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Message: <blockquote data-quote="wingsandsword" data-source="post: 2873307" data-attributes="member: 14159">ImperiumImperium is a setting based on the idea of" "What if D&D was built on a framework of being vaguely akin to the Roman Empire, instead of being vaguely akin to Renaissance Europe?" It's not a historic fantasy setting, but the basic cultural model is much more from the Classical world than the Renaissance.  There are plenty of historic analogues, but they are only for inspiration (or in places where it is something so cliche that the players just expect it).  It's not about being a completely different setting, it's about doing the same things, in different ways.The Grand Imperium of Mankind has existed for 900 years, and now covers the entire continent of Andros.  An Emperor, elected by the Senate, in turn elected by the landowning adult humans (Citizens of the Empire), rules with almost unquestionable authority.  Massive armies patrol the continent, and occasionally campaign abroad trying to expand the Imperium (although it is at a stalemate on all fronts currently, a fact they don't want to acknowledge).  The Imperium is populated overwhelmingly by humans, although there is a significant orc and half-orc population (mostly as slaves, although some are freed), and at least a small minority of many other races, like Elves, Half-Elves, Dwarves, Halflings, and a handful of Gnomes (which, while legally protected, are not citizens and can never be, except half-elves, as one must have human blood to be a Citizen).  Some try to seek fame and fortune in the deadly battles in the arenas, others want to enlist in the Legions of the Imperium and fight in the name of the Emperor, while others wish to serve a powerful Senator (and maybe even become one themselves one day). But, for all these developments, life is far from perfect.  Slave revolts among the orc populations have left some remote areas lawless (with corrupt local garrisons often looking the other way and being intentionally ineffective at dealing with the problem).  Corrupt senators divert funds and resources needed to help people into their own pockets, while dangerous but well-meaning revolutionaries see the entire Imperium as a destructive force and want to bring it down (but don't have a very good plan about what to do afterwards), dangerous cults of ominous dark gods seek to corrupt and control the world, while the everpresent threat of invasion from other Empires keeps the Imperium always wary.  There are other continents, with cultures based on other models, and other dominant cultures.  The Empire of the Crescent to the east is akin to ancient Egypt, with more remote parts being more akin to Pre-columbian South America (and is home to the Orcs, who have a pseudo-Aztec culture to them).  The Icy South is home to a quasi-nordic culture, rich in elves and dwarves (and is the Dwarven homeland).  To the west of The Imperium of Mankind is the Emerald Archepelago, home to the halflings with a polynesian influence (the discovery of the Homo Florensis "Hobbit" human subrace inspired polynesian hobbits to me) (and some elves on remote parts with a more Celtic feel).  Far, far to the west is The Barbaric West (as it's known to the Imperium), a place with gnomes of incomprehensible culture, bizarre language, an insufferable tendency to think of themselves as superior to all others (when The Imperium knows they are superior), although explorers coming back have brought back very interesting and valuable trade items (i.e. the obligatory asian themed part of the setting, not that I expect it to come up very often, at most as part of the backstory for how the Monk class exists in the rest of the world: they came as captured slaves, brought to the Imperium as a curiosity and were forced to fight in the Arenas, only to win their freedom and begin teaching others their ways).One big thing about Imperium is that it is not a "Kitchen Sink" setting.  There is a fixed list of creatures, classes, and races there.  Just because it's in Monster Manual VIII, Players Handbook IV, or Complete Dungeon Crawler doesn't mean you can find it somewhere (although many things are probably somewhere, albeit hard to find).  The ecology, mythology, and metaphysics of the world have all be carefully considered.  This list is pretty big (although some things are only found in remote corners of the world), but it does mean that there is a specific fixed list of allowed classes and races for player characters.</blockquote>

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