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<blockquote data-quote="steeldragons" data-source="post: 6738905" data-attributes="member: 92511"><p>Wow...That's tough...well, modeling after the OP, I'll see if I can come up with the "top 3" major things people know about/in my campaign setting...hmmm<img src="http://www.enworld.org/forum/images/smilies/erm.png" class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":erm:" title="Erm :erm:" data-shortname=":erm:" /></p><p></p><p>1. I suppose top/first thing would be:<strong> Bounded Sandbox.</strong></p><p>The campaign world has just about anything you could want in terms of type and tone of adventure. It's simply a matter of where you are/go to get it. Urban/metropolitan cities with courtly intrigues and thieving guild-wars? Orea's got that. Commonplace high magic or gritty rare magic? We can do that. Carve out a domain to call your own/rule over? You can do that. Warring nations? Conflicting religions? Racial Tensions? Yup, Yup, and Yup. Or barely have to scratch the surface of those. High seas swashbuckling/pirate shenanigans? Got it. Desert exploration? You want huge Pharaonic Empire/very different culture or simple Indiana Jones/The Mummy-style archaeology and treasure hunting? Looking for old school dungeon delving? Oh yeah, TONS of places and [nigh limitless] history for that...</p><p></p><p>Worldwide organizations, regional religions, nations and cultures from the pristine and innocent to wickedly corrupt. From hair-footed halflings to hulking muscled barbarians. Got all those too. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite2" alt=";)" title="Wink ;)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=";)" /></p><p></p><p>Venture how far afield? Delve how deep and detailed? Invest how much involvement [locally, regionally, nationally, worldwide]? That's all up to you. </p><p></p><p>That is not to say it is a "kitchen sink" in terms of options, hence why I say "bounded." I do not ascribe to "any races can/should be PCs" or "all classes from whatever supplement will automatically get a place in the world" or any of that. There are definite guidelines and restrictions. But in terms of type of adventure/campaign that can be played and run, whether used for a session/two or carried all the way through 20 levels (most campaigns run a fair gamut), you [the players] are free to make/seek out whatever it is you want. Obviously a good deal (or at least starting point) is discussed before play begins so that desires and expectations can be aligned/get a baseline off which to work. </p><p></p><p>2. ...ummm...I guess is kind of two-fold:<strong> Alignment Matters</strong>, along with or perhaps <em>due to</em>, <strong>Good/Evil</strong> [and Law/Chaos to a lesser extent]<strong> are actual forces in the multiverse.</strong></p><p>Many available classes have alignment restrictions. All races have societal norms and some races have inherent alignment restrictions. Orcs are creatures irretrievably tainted by evil. Case closed. Drow are evil...irrevocably, beyond redemption, born from the bile of the eldest darkness of the world. Period. Evil [AD&D/5e equivalent of] High elves are nearly unheard of...not in the day-to-day...in the eon-to-eon of elfin history. The "darkest" typical Elf races get is, generally, some flavor of Neutral. Paladins must be Lawful. Thieves can't be Lawful (but can easily be Good). Druids must be Neutral and observation of, joining with, and defending "the Balance" is a central tenant of the world-wide ancient mystery religion organization. Clerics [and other divinely-based classes], obviously, have the brunt of this needing match to the tenets of their deities and religions to maintain the favor and "reception of divine grace" that fuels their magics. And so on.</p><p></p><p>Alignment matters. It is not just something that sits on your character sheet. It is subject to change (and often, the best characters I've seen in play go through at least one alignment shift/transformation) in/as a direct reflection of your role-playing.</p><p></p><p>In example: A character that claims a Lawful alignment but is <em>consistently</em> going along with whatever is expedient or even random, from situation to situation, thinly veiling/defending their actions with "It's for the general good. So my character would do this!" [or worse, metagame reasons/justifications] That's all well and good. It's your character. You play how you like. <em>MY</em> job, as DM, is to shape the world and generate the reasonable [often predictable, even] consequences in response to those, <em>your (the player's character's)</em>, choices and actions. Part of those consequences have led to your alignment shifting from Lawful to Neutral (if not chaotic). That is part of how the world has been changed via your choices and actions. If that shift somehow effects your PC beyond some letters on your sheet, then that's on you...and fixing it/seeking out some way to "undo" it is, likewise, on you. </p><p></p><p>All of this also speaks/leads to one of the primary guidelines of my campaigns: No evil PCs. You're here to play heroes. You WANT Good to triumph over Evil...or at least, not have Evil come a'knocking to take all of your stuff and enslave, kill, or otherwise make your life difficult. You can explore all of the "misunderstood/malcontent/emo, dark/secretive/tortured past/soul, even cruel, greedy, and/or selfish characters you can shake a stick at...without being LE, NE or CE. [edit: or, at least, starting LE, NE or CE. If you transition there without immediate steps to undo it, then -in most cases- you're into NPC territory and can roll a new character. /edit] So, yeah, no Evil PCs....maybe I should have just made that #2? </p><p></p><p>3. I guess I'll go with: <strong>Gods are Remote.</strong></p><p>Due to mythological/historic reasons I won't go into here the current Orean pantheon, predominantly worshiped by humans, are decreed (by the current king of the gods) and conscripted to NOT involve themselves directly in the world and lives of mortals. They are permitted to empower their chosen representatives (clerics and, for a lawful few, paladins). So, spellcasting and channeling are functional, obviously. Visions, visits in dream, speaking through a statue or oracle, and the like. Hence, godly intrigues and plots, positioning their chess pieces around the world to various ends is definitely possible. But no "*Lightning Strike* Odin shows up and he's pissed!" or pillars of fiery wrath coming directly down on you for doing something wrong. Oh, there will be consequences. You can be sure, "The gods'll get'cha for that, Walter." [bonus XP for anyone who gets the reference] But as a general rule, the gods are not going to show up, themselves, to do anything to help you out (except/unless, maybe --and it's a big maybe- at very high levels). [note to self: come up with something to replace 5e's "Divine Intervention" cleric feature]</p><p></p><p>Obviously, the EVIL deities are not so prone to follow the [Divine] rules and have, on occasion, gotten their asses handed to them when/if direct involvement is revealed. Demon lords and the like, super-powerful extraplanar beings, are not concerned with such decrees, not enjoying "divine" status, technically, nor viewed as "equals" by the Orean pantheon. Though they are more than capable of empowering cultists and as good as "gods" on their respective home planes. </p><p></p><p>But, while [seemingly] omnipotent to mortals, most deities are neither omniscient nor [any] omnipresent. So things can happen/get by/escape their notice...and, as the saying goes, "Gods help you", if they find out. </p><p></p><p>I guess those are the fairly broad stroke biggies.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="steeldragons, post: 6738905, member: 92511"] Wow...That's tough...well, modeling after the OP, I'll see if I can come up with the "top 3" major things people know about/in my campaign setting...hmmm:erm: 1. I suppose top/first thing would be:[B] Bounded Sandbox.[/B] The campaign world has just about anything you could want in terms of type and tone of adventure. It's simply a matter of where you are/go to get it. Urban/metropolitan cities with courtly intrigues and thieving guild-wars? Orea's got that. Commonplace high magic or gritty rare magic? We can do that. Carve out a domain to call your own/rule over? You can do that. Warring nations? Conflicting religions? Racial Tensions? Yup, Yup, and Yup. Or barely have to scratch the surface of those. High seas swashbuckling/pirate shenanigans? Got it. Desert exploration? You want huge Pharaonic Empire/very different culture or simple Indiana Jones/The Mummy-style archaeology and treasure hunting? Looking for old school dungeon delving? Oh yeah, TONS of places and [nigh limitless] history for that... Worldwide organizations, regional religions, nations and cultures from the pristine and innocent to wickedly corrupt. From hair-footed halflings to hulking muscled barbarians. Got all those too. ;) Venture how far afield? Delve how deep and detailed? Invest how much involvement [locally, regionally, nationally, worldwide]? That's all up to you. That is not to say it is a "kitchen sink" in terms of options, hence why I say "bounded." I do not ascribe to "any races can/should be PCs" or "all classes from whatever supplement will automatically get a place in the world" or any of that. There are definite guidelines and restrictions. But in terms of type of adventure/campaign that can be played and run, whether used for a session/two or carried all the way through 20 levels (most campaigns run a fair gamut), you [the players] are free to make/seek out whatever it is you want. Obviously a good deal (or at least starting point) is discussed before play begins so that desires and expectations can be aligned/get a baseline off which to work. 2. ...ummm...I guess is kind of two-fold:[B] Alignment Matters[/B], along with or perhaps [I]due to[/I], [B]Good/Evil[/B] [and Law/Chaos to a lesser extent][B] are actual forces in the multiverse.[/B] Many available classes have alignment restrictions. All races have societal norms and some races have inherent alignment restrictions. Orcs are creatures irretrievably tainted by evil. Case closed. Drow are evil...irrevocably, beyond redemption, born from the bile of the eldest darkness of the world. Period. Evil [AD&D/5e equivalent of] High elves are nearly unheard of...not in the day-to-day...in the eon-to-eon of elfin history. The "darkest" typical Elf races get is, generally, some flavor of Neutral. Paladins must be Lawful. Thieves can't be Lawful (but can easily be Good). Druids must be Neutral and observation of, joining with, and defending "the Balance" is a central tenant of the world-wide ancient mystery religion organization. Clerics [and other divinely-based classes], obviously, have the brunt of this needing match to the tenets of their deities and religions to maintain the favor and "reception of divine grace" that fuels their magics. And so on. Alignment matters. It is not just something that sits on your character sheet. It is subject to change (and often, the best characters I've seen in play go through at least one alignment shift/transformation) in/as a direct reflection of your role-playing. In example: A character that claims a Lawful alignment but is [I]consistently[/I] going along with whatever is expedient or even random, from situation to situation, thinly veiling/defending their actions with "It's for the general good. So my character would do this!" [or worse, metagame reasons/justifications] That's all well and good. It's your character. You play how you like. [I]MY[/I] job, as DM, is to shape the world and generate the reasonable [often predictable, even] consequences in response to those, [I]your (the player's character's)[/I], choices and actions. Part of those consequences have led to your alignment shifting from Lawful to Neutral (if not chaotic). That is part of how the world has been changed via your choices and actions. If that shift somehow effects your PC beyond some letters on your sheet, then that's on you...and fixing it/seeking out some way to "undo" it is, likewise, on you. All of this also speaks/leads to one of the primary guidelines of my campaigns: No evil PCs. You're here to play heroes. You WANT Good to triumph over Evil...or at least, not have Evil come a'knocking to take all of your stuff and enslave, kill, or otherwise make your life difficult. You can explore all of the "misunderstood/malcontent/emo, dark/secretive/tortured past/soul, even cruel, greedy, and/or selfish characters you can shake a stick at...without being LE, NE or CE. [edit: or, at least, starting LE, NE or CE. If you transition there without immediate steps to undo it, then -in most cases- you're into NPC territory and can roll a new character. /edit] So, yeah, no Evil PCs....maybe I should have just made that #2? 3. I guess I'll go with: [B]Gods are Remote.[/B] Due to mythological/historic reasons I won't go into here the current Orean pantheon, predominantly worshiped by humans, are decreed (by the current king of the gods) and conscripted to NOT involve themselves directly in the world and lives of mortals. They are permitted to empower their chosen representatives (clerics and, for a lawful few, paladins). So, spellcasting and channeling are functional, obviously. Visions, visits in dream, speaking through a statue or oracle, and the like. Hence, godly intrigues and plots, positioning their chess pieces around the world to various ends is definitely possible. But no "*Lightning Strike* Odin shows up and he's pissed!" or pillars of fiery wrath coming directly down on you for doing something wrong. Oh, there will be consequences. You can be sure, "The gods'll get'cha for that, Walter." [bonus XP for anyone who gets the reference] But as a general rule, the gods are not going to show up, themselves, to do anything to help you out (except/unless, maybe --and it's a big maybe- at very high levels). [note to self: come up with something to replace 5e's "Divine Intervention" cleric feature] Obviously, the EVIL deities are not so prone to follow the [Divine] rules and have, on occasion, gotten their asses handed to them when/if direct involvement is revealed. Demon lords and the like, super-powerful extraplanar beings, are not concerned with such decrees, not enjoying "divine" status, technically, nor viewed as "equals" by the Orean pantheon. Though they are more than capable of empowering cultists and as good as "gods" on their respective home planes. But, while [seemingly] omnipotent to mortals, most deities are neither omniscient nor [any] omnipresent. So things can happen/get by/escape their notice...and, as the saying goes, "Gods help you", if they find out. I guess those are the fairly broad stroke biggies. [/QUOTE]
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