[Merged] My Six Setting Proposals

[Random Goblin]

I'm going to post my setting proposals from the old WotC setting search that yielded Eberron. I invite discussion, critique, suggestions, robbery, plunder, constructive suggestions, unsolicited rewrites, whatever. Go crazy. I fully realize that my "nature of magic" section is boring and lifeless. So, fix it for me! Or for you.

I've posted this on RPGnet's Wiki, too. So feel free to come over and contribute, tinker, or expand on it if you're interested.

Twilight of Gaia

Core Ethos Sentence: Twilight of Gaia is set in the Badlands, a ravaged, barren fantasy world where heroes use swords, pistols, and spells to fight monsters, defeat marauding gangs, and stand against the terrible forces of darkness.

Who are the heroes? Heroes in the Badlands include anyone brave (or stupid) enough to take up their sword, musket, or spellbook and stand up to the chaos and mayhem engulfing the world. Bran Barandorn, is a stout dwarven soldier who leads the town of Sunset Gulch, defending it from monsters and marauders with the help of the gnomish engineer Filbert Fimblefungers. Howls-like-the-wind is an outlaw wild elf shaman who believes that encoded into the songs of his people are the locations of the Six Amulets of Gaia. Finally, there is an enigmatic wandering swordswoman named Meshanna and her companion, a cowled figure known only as the Pistolier.

What do they do? The most serious objective is to thwart Black Rupert before his power-madness goes too far and the whole world falls under his terrible shadow. As his armies grow larger and more unstoppable, the heroes will have to unite the scattered tribes and settlements and enlist the aid of powerful magic. This includes recovering the lost Six Amulets of Gaia, powerful magic artifacts that date from before the Sorcerors’ War that hold the key to restoring the world to what it once was. But, Black Rupert also wants to hunt down the Amulets so that he can twist them to his evil purposes and use them to rule the Badlands forever.

Threats, Conflicts, Villains: The Badlands teem with monsters who lair in the mountains, scrub forests, and rocky wastelands. Gangs of orc, hobgoblin, and gnoll desperadoes run wild in the vast and rugged wilderness led by notorious leaders like Grodda the Unkillable, Broldak Ironfist, One-eyed Samuel, and Slidewinder, whose names strike terror into innocent peoples’ hearts. Evil wizards build towers on lonely mesas. Black Rupert, the infamous Warlord of the Mountains, rules his alpine kingdom, entices the bandit gangs to rally under his authority, and dreams of the day when the whole of the Badlands will belong to him. Behind Black Rupert stands dreaded Acliss, a terrible wizard of unknown origin whom few have ever even seen.

Nature of Magic: Although magic still functions as normal, it is rare, and most people are suspicious and distrustful of it. Everyone knows that it was magic that drained so much of the life from the once-lush world of Gaia and turned it into the wasted Badlands. Clerics and druids are more highly esteemed than wizards and sorcerors, but they’re rare enough that some people wonder if the gods even really care anymore.

What’s new? What’s different? The biggest difference is the addition of black powder firearms (muzzle-loading smooth-bore muskets and pistols, blunderbusses, and artillery cannons). Such weapons are prevalent enough to add a new flavor and dimension to the game, but not so common or advanced so as to overshadow longswords and crossbows. Advancing technology, mostly including innovations made by dwarves and especially gnomes, is one of the results of a reluctance to rely on magic. Elves, on the other hand, have by and large abandoned their high civilization, reverted to their primordial culture, and joined the grugach, or wild elves, living in nomadic tribes that wander the Badlands and often come into conflict with permanent towns and settlements.

 

[Random Goblin]

My Setting Proposals: The Tiki War

I'm going to post my setting proposals from the old WotC setting search that yielded Eberron. I invite discussion, critique, suggestions, robbery, plunder, constructive suggestions, unsolicited rewrites, whatever. Go crazy. I fully realize that my "nature of magic" section is boring and lifeless. So, fix it for me! Or for you.

I've posted this on RPGnet's Wiki, too. So feel free to come over and contribute, tinker, or expand on it if you're interested.

The Tiki War

Core Ethos Sentence: The Tiki War is an adventure setting that consists of a huge tropical archipelago called Wala-Ku, also known as the Arcadian Islands, where the forces of light clash against the forces of darkness under the shadow of the Empire of Sapar.

Who are the Heroes? The main character is an incredibly powerful witch doctor named Ap Manu, who, when he saw that he would soon die, enacted a mighty ritual that preserved his identity and life essence in two great carved wooden masks. One was the dark Pu mask, and one was the good Ki mask. The evil Pu mask immediately set out to conquer the islands and began amassing followers, while the Ki mask set out to stop it. Other heroes could be islanders, dwarven traders, elven pirates, lizardfolk tribesmen, locathah chieftains, or Saparian soldiers or missionaries.

What do they do? The allies of Manu Ki and Manu Pu clash in epic fashion, of course, but over them hangs the threat of Sapar one day extending its control. Dwarven traders ply the waters in Gnomish ships trying to make a profit and defend themselves against elven and hobgoblin pirates. Aquatic elves and locathah try to maintain their unsteady alliance against the sahuagin.

Threats, Conflicts, Villains: The main conflict is between the allies of Manu Ki and the allies of Manu Pu. In addition, the Empire of Sapar directly controls the western end of the archipelago and lays claim to the rest of it. Native to the islands are halfling, orc, and lizardfolk tribes, all fairly primitive., but the shallow ocean waters between the islands teem with merfolk, aquatic elves, and locathah, all threatened by the Sahuagin who live in the great coral reef that protects the islands from the harsh weather to the south.

Nature of Magic: Magic works much like it does in the core rulebook and the setting and cosmology associated with it. Divine magic would be slightly different, with a new pantheon of tribal gods including minor spirits and the gods of Sapar in competition with each other. Prestige classes would give druids and clerics access to powerful animal abilities granted by spirits.

What’s new? What’s different? This setting would be quite different from usual D&D settings because of its greater focus than usual on the shallow seas around and among the islands, making underwater adventures and aquatic PC’s a viable option. Also, there is very little in the way of traditional dungeons other than the occasional small cave complex or dead volcano, and underwater caves abound, especially in the coral reef that is infested with sahuagin and other monsters. This means that emphasis would generally be on event-based rather than site-based adventures. There is a clash of cultures, as the Empire of Sapar interacts with the islander natives. Sapar, a more traditionally high medieval-based culture like that which is standard in other settings, provides PC’s so inclined with the option of a more familiar atmosphere.

 

[Random Goblin]

My Setting Proposals: Illyria

I'm going to post my setting proposals from the old WotC setting search that yielded Eberron. I invite discussion, critique, suggestions, robbery, plunder, constructive suggestions, unsolicited rewrites, whatever. Go crazy. I fully realize that my "nature of magic" section is boring and lifeless. So, fix it for me! Or for you.

I've posted this on RPGnet's Wiki, too. So feel free to come over and contribute, tinker, or expand on it if you're interested.

Illyria

Core Ethos Sentence: Illyria is a world where heroes do mighty deeds and city-states vie with each other for supremacy with great armies and majestic airships.

Who are the heroes? Illyria is a world of mythic heroes who seek out adventure for glory and renown. Many of the world’s heroes are minor nobles, since they have the time, means, and motive to challenge danger for its own sake. The greatest hero of Illyria is Nemo, a noble water genasi. He is a warrior-king who rules the small island of Aragos. His companions are Agesthes, an air genasi bard, and Kidu, a human barbarian whose tribe was destroyed in battle by the armies of Hyklos.

What do they do? Nemo likes to believe that he is in fact the hero that his people make him out to be, and so, much to the chagrin of Agesthes and the delight of Kidu, he constantly seeks out monsters to vanquish, battles to join, and great, heroic deeds to accomplish. When not simply adventuring for his own glory, Nemo defends his home and household against Xenephron and the phalanxes of Hyklos.

Threats, Conflicts, Villains: There is always a fierce rivalry between neighboring city-states and between followers of the three elements (water, air, and fire). From that rivalry arises most of the more mundane conflict. For example, Xenephron, one of the high priests of the gods of fire and the ruler of the city-state of Hyklos, is a scheming villain who seeks to pillage and conquer, dominating the servants of air and water and dragging them into the all-consuming fire. He is also in love with Nemo’s daughter, Nereis, and plans to one day kidnap her and force her to be his bride. However, the greatest menace in Illyria comes from the mysterious Elemental Plane of Earth. The pantheon of earth gods holds an ancient grudge against the three elements, no earth genasi have been seen for years, and earth elementals are impossible to bind. The rocky, stony places of Illyria are trodden lightly, and the deep, dark places are greatly feared. Sages say that the earth deities have called up a terrible champion known as the Deep One to be the sword of their vengeance.

Nature of Magic: Civilization is still new and arcane magic is a very young art. Actual, experienced practitioners are very rare. Most “magic-users” work their magic through summoned and bound elementals of fire, air, or water (the summoning and binding is a fairly common practice, and elementals of varying power levels are often used as a kind of currency, although when a binding goes awry or an elemental manages to free itself, the results can be disastrous). Divine magic is common; there are four separate pantheons of gods, one for each element. Each elemental pantheon has both good and evil deities. The earth gods are, however, distant, frightening, and all but unknown. The various types of genies are held in the same esteem as celestials or fiends in other settings.

What’s new? What’s different? Illyria is a world of rocky, sunkissed coasts, wine-dark seas, rugged landscapes, deep forests, and vast deserts. It is a material plane that is actually coterminous with the four elemental planes. Creatures native to or somehow tied to those planes are therefore very common. Civilization is dominated by the genasi, humans who are touched by and linked to the elemental planes. They are the rulers and the nobles. There are no great empires or continent-spanning kingdoms; most of the civilized world is organized into city-states and small kingdoms that are dominated by the genasi. Airships powered by bound air elementals are common.

 

[Random Goblin]

My Setting Proposals: Gemstone

I'm going to post my setting proposals from the old WotC setting search that yielded Eberron. I invite discussion, critique, suggestions, robbery, plunder, constructive suggestions, unsolicited rewrites, expansion, elaboration, whatever. Go crazy. I fully realize that my "nature of magic" section is boring and lifeless. So, fix it for me! Or for you.

I've posted this on RPGnet's Wiki, too. So feel free to come over and contribute, tinker, or expand on it if you're interested.

Gemstone

Core Ethos Sentence: Gemstone is a setting of epic fantasy adventure in the world of Palidoria where heroes pit their swords and spells against the advancing hordes of darkness that threaten to destroy the world.

Who are the heroes? Heroes on Palidoria can come from an incredibly diverse array of backgrounds, since one of the key points in the world’s flavor is the incredible diversity in terms of races, cultures, and life paths. Since the main threat is the tide of darkness and evil pouring from the Doomportal, anyone with a reason to fight against it or stop it has a chance to be a hero, from the lowliest halfling farmer to the mightiest of elven warriors. Some examples include Rolling Thunder, a human werebear who has inherited the guardianship of one of the lost Eight Silver Keys. Darinna is a scholar and a wizard who abandoned her studies at the Royal College when her professors began to dabble in and gradually become consumed by terrible, dark sorcery. Colin Northwind is a druid who once lived in as a hermit in the shadow of the northern mountains before he was driven away by the monstrous hordes of darkness. Atlactli is the champion archer of the Lizardfolk, whose empire across the southern Emerald Sea is collapsing from within.

What do they do? Naar the Deranged, a wandering mad elven prophet feared by the common people rants and raves about the the legendary gemstone known as the Eye of Kade. When the Doomportal was torn open by the forces of evil long ago, the god Kade closed it with a gem crafted from his own right eye and sealed the stone in place with eight silver keys. Five years ago, a thief who called himself the Disenchanter managed to steal the Eye from its setting without realizing the gemstone’s significance. He has since gone missing, and evil has begun to flood the land. The Eye of Kade must be recovered and sealed again with the lost eight silver keys before the forces of evil destroy the whole world.

Threats, Conflicts, Villains: The gray robed, porcelain-masked Cult of Oblivion infests the land, with agents and cells nearly everywhere pursuing their evil agenda. On the borders of the Steppe of Shadows, the great alliance of Hobgoblin tribes raze villages and terrorize the people. The blood of the elves grows weak, and more and more of them succumb to madness. In the far north, beyond the great mountains, the Winter King rules his frozen, evil domain unchallenged. The great underground dwarf kingdoms have been torn apart by the internal strife of the Grudge War, and many of the dwarf clans have been corrupted and joined forces with fiendish powers. Deranged Gnomes build huge and terrible machines of blind destruction that are a hybrid of technology and arcane sorcery. Creatures that were evil all along revel in this new age of darkness and terror. Most of this chaos is the result of the Doomportal, a huge magic gate in the far northern mountains that underlies almost all that is dark and evil in Palidoria. The greatest source of supernatural evil in the world, it is a portal directly into the lower planes. Not only do fiends and horrible nightmare creatures pour out of it day and night, but it also has a subtler influence, twisting otherwise good and decent peoples’ minds to evil and darkness.

Nature of Magic: Magic is the raw stuff of creation that flows in the spaces between the planes, like the life blood of the universe. It can be drawn upon and manipulated, either through a studied learning of its nature, use, and properties (arcane magic), as a gift from a deity (divine magic), or through sheer willpower and strength of mind (psionics). Magic operates on a level of laws beyond the physical, since physical laws are merely a result of the outgrowth of magic on various planes.

What’s new? What’s different? The traditional split between devils and demons doesn’t really exist in Gemstone. While there are different types of fiends and they may have rivalries with each other, there’s no Blood War that divides the lower planes. Also, there is less safety among the traditionally “good” races (elves, dwarves, gnomes, halflings), since most of them are becoming slowly corrupted by the powerful magic of the Doomportal. Note that not everyone is evil and corrupt; most Palidorians simply do what they’ve always done. However, enough are corrupted so as make the setting dangerous and the sealing of the Doomportal all the more urgent.

 

[Random Goblin]

My Setting Proposals: Gondwanaland

I'm going to post my setting proposals from the old WotC setting search that yielded Eberron. I invite discussion, critique, suggestions, robbery, plunder, constructive suggestions, unsolicited rewrites, whatever. Go crazy.

I've posted this on RPGnet's Wiki, too. So feel free to come over and contribute, tinker, or expand on it if you're interested.

Gondwanaland

Core Ethos Sentence: Gondwanaland is a savage, primitive world where heroes forge their destinies amidst the ruins of a fallen primordial civilization.

Who are the heroes? The main heroes of Gondwanaland are the humans of the western coast who are in the process of rising from savage tribalism and forging a new civilization. They are led by Coyopa, a golden-haired, bronze-skinned demigod who is part of a newly born pantheon of gods. However, there is plenty of room for heroes of other races and backgrounds as well, even the odd savage humanoid like Arag Gol, the half-orc seeking to unite the jungle tribes, or Ahuatla, the legendary exiled lizardfolk swordsman.

What do they do? One major goal common to everyone is simply to survive in such a savage world. The humans of the western coast seek to build their new empire, gaining allies and fighting against their enemies. Really though, Gondwanaland is a rich enough setting to allow a multitude of heroes to pursue a multitude of goals, just as in any other great setting for a role-playing game.

Threats, Conflicts, Villains: Fierce predators roam the jungles and forests while savage tribes of orcs and men wage war for food and territory. The remaining lizardfolk led by the mad sorceror-king Ixhactl dream hallucinogenic dreams of their ancient glory, and plot for their fallen empire to rise again. The catacombs and tombs of the lizardfolk are full of forgotten terrors that sometimes rise to the surface.

Nature of Magic: Magic in Gondwanaland will function much the same as it is laid out in the Core Rulebooks. Druids and adepts will be common, but clerics will be common enough as well. There are at least three separate pantheons of gods: the lizardfolk’s pantheon, the alien gods of the elves, and the new human pantheon.

What’s new? What’s different? Gondwanaland is a huge supercontinent stretching from the teeming, lush jungles of the south through the endless savannah to the boreal forest and the jagged, icy, glacier-covered mountains in the north. It is a prehistoric “lost continent” setting where savage human and humanoid tribes fight dinosaurs in the south and huge ice-age mammals in the north. The ruins of the once-mighty lizardfolk empire are everywhere, but new civilizations with a Mesoamerican flavor are on the rise. The elves are stranded visitors from another star, with citadels in the northern mountains built from the wreckage of their great star galleons. Many of the elves, however, live nomadic lives in the northern boreal forest, having left the mountain citadels and forgotten much of their past. Dwarves were bred to be a slave-race, but their rebellion against their lizardfolk overlords was one factor in bringing about the latter empire’s downfall. The prevalence of dinosaurs and prehistoric beasts makes for a quite unique set of mounts and beasts of burden, and a set of new prestige classes like the Raptor Knight, the Fossil Mage, and the Mammoth Rider is one of the results.

 

[Random Goblin]

My Setting Proposals: Deathless

This one wasn't an actual setting proposal for the contest; just something I had laying around that my brother came up with and I monkeyed around with. I still invite discussion, critique, suggestions, robbery, plunder, constructive suggestions, unsolicited rewrites, expansion, elaboration, modification, whatever. Go crazy.

Again, I've posted this on RPGnet's Wiki. So feel free to come over and contribute, tinker, or expand on it if you're interested.

Deathless
Campaign Setting Proposal (Conrad and Sean Deitrick)

HistoryAn aeon ago, earth was ruled by the Eldraan. The Eldraan were powerful warriors and mighty workers of magic who conquered the planet and grew in their hubris. Rising in power, they deigned even to challenge their gods, and through might, forethought, and cunning, the Eldraan were victorious. The gods were banished and their planes were sealed away for all time. With the gods out of the way, the Eldraan went unchallenged and grew decadent.

In the elemental planes, four great elder elementals plotted to bring about a great change. The gods left a power vacuum in the cosmos that, despite their might and glory, the mortal Eldraan could never hope to fill. The elemental lords, though, had a chance.

Working in agreement, the forces of the elements struck suddenly, toppling and enslaving the Eldraan, warping them with elemental magic into new races. However, the treaty between the elemental lords was inherently unstable, and even before the Eldraan were completely defeated, the elements began to fight with each other. As it was, the war against the Eldraan was barely an introductory footnote in the cosmic conflict that ensued, as each of the elements tried to gain control of the material plane, tipping the perfectly-balanced cosmic scales firmly and forever in their favor.

Earth eventually proclaimed itself victorious, but the “victory” was neither total nor systematic. Earth’s domination over the material plane was tenuous at best. Eventually, the other three elements banded together to topple earth, and its reign was brought to an end. The result was a world scarred by a thousand years of cosmic war, but still no definitive winner. The boil of war cooled to a low simmer. All the elements became factionalized. Conflict was still the norm, but not on the scale of earlier times.

Now, in this ravaged world, there is a glimmer of hope. The elemental planes were not the only cosmic sources of power. What was oft-forgotten is that the material plane, before it was subverted by the Eldraan, was once called the plane of Balance. Its lords were finally rising from slumber, its agents were beginning to walk the land, and it was beginning to reclaim its own at long last.

Races
Eldraan- supposed to be extinct, once ruled earth. Cruel and arrogant, but beautiful and terrible. There could still be some left, probably exiles wandering the planes.

Elemental Races- four races, All Eldraan enslaved and warped by the elemental powers into something new:
Sylph (Air) – flying or just gliding? Probably with a patagia for gliding. .Frail-looking, willowy, quick.
Salamander (Fire)- tall and scaled, the salamanders are fierce warriors, quick to anger, but lacking determination and drive.
Undine (Water)- somber with broad, webbed hands and feet, the undines are more at home underwater than on the surface.
Gnomes (Earth)- squat and powerful, with dark skin and eyes that glitter like gems, the gnomes are lords of the deep places and masters of the forge

Humans- A new race with mysterious origins, humans came forth from the forests led by priests who worshipped the balance. Humans are as a race connected to no individual element, although they do have humors, so they can be drawn in one direction or another.

(Some other race or races?)- once slaves to the Eldraan, many have survived the cataclysmic millennia of war. Probably one giant-type race (not specifically MM ogres or giants, but something along those lines), maybe a weak servant race (goblin/kobald-ish?), and maybe warriors (orc-esque? Maybe not so bestial? Maybe more bestial?). Others? Or only one? I dunno.

Alignment
Alignment is by humors that are tied to the four elements. Humors dictate behavior, not the other way around. If you try to act contrary to your humor, the DM can force you to make a will save modified by the dominant humor’s prevalence (maybe something like DC 10+dominant humor score). Humor points come from races, some classes, maybe other ways. Probably every character gets x (say, two) humor points per level to do with as he pleases, either to keep it balanced or to weight it one direction.

Being aligned via humors carried benefits and drawbacks. Benefits include increased ability to work magic and to command elemental beings, and maybe other mechanical benefits. Drawbacks include forced behavior, and maybe you’re harder to heal with regular healing magic (which is tied to the balance). Maybe if your humors get REALLY out of balance, you can eventually be considered an elemental.

The Deathless
The greatest weapon at the disposal of the elemental powers was the Deathless. These servants were created from mortals by opening a small portal directly into their soul, suffusing it with elemental stuff. Thus they become incarnate champions of the element that feeds them, and they can never be destroyed while the portal remains open, because they are constantly being regenerated by the elemental planes. (By the way, keeping the portal open is not hard, and closing it is almost if not impossible) They need not sleep or eat. They also have elemental powers and can command lesser elemental beings.

You can become a Deathless in one of three ways:

1: An elder elemental can make you into a deathless. This is done deliberately to create a champion, and was how the first Deathless were created. Needless to say, the deathless who have been around the longest are the most powerful and the most feared.

2: The elemental races are tied to the elemental planes, and thus every now and then one of them is simply born deathless, with a living portal already inside them.

3: Rumor speaks of apotheosis rituals that can make a supplicant into a Deathless at their own bidding, i.e. to force it from this side instead of from the other.

Now, the champions of Balance have begun to create their own Deathless, fed by the very raw stuff of this plane. Although the material/plane of balance has been weakened by a thousand years of cosmic strife, the proximity of the Deathless of the Balance to their own plane makes them fearsome and formidable.

Is being Deathless a blessing or a curse? Both, either, and maybe neither.

Deathless have humors weighted strongly in one direction, and actually lose points from their other humors until they become an elemental. Creature type that is. They still are a Deathless.

Magic
Most magic is elemental and cast by esorcery, i.e. though the use of elemental familiars. The skill of the esorcerer lies not in his own power, but in his ability to command an elemental to do his bidding. An esorcerer’s humors scores are somehow tied to his ability to work magic, and as an esorcerer rises I levels, his dominant humor score increases dramatically. Esorcerers are often of the elemental races, but certainly human esorcerers exist.

There is also True Magic, a secret that died with the Eldraan, but some rumors say it still exists, and its secrets cans till be re-discovered. If any Eldraan are still alive, then this theory must be true.

Priests of Balance are nature-oriented, like druids. They are usually human, but they don’t have to be.

Perhaps there are also devotees of the Old Gods hanging around somewhere. Maybe preserved by some (one?) of the Eldraan slave-races. They seek to bring the gods back to the Material plane.

Real healing magic comes fro the balance only. The elemental magic has similar things, but not right on the button. Increased temporary hp, for example, or maybe the ability to stay alive despite your wounds until you can heal naturally. Or maybe elemental magic can only heal elementals of the right kind.

Cosmology
There is the material plane, surrounded by the astral, nearby float the elemental planes, connected to each other by what is explained as a mass of tangled strings of irregular pearls, which are lesser elemental planes, subplanes, tertiary elemental planes, evil elemental planes, good elemental planes, and paraelemental demiplanes. Beyond the elemental planes is the Ring of Shadow, where mortal souls travel to and collect. Through the ring of shadow and far beyond are the far realms, the lands of the gods, long since sealed and/or abandoned. They are not broken down by element, nor is there a specific number o them. The material plane is actually the plane of Balance. There really is no positive or negative elemental planes, ethereal plane, or plane of shadow. Not like in the MotP at least.

Factions
The elements are split and factionalized. Factions range from marauding war-hosts led by ancient Deathless to sublime courts of elemental enlightenment. Cabals of philosophy, cosmic guilds, and all kinds of organizations. Also many factions that aren’t definitive organizations but simply consist of an elder elemental and their friends, servants, and followers.

Detailing some of these factions might make for much interesting gameplay as they can be patrons to the PCs, enemies to the PCs, or completely ignored.

There are also kingdoms and nations and tribes on the Material of all description. I haven’t detailed any of them. Keep in mind, though, that this is a world still at war, so a mighty trade empire of humans may not be appropriate.

Monsters

Certainly not all monsters from the MM, because that involves changing the setting to accommodate monsters that may not fit. Original monsters are better. No undead? No need really. Outsiders may also be irrelevant, although they may exist because not all of the far realms of the gods are sealed off; the gods just are.

Most monsters would fall into one of three categories:

1: elemental creatures of all kinds, on the elemental planes as well as on the material

2: Creatures of the balance, more “natural” beasts and animals including dinosaurs and prehistoric beasts and such. Fey also?

3: more magical creatures that are a throwback to or survivors from the age of the Eldraan. Dragons would fit here.

 

[the Jester]

Hmm, well, a lot of the rest of it's cool, but for me the deal-breaker is the alignment system you're using. Anything where the dm gets to tell me how to play my character (when I'm not under the influence of some kind of compulsion) = no thanks.

 

[Random Goblin]

Fair enough. Like I said, the whole thing is just a skeleton. Nothing has to stay.

 

[Turanil]

Of course yours is a fantasy setting, but if there was a single super-continent, because of lack of ocean regulation on climate, the interior of the continent would be a hell of extremes, and thus a totally inhospitable desert with raging storms and what not. In itself this aspect can only improve your setting!

Otherwise, it's a full opportunity to add dinosaurs, lizardmen races, etc. (BTW: I like elves being a alien crashed on the Earth. Maybe could use Dragonstar as well: these elves unfortunately are losing their technology, just being able to keep their magic, but I digress). Then, make ancient and alien decadent empire of Yuan-thi and Illithids that waged war against each other for millenaries, ignoring the lesser humanoids (humans, orcs, etc.) who were but a minority. Now that they are on the decline, the human kingdoms emerge...


By the way, I feel inclined to borow some of your ideas for my own...

 

[Warehouse23]

Reunite Gondwanaland!

It sounds in many ways like a rich, meso-American-esque setting, although I realize that was not the original intent.