Levistus's_Leviathan
5e Freelancer
Okay. Pardon the misunderstanding, then.
That's also interesting. Kind of like a blessing from the divines, or something like that?
D&D General List the 3 Coolest Parts of Your Homebrew World
- Thread starter Levistus's_Leviathan
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Bird Of Play
Explorer
Uuuhm. Is it still homebrew if I am using the standard D&D Forgotten Realms setting...... but I gave my personal interpretation of it? I mostly use the Forgotten Realms to take monster and places ideas from there, then reimagine them.
I think the coolest part of my revision of the Forgotten Realms is the way it balances a fantasy setting of magic and weird creatures, with a somewhat realistic setting with castes and the rich 1% and the peasants and everyday problems the NPCs deal with. I don't like to go "full fantasy", where you go into a town and you meet three mages, one catperson, two tieflings, a werewolf, a golem.... no, just no. I really don't like that.
You know the first volumes of the manga Berserk, where everything gave at the very least the illusion of being a somewhat realistic medieval setting, but sometimes over the top battles or eerie magic showed up? I like that. It's how I like my fantasy.
I guess the second cool thing about my setting is definitely how every event or character has a certain symbolism to real life things. But it's not in-your-face, which would be cheesy. Yet, consciously or subconsciously, I'm sure the players pick up on the symbolism, and it makes the whole thing more appealing because it has a meaning behind it.
I think the coolest part of my revision of the Forgotten Realms is the way it balances a fantasy setting of magic and weird creatures, with a somewhat realistic setting with castes and the rich 1% and the peasants and everyday problems the NPCs deal with. I don't like to go "full fantasy", where you go into a town and you meet three mages, one catperson, two tieflings, a werewolf, a golem.... no, just no. I really don't like that.
You know the first volumes of the manga Berserk, where everything gave at the very least the illusion of being a somewhat realistic medieval setting, but sometimes over the top battles or eerie magic showed up? I like that. It's how I like my fantasy.
I guess the second cool thing about my setting is definitely how every event or character has a certain symbolism to real life things. But it's not in-your-face, which would be cheesy. Yet, consciously or subconsciously, I'm sure the players pick up on the symbolism, and it makes the whole thing more appealing because it has a meaning behind it.
Bitbrain
Lost in Dark Sun
From my modified DARK SUN setting:
1). Dwarves died out 300 years ago, but muls survive and can breed true.
2). The current batch of Sorcerer-Kings are just that: the latest in a long line of spellcasting tyrants. There have been multiple “generations” before them.
3). There was no single mastermind behind the Cleansing Wars. It was simply a series of genocidal conflicts between ancient sorcerer-kings that have long since perished.
1). Dwarves died out 300 years ago, but muls survive and can breed true.
2). The current batch of Sorcerer-Kings are just that: the latest in a long line of spellcasting tyrants. There have been multiple “generations” before them.
3). There was no single mastermind behind the Cleansing Wars. It was simply a series of genocidal conflicts between ancient sorcerer-kings that have long since perished.
AbdulAlhazred
Legend
Hmmm, Orbiting Erithnoi are 2 'moons' which are established as being otherworlds of their own. Palee and Zail both have somewhat different 'laws' governing them, but you can travel to either one and interact with its inhabitants. Such a journey is dangerous, but a few legendary heroes have undertaken it.
There is also a place called the 'Well of Stars', which connects with various alternate worlds. Apparently it was created by some kind of god action in the far distant past. It simply appears as a well on a hill near the town of Lad. Most people stay clear, but there is reputed to be some sort of organized group of well watchers.
There are a pair of Petrified Giants (maybe they're statues) at the head of a valley leading up into the northern mountains. True Giants cannot pass between them, nor do they attempt to go around, for some reasons only known to them.
There is also a place called the 'Well of Stars', which connects with various alternate worlds. Apparently it was created by some kind of god action in the far distant past. It simply appears as a well on a hill near the town of Lad. Most people stay clear, but there is reputed to be some sort of organized group of well watchers.
There are a pair of Petrified Giants (maybe they're statues) at the head of a valley leading up into the northern mountains. True Giants cannot pass between them, nor do they attempt to go around, for some reasons only known to them.
Sort of, yeah! The current design is this:
Labors are important quests, things like major Adventure chapters. Once you complete a Labor you gain a bunch of Legacy Points. Along the way, you'll also get Legacy Points when you complete a Deed. Example Deeds are critically hitting an important enemy, barely surviving an attack that would have killed you, or gaining Inspiration for roleplaying your character exceptionally well.
You then spend Legacy Points to upgrade your weapons and armor from a list of different abilities. Sort of a pseudo-alternative to loading players up with magic items from a dungeon with the added benefit of making the items fit what they player -wants- instead of what a table -rolls-.
RangerWickett
Legend
A bit more, if I can get away with it.
Two centuries ago, kings and nobles and adventurers hunted dragons to extinction.
There was one nation where dragons had become fond of ruling over enslaved orcs, goblins, gnolls, and the like, rather than simply hoarding their own treasure. The dragon tyrants of Ber would fight over territory, breed great warbeasts infused with magic, and occasionally war against other nations. After enough time, it became a cause celebre to go slay dragons, and to see the whole country of Ber as evil.
Then two centuries something shifted in the nature of flight magic. Any creature larger than an albatross lost the ability to fly, and could at best glide. Flight magic never lasted more than five minutes. Permanent flying magic items were relegated to one or two brief aerial forays per day.
The dragons were vulnerable, and the great dragon slayers of the world leapt upon the opportunity. Within five years they'd slain the last of the dragon tyrants and shattered all the eggs of the next generation.
Ber's shared history of enslavement created a national identity devoted to liberty.
It took a few generations, during which many of the old minions of the dragon tyrants tried to cling to power, but eventually a union of leaders of five races - orc, minotaur, kobold, goliath, and goblin - broke the rule of these warlords and brought the whole region of Ber into a constitutional government, where slavery was forbidden and hoarding wealth was seen as a sign of draconic predilections, and thus frowned upon. They were eventually joined by lizardfolk, some dragonborn, and even a few gnolls, though on the isolated island of Karch, one group of gnolls remained convinced that their slain dragon tyrant, Gradiax the Steel Lord, would be reborn in a body of metal, so they refused to join the rest of Ber.
Twenty years ago, the gnolls went all Wakanda.
For reasons not publicly known, twenty years ago the 'steelmarked gnolls' who revered their Steel Lord Gradiax finally emerged from isolation. Revealing technology decades ahead of the rest of the world, they launched a coup by trying to replace Ber's ruler and close advisors with metallic duplicants that looked just like living people but were remotely controlled. Ber's military stormed the island of Karch with overwhelming numbers, and almost as quickly as the coup began, the steelmarked withdrew their forces from Ber's mainland. An uneasy peace began, with Berans watching the gnolls for signs of betrayal.
Instead, the steelmarked announced they had a new leader, a human industrialist named Benedict Pemberton, whom they called the Voice of Gradiax. Pemberton made plans to bring into the public eye all the inventions and mighty industrial works the gnolls had long toiled upon in secret, and today the island of Karch offers friendly laws and low taxes to industrial investors, who are invited to stay in a luxurious city with gleaming towers of glass and steel. Some whisper rumors that Pemberton is indeed the old dragon tyrant, who took human form to escape being slain, and now intends to conquer the world through capitalism, rather than fire and claw.
Two centuries ago, kings and nobles and adventurers hunted dragons to extinction.
There was one nation where dragons had become fond of ruling over enslaved orcs, goblins, gnolls, and the like, rather than simply hoarding their own treasure. The dragon tyrants of Ber would fight over territory, breed great warbeasts infused with magic, and occasionally war against other nations. After enough time, it became a cause celebre to go slay dragons, and to see the whole country of Ber as evil.
Then two centuries something shifted in the nature of flight magic. Any creature larger than an albatross lost the ability to fly, and could at best glide. Flight magic never lasted more than five minutes. Permanent flying magic items were relegated to one or two brief aerial forays per day.
The dragons were vulnerable, and the great dragon slayers of the world leapt upon the opportunity. Within five years they'd slain the last of the dragon tyrants and shattered all the eggs of the next generation.
Ber's shared history of enslavement created a national identity devoted to liberty.
It took a few generations, during which many of the old minions of the dragon tyrants tried to cling to power, but eventually a union of leaders of five races - orc, minotaur, kobold, goliath, and goblin - broke the rule of these warlords and brought the whole region of Ber into a constitutional government, where slavery was forbidden and hoarding wealth was seen as a sign of draconic predilections, and thus frowned upon. They were eventually joined by lizardfolk, some dragonborn, and even a few gnolls, though on the isolated island of Karch, one group of gnolls remained convinced that their slain dragon tyrant, Gradiax the Steel Lord, would be reborn in a body of metal, so they refused to join the rest of Ber.
Twenty years ago, the gnolls went all Wakanda.
For reasons not publicly known, twenty years ago the 'steelmarked gnolls' who revered their Steel Lord Gradiax finally emerged from isolation. Revealing technology decades ahead of the rest of the world, they launched a coup by trying to replace Ber's ruler and close advisors with metallic duplicants that looked just like living people but were remotely controlled. Ber's military stormed the island of Karch with overwhelming numbers, and almost as quickly as the coup began, the steelmarked withdrew their forces from Ber's mainland. An uneasy peace began, with Berans watching the gnolls for signs of betrayal.
Instead, the steelmarked announced they had a new leader, a human industrialist named Benedict Pemberton, whom they called the Voice of Gradiax. Pemberton made plans to bring into the public eye all the inventions and mighty industrial works the gnolls had long toiled upon in secret, and today the island of Karch offers friendly laws and low taxes to industrial investors, who are invited to stay in a luxurious city with gleaming towers of glass and steel. Some whisper rumors that Pemberton is indeed the old dragon tyrant, who took human form to escape being slain, and now intends to conquer the world through capitalism, rather than fire and claw.
Laurefindel
Legend
1) The World Is One Gigantic Forest. Nature is aggressively territorial; make a clearing and it will be taken over in a matter of days. Cities need walls to protect their citizens from the encroaching wilderness. Roads, agriculture, open-ground warfare; none of them are really achievable. Nature is bountiful but unfortunately, it is sick, and quite mad in places. Some evil is stirring under and is seeping through. If you meet a dryad or a treant, chances are their will be your enemies.
2) You can play a vegepygmy. That's cool right? No? they really are cool you know... Okay then, you can also play a clockwork warforge-like automaton, a sprite, a girtablilu (think centaur but with a scorpion lower body), or an aasimar. No elves or dwarves or other PHB races however. You're stuck with one of those.
3) The World Is Locked Down. Well, more on penance actually. The aasimars were at war and they angered the gods, who then sealed off all kind of dimensional travel or summoning. Or perhaps nature has messed things up, throwing summer, spring, and fall in continuous maelstrom without a proper winter to regulate it all? Or perhaps the there's something on that world that the gods don't want out? Or else the eon-long naga-couatl war has gone too far? Every people have their own myths, and they are probably all true. In some ways, at least.
2) You can play a vegepygmy. That's cool right? No? they really are cool you know... Okay then, you can also play a clockwork warforge-like automaton, a sprite, a girtablilu (think centaur but with a scorpion lower body), or an aasimar. No elves or dwarves or other PHB races however. You're stuck with one of those.
3) The World Is Locked Down. Well, more on penance actually. The aasimars were at war and they angered the gods, who then sealed off all kind of dimensional travel or summoning. Or perhaps nature has messed things up, throwing summer, spring, and fall in continuous maelstrom without a proper winter to regulate it all? Or perhaps the there's something on that world that the gods don't want out? Or else the eon-long naga-couatl war has gone too far? Every people have their own myths, and they are probably all true. In some ways, at least.
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doctorbadwolf
Heretic of The Seventh Circle
Okay, more about the Nine Worlds/Chevar.
Chevar itself is a beautiful, thriving world whose native people can be found in the lore of all worlds.
Dragons - I haven’t figured out what nomenclature I want to use for “mortal” dragons vs ancient powers like the Red Dragon of Wales, but these dragons are about the size of a queztlecoatlus (bearly 10ft tall at the shoulder, 30-36ft wingspan) as young adults (around 15-20yrs old) and grow to about 16-20ft tall at the shoulder, with a 70ft wingspan on the largest mortal individuals. They reach adulthood by about 25, but don’t stop growing until they reach about 100. They also are innately magical, having natural telepathy, the ability to leap incredible distances into the air, and the ability to carry about their own body weight either on their back or in their claws.
Basically, younger dragons are about the size and weight (around 400lbs, prolly) of a queztlcoatlus, and can carry an average human in armor (250-300lbs) or small livestock animals.
The older they get, the more magical they are. They also tend to take on the coloration and features of their home. So a forest dragon will be green or the color of tree bark and might have moss growing on their scales, a coastal dragon might have scales the texture of driftwood or be a deep blue.
The body plan includes a fairly long neck, wings that go all the way down their long tails, and I’m split on number of legs.
They’re as intelligent as humans, and capable of bonding with a mortal and will grow up alongside mortals in the Parth Federation, and these bonds have slowly changed the people into a unique ancestry with their own game stats who are clearly not human, having gained draconic eyes and inhuman coloration, and are on average more slender than humans with very strong muscle attachments meaning they are much stronger than they look.
In some rare cases, dragons are able to learn to take a humanoid form (usually a Parthinian form) and it is generally believed but never openly discussed that some percentage of Parthians have some draconic ancestry. However, sometimes the dragon is stronger, and a child will be born with striking draconic features. Basically imagine a winged tiefling with more draconic than fiendish features, and more subtle than modern tieflings. These are known as Draconids, and many have limited shapeshifter abilities, able to just barely pass as a human or Parthian.
The other native ancestry to Chevar are the Filidari, who are rather short, usually wiry and heavier and stronger than they look. They can pass as human with a little work, though their coloration is very unusual for humans, tending toward darker skin but with hair ranging from dark red to pale blonde, or from a yellow-green to blue-green, with straight hair being very rare. Their eyes are notable for having much larger irises than humans, with “flecks” of contrasting colors being quite common, and the colors seeming almost metallic.
The Filidari are quick, strong, and surefooted and natural climbers and divers. It’s believed that they evolved on islands and along the coastline of Chevar’s most populated continent, Amarra. In spite of thier athletic physical tendencies, they are most well known as traders, and explorers. Filidari scouts and Travelers can be found anywhere in the 9 Worlds, and are usually happy to trade, hire on as guides, or simply share a meal, news, and stories.
Oh, and they breed, train, sell, eat, harvest milk from, and ride, goat like critters called patha, whose physical structure is something like a mule-goat hybrid, and are strong and surefooted, like mules and goats.
The Statue of Athea is one of the seven ancient wonders of Alfaysia. No one knows who constructed the statue, which stands over 279 feet tall from the tip of its sword to top of the base. The statue sits at the center of the harbor in the capital city of the kingdom of Pentad, Parthenon.
Various rooms and hallways inside the base of the statue are used by the port authority and the city watch as governmental offices.
Most of the citizens believe that the statue of Athea is a tribute to the Imperial goddess Minerva, which it closely resembles. Scholars fight a never ending battle to dispute this trend, pointing out vainly that the statue predates the Varencian empire by hundreds of years if not more, and was clearly built prior to the rise of the Imperial faith and the worship of Minerva.
Various rooms and hallways inside the base of the statue are used by the port authority and the city watch as governmental offices.
Most of the citizens believe that the statue of Athea is a tribute to the Imperial goddess Minerva, which it closely resembles. Scholars fight a never ending battle to dispute this trend, pointing out vainly that the statue predates the Varencian empire by hundreds of years if not more, and was clearly built prior to the rise of the Imperial faith and the worship of Minerva.
Another of the Seven Wonders of ancient Alfaysia is the bridge at Landfall, that spans from the city of Landfall westward across the river and into the adjoining town of Anchor.
The bridge is made of an unknown material, stone like in substance and having the appearance of being fabricated. The bridge is tall enough at the mid point for sea faring sailing ships to pass safely under it.
(will photoshop city into background one day...but this is the general appearance)
The bridge is made of an unknown material, stone like in substance and having the appearance of being fabricated. The bridge is tall enough at the mid point for sea faring sailing ships to pass safely under it.
(will photoshop city into background one day...but this is the general appearance)
