D&D 4E Homebrew setting I'll use for 4e

[Rechan]

As I read this, the first thought occurring to me was things happening to the Plateaus themselves. For instance, a kingdom utterly freaking because the plateau is starting to sink. Another is some method of actually moving the plateau in a horizontal direction, like how tectonic plates move continents. This would be an epic event, and the idea being that if two plateaus drift close to one another, the people on them are likely going to war. (In fact, it could be an Ill Omen for war). Same with some splitting apart!

Another thought: you mention 'mist whales'. Well, there is an old legend about an island that is on the back of a giant turtle. Same idea, here; there is a living entity with land on its back, that moves through the mist. Although it could be more akin to those giant long-necked dinosaurs, that it just walks across the land, instead.

Remember that the plateaus can also function like mountains: instead of it being just one big square with sheer sides, it can have varying levels along the sides. If it's tall, people might have caves carved in the sides/buildings built into the cliff walls (to save space, too!) It can also be hollow; mining and tunnels that go into the plateau sounds reasonable. In fact, many people might live underground, so that they get the maximum amount of usage out of the surface. Of course, there might be thinks lurking Under the surface. Underground might also be an answer to food: fungus, lichen, and other things that can be farmed underground.

I really like the diving bell idea, I had a similar idea. Being able to explore a site in the mist (and the threat of your suit getting damaged, or running out of air, or getting stuck in some sort of cave-in) adds a whole new level of tension!

SPACE is a huge commodity. So, you might have some kingdoms with severe rules/superstitions about over-population. Ever read the short story 'The Lottery'? Every year, the population of this kingdom might throw someone over the side of the plateau, or basically force them to walk down into the mist, to 'appease' it. Or, to simply be a population control. Imagine the horror of the PCs coming across a festival, and the culmination is chucking someone over the edge/forcing them at crossbow point to walk down into the mist. (It could even be a punishment if you have too many children. Which might be another plot hook; the PCs have to smuggle a pregnant woman, the mother of one too many kids, out of town).

The way the Mist is set up, it actually gives me a "Mournland" vibe (The Mournalnd being an area of cataclysm in the Eberron setting). It could even be an opportunity for Warforged to make an appearance (That might be too much for your game, but WF appearing, having somehow been created inside the mist, and are living in there, unaffected) might seriously effect your campaign (sort of like meeting aliens).

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Inspired by certain art from Marvel Comics and Roger Dean, as well as the aforementioned Integral Trees...

Pehaps the miasma is so dense as actually be capable of floating the land upon which the people live? Or perhaps there was some kind of magical accident that caused the mountaintops to detach and float freely through the air...

Or perhaps you could just use the Integral Trees setting itself, with minor tweeks.

Every year, the population of this kingdom might throw someone over the side of the plateau, or basically force them to walk down into the mist, to 'appease' it.

It seems like several people are hitting upon variants of this theme...as well as the difficulty of feeding people and getting them water.

 

[mach1.9pants]

Sounds like a cool idea. Just catching up with your ideas (long posts) but had to drop this in. The Mist sems to tie in a lot with the Shroud from OneBadEgg. I have only looked at their previews but they seem pretty cool. Maybe you could yoink some ideas from there?

 

[Ydars]

I am thinking that this mist is sounding more and more like water and that this is not a good thing; because you want to create a background campaign that is unique and also create more adventure sites. The current plateau idea reduces the available adventure sites because the players can't get down into the mist or will need special magic or equipment to do so.

If I were Rel, I would arrange the world so that, whilst going into the mist is dangerous, it does not automatically harm the player races, at least in the short-term. The REAL problem with the mist is what lives in it. So the plateaus/islands are not a response to the mist itself, they are just the last refuge from whatever it is that lives in the mist.

For this to work, the monsters in the mist have to need the mist to survive and will die quickly if removed from it; so perhaps it contains an ethereal gas or something they need to breathe. You might even want to consider if the monsters in the mist actually created the condition that exists today; perhaps they generate the mists and they at first came on very slowly and only gradually enveloped the lands. As time as gone on, they have gradually increased until they cover the whole world bar the plateaus. However, for a sense of doom, you could have NPCs mutter about how "in my father's time, the mists only came to here" etc to indicate that one day the mists will cover everything.

The advantage with this setup is that the plateaus could still be isolated but the people could go down into the mists and cut wood and gather water and try and get resources, though not without great risk.

You could even have periods when the mists retreat slightly in an orderly sequence, like tides, that mean that the settlements can stock up on certain things. This could happen daily, but monthly would be better.

This also means that you can put adventure sites down in the mists; ruined cities from past ages etc, and the PCs can get to them without needing special magic etc.

For me this jars less than the diving bell and mist ship type of thing but this is an issue of personal taste; I like to try and create novel settings without invoking special magitech, which I have never liked.

 

[Rel]

I am thinking that this mist is sounding more and more like water and that this is not a good thing; because you want to create a background campaign that is unique and also create more adventure sites. The current plateau idea reduces the available adventure sites because the players can't get down into the mist or will need special magic or equipment to do so.

I've taken some effort to make sure that this is addressed. Tieflings already have an innate resistance to the Mist (I replaced their fire resistance with Mist resistance). And there is a 1st level (and relatively inexpensive) Ritual that will produce a bowl of "Mist Milk" that provides some resistance to it as well. I've also hinted at more powerful magics that will protect people from the stronger mists deeper down.

I've also established that there are tides and that the Mist rises and falls on them. This has the effect you describe where there are times when it pulls back and exposes areas that are normally covered. These areas can and do have resources in them that could be gathered by brave villagers (or adventurers). They also are more likely to contain Mist Demons and other dangerous things that lurk in the Mists. Another thing that I've decided is that when there are storms it can sweep the Mists up into areas that are normally safe.

Deeper down in the Mist are old cities and I'm of course keeping open the option of them exploring in such places with the aid of magical or alchemical protections. There will be riches and dangers aplenty down there.

Thinking of the history and population controls, I think it only makes sense that, when the Mists first came and people were rapidly retreating up into the highlands, they would bring as many people as they could and with them bring as much portable food as they could. But that couldn't last. That food would get eaten quickly, WAY before they could plant and harvest new crops. Game would be hunted nearly to extinction and then massive starvation takes place. Wars are fought and the population drops dramatically.

Eventually they would reach and equilibrium and then learn (or relearn) ways to grow food. The game would repopulate and provide a food source again. Soon they'd start having a surplus again and this would last for a while until they began to squeeze the maximum potential out of each plateau. Along the way the Dwarves might serve in a role similar to the Native American at the first Thanksgiving, introducing the new highlanders to foods available in the mountains and showing them how to farm mushrooms and other underground foods.

I should note here that all these supply/economic considerations are not because I want the campaign to be a big exercise in supply and economics. It's just my way of making sense of the world, having it be different from other campaigns I've run, and explaining the basis behind some of the adventures the PC's might face.

Anyway, I envision things now being at the stage where they are somewhere just shy of that "maximum potential" stage. Plateaus and, in some cases, empires of multiple plateaus, are now starting to expand in search of new resources before they enter a population problem. It also means that these communities will be wanting to expand into every corner of space available, which may be bringing them into conflict with humanoids, underground races and, at the edges of the plateau, the Mist Demons themselves.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

It just occurred to me that, if you like them, Warforged would seem to be ideal inhabitants of the Mist...

 

[Ydars]

Hi Rel! Great campaign.

If you are going down this route then I think each plateau will have huge cisterns to contain water as there would not be enough from rain unless it was carefully collected and stored. These could turn out to be good lurking places for visiting monsters..............

Also, a plateau would have a certain minimum size and would have limited population density because that amount of land would make it difficult to sustain more than a certain number of people. Unless you go with the hanging gardens type thing where the sides of the plateau are also used to farm; vertical gardens of vines and other foodstuffs trailing down almost into the mists. The people would have to use net like ladders to get around on the vertical croplands. You could have critters lurking in the vines that sometimes climb up from the mists.

It also seems to me that the mist appearing overnight or in days would lead to complete extinction of humanity and most other races. The appearance would make more sense if it happened over the course of 5-10 years or else it is hard to see how anyone could have adapted IMO but this is just my two pennies worth.

 

[Rel]

Hi Rel! Great campaign.

If you are going down this route then I think each plateau will have huge cisterns to contain water as there would not be enough from rain unless it was carefully collected and stored.

This water problem was something that I identified early on as a bit of a show stopper. My answer to it is that it simply rains a lot on this world such that life is sustainable. Whether this is because of atmospheric changes that came with the Mist itself or because some magical entity (maybe even the gods themselves) changed the world to give civilization a chance is unknown. But it rains frequently and in large amounts.

None of which removes the fact that cisterns are a smart idea and one that is very easy to implement. So these will exist. And attacks upon them could form part of the basis of warfare.

Also, a plateau would have a certain minimum size and would have limited population density because that amount of land would make it difficult to sustain more than a certain number of people. Unless you go with the hanging gardens type thing where the sides of the plateau are also used to farm; vertical gardens of vines and other foodstuffs trailing down almost into the mists. The people would have to use net like ladders to get around on the vertical croplands. You could have critters lurking in the vines that sometimes climb up from the mists.

This is another excellent idea that I'd formed the roots of already but you take it to another level. I'd envisioned vines like lineas dangling down the sides of most plateaus. These are the natural food of a creature called a "Plimp" that is rather like a flying manatee. These Plimps are also used as (slow, poorly maneuverable) mounts and pack animals in some places. But your idea also makes them potential pests who are eating the gourds and squash off the vines that feed the village!

It also seems to me that the mist appearing overnight or in days would lead to complete extinction of humanity and most other races. The appearance would make more sense if it happened over the course of 5-10 years or else it is hard to see how anyone could have adapted IMO but this is just my two pennies worth.

I'm thinking a timetable somewhat faster than 5-10 years but much longer than a few days. Maybe around a year or two.

One assumption I'm making is that the coming of the Mist increased the density of the lower atmosphere enough that higher elevations also had their air thickened. This allows for areas that couldn't previously support some animal (and plant) life to do so now. The only places where the air is thin enough to be a problem are the very highest peaks.

This also means that part of the reason that the Mist is toxic is due to concentration. At higher elevations, even if some Mist gets blown into a village by a storm, the effects are probably relatively small. But down there at the base of the plateaus it will be hellishly hot and toxic due to atmospheric density of the Mist.

 

[Baron Opal]

Hm. Could a plateau that had a sloping side build a dyke to keep out the mist? You could have a city or some land surrounded by a massive wall that creaks or thumps ominously when something nasty bumps into it.

I'm also imagining a city built up on a platform stretching off of a plateau held up by massive columns made from wood harvested from a petrified forest. The old city isn't safe, you see, because their pilings were made from redwoods. Something is eating / degrading the wood.

 

[Rel]

Hm. Could a plateau that had a sloping side build a dyke to keep out the mist? You could have a city or some land surrounded by a massive wall that creaks or thumps ominously when something nasty bumps into it.

I was imagining something similar to this earlier this morning. I do lean toward the idea that something, somewhere is causing the Mist to keep rising very slowly year after year. Maybe just a couple of inches a year but that eventually spells doom.

Obviously the single most abundant resource is stone that can be quarried out of the heart of the plateau. This can be piled up higher and higher, presumably faster than the Mist can rise.

Ultimately this is impractical because there's no way you can raise your farmland up like that so you have to import food from higher up on the plateau/mountain. But it would give a city near a low edge of the plateau a reason to be rather like Venice, with voids of Mist in the "streets" and bridges between the blocks of buildings. And who knows what sort of creatures might inhabit the old basements of those buildings...

That place sounds so cool that I'm going to HAVE to make it an early destination for the PC's.