Let's build a setting, one post at a time.

[Indagare Nogitsune]

Rough map of how I'm seeing the pieces snap together so far.

Note that the map with Herzia is to the Southeast of the map of Xandahaal. (The Kepualan archipelago connects the maps; map 1 has the southeast part of the chain, and map 2 the northwest.)

Herzia is mid-southern hemisphere, Xandahaal and the Isles are equatorial.

View attachment 385858View attachment 385859

Have I thrown a wrench in the works?

 

[Tonguez]

Thats certainly far more islands than I was expecting!

The Equatorial Isles are made up of a number of tall thin spires of stone, some less than a foot (30cm) across, while others rise and then expend out like stone mushrooms their tops a mile or more in diameter. The number of spires and submerged rocks and reefs makes the region a navigation hazard and nature of its spires means that finding suitable landing is difficult.
Instead the region is the providence of flying species like Aarakroka and Hadozee as well as a city of gnomish Aeronauts who have developed Kite technology and built their homes burrowed directly in to a cluster of three adjacent spires called Bato, Layang and Sipol.

 

[TwoSix]

Not at all. Just have to work out the spacing.

 

[Indagare Nogitsune]

Not at all. Just have to work out the spacing.

Thanks! I figured there ought to be a lot of coral reefs given how shallow the equatorial waters are, and sunken continents can have a lot of "lost civilization" stuff on them. Plus I was a fan of the "Pirates of Darkwater" and there was this one area of sea mountains I really loved and wanted to incorporate

 

[TwoSix]

Thanks! I figured there ought to be a lot of coral reefs given how shallow the equatorial waters are, and sunken continents can have a lot of "lost civilization" stuff on them. Plus I was a fan of the "Pirates of Darkwater" and there was this one area of sea mountains I really loved and wanted to incorporate

It's definitely the right area to seed the 13 Treasure of Rule.

The way it's developed gives me a bit of Eberron vibe; with Herzia and Vaelos being the site for more classic fantasy, and Xandahaal being the Xendrik-like "lost continent" for Indiana Jones style exploration. The Equatorial Isles I see as lots of competing nations, but with a Dark Water/Pirates of the Caribbean gloss.

 

[TwoSix]

Thats certainly far more islands than I was expecting!

Yea, the islands in the equator are definitely an idea that could be a setting all on its own. They span about half the globe.

On Earth, Indonesia spreads across thousands of miles, and has three of the six largest islands in the world, some of which support multiple nations. And these isles are over 4 times the size! It's pretty much room for a DM to introduce almost any culture or race they like.

 

[Indagare Nogitsune]

Not at all. Just have to work out the spacing.

Some of the islands are bits of the sunken continent that stayed above water, leading to huge underwater mesas with corals and kelp forest closer to the upper shelves of these mesas.

(This should help with the room.)

 

[CreamCloud0]

yeah it's developing nicely, if gathering a couple of IMO extraneous species than what is to my tastes.

 

[TwoSix]

yeah it's developing nicely, if gathering a couple of IMO extraneous species than what is to my tastes.

Sure, but that's part of the fun of collaboration to me. Not every post in here is what I would have done myself (and in some places, almost the opposite!), but building and riffing on those elements to make them something I do like is the exciting part of the challenge.

Fun thread, everyone. Thanks for playing.

 

[CreamCloud0]

These equatorial currents are balanced by intense polar currents and the development of two oceanic gyres in each hemisphere.

at each of the two hemispheres a supermassive ring-formation glacier exists around the poles, caught in the currents of the gyres these two icy 'continents' perpetually rotate in place, referred to as 'the Arctic Gears'.

both of the Gears have thriving populations, originally and still primarily consisting of humans, who used simple druidic magics to reshape the ice into grand and intricate structures, seamlessly part of the landscape.

yes this is shamelessly copied off of AtLA's northern water tribe, it's a good concept