Liftwood from Space:1889), a mineral or alloy like Cavorite (like in First Men in the Moon) that makes heavier than air flight possible. These would be resources worth fighting for...
Other artificial flight methods could include aircraft deriving lift from enslaved or allied air or fire elementals, working ornithopters, or even sophisticated gliders.
As a potential "megastructure," perhaps someone is building or has built a skybridge similar to a rope bridge but with a system of baloons/dirigibles supporting some of the spans over deep and wide chasms. It couldn't support much more than foot traffic and pack animals, though- no cargo or war vehicles would work due to weight.
2) Using open portals to the Plane of Air to supply additional oxygen. This could mean added land for a settlement and easier mining of resources. Such a portal could even be used to pump air into RW "diving suits" or something more akin to those in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.
3) Some alloys and materials may not be universally available. In short, you have the basis for a DarkSun type economy.
4) Perhaps someone successfully makes an "airtight" vehicle that carries a smaller portal to the plane of air- essentially a "submarine."
Like the Integral Trees stories, one of the limiting factors to any culture will be scarce resources.
1) With the high-points split up into a myriad of peaks like a chain of islands in the Pacific, your people are going to have a devilish time getting fresh water. This is assuming (as I believe) that high-altitude air can't hold as much H2O, which will translate into less precipitation, and thus, less easily retrieved water.
2) Nutrition in general will be more difficult. (Think of Easter Island or pre-freeze Greenland.) Some peaks might not be big enough or fertile enough to support a wide enough variety of flora and fauna to support long-term settlements. This could lead some settlements to have harsh population controls, enforced by government (Logan's Run) or religion (any faith involving ritual sacrifice).
3) If you have races that are miasma-native or miasma tolerant, you've got the basis for trade and conflict similar to fictionalized accounts of interactions between Atlanteans and "Surface Dwellers"...or Elves and Drow...or Eloi and Moorlocks.
Like on Mesklin, travel between settlements will be difficult, but with potentially high rewards for intrepid merchants.
1) Anyone who comes up with a new and reliable way to survive and navigate the miasma has an immense "technological" advantage.
2) The isolation of the settlements will mean that you'll have varied rates of tech and magic advancement, linguistic divergence, and possibly even genetic diversions & bottlenecks (see Darwin & the Galapagos for a refresher).
Divergent tech/magic could include things like:
1) Hot air baloons or dirigibles for travel. Perhaps some settlements have access to plant material (like Liftwood from Space:1889), a mineral or alloy like Cavorite (like in First Men in the Moon) that makes heavier than air flight possible. These would be resources worth fighting for...
Other artificial flight methods could include aircraft deriving lift from enslaved or allied air or fire elementals, working ornithopters, or even sophisticated gliders.
As a potential "megastructure," perhaps someone is building or has built a skybridge similar to a rope bridge but with a system of baloons/dirigibles supporting some of the spans over deep and wide chasms. It couldn't support much more than foot traffic and pack animals, though- no cargo or war vehicles would work due to weight.
2) Using open portals to the Plane of Air to supply additional oxygen. This could mean added land for a settlement and easier mining of resources. Such a portal could even be used to pump air into RW "diving suits" or something more akin to those in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.
3) Some alloys and materials may not be universally available. In short, you have the basis for a DarkSun type economy.
4) Perhaps someone successfully makes an "airtight" vehicle that carries a smaller portal to the plane of air- essentially a "submarine."
And so you could easily explain why barbarians raiders are cannibals. A floating island full of anthropophagous orcs can be a fun plot device... The PC can learn that the neighbouring plateau has been ravaged by the orcs. They have to find a way to foil the invasion of their own plateau. Think about starwars "deathstar" but with ravening orcs (or demons) rather than giant laser beam.
