My homebrew world needs a "hook"

[BiggusGeekus]

OK, I have a homebrewed fantasy setting for my DnD games I run. It has its own gods, but IMO its just a cookie cutter fantasy setting. I have been trying to think of something that will give my setting a unique hook or flavor, but I can't think of anything good, IMO. Ideas?

There are lots of good ideas above. However, I have some questions?

Low or high fantasy? (e.g. Midnight or Dragonlance)
Warriors or Wizards?
Politics or dungeons?
And finally ... do you want this to be a game that the players can win or lose?


Oh, and just because I'm curious: got guns?

 

[KenM]

No guns, no psionics. I'd say the world is medium to high magic. Currently not playing now due to a lack of players in my area. Just looking for ideas to spice it up a bit.

 

[Abstraction]

Have a world with no sun. Everyone lives in terror because the beasts of the night are always out there. The epic quest is to find the sun and place it in the sky.

 

[Gentlegamer]

Don't start off trying design the whole world and cosmos. Just design one kingdom or part of a kingdom with a "homebase" starting point for the PCs. Add details as the campaign progresses/come up in game play.

If you want to be different: only humans, no demi-humans, humanoids, etc.

 

[kroh]

What I like to do is switch around whatever portions of the previous campaign that I had become most tired of, for me, the larger campaign ideas grow out of what sort of player vs monster conflict seem most interesting.

For example:

- Undead are now all intelligent and Lawful Neutral.
- Surface Elves and Drow join forces to try and wipe out Humans and Orcs.
- Dragons (in a disguised form) have infiltrated and made themselves the leaders of almost all other intelligent species - the Chromatic vs Metallic conflict is a ruse (or fought secretly through proxies).
- All living things (or even inanimate objects) have a chance of becoming intelligent, based on age and size, or proximity to magic, or just randomly. (I was always partial toward intelligent spiders for some reason, too many readings of Charlotte's Web as a child perhaps.)
- The gods get bored periodically and switch alignments/domains, or conquer/merge with other gods, acquiring their alignments and domains - leaving their followers to switch, quit, or muddle through.
- Some previously overlooked and underwhelming monster type (for me, Ettercaps) possesses far greater numbers and ability than anyone else realizes, and is preparing for an attack.

Thats just Crazy Tight...
Regards,
Walt

 

[Quickleaf]

Serious yoinkage. Very cool ideas Quickleaf
At least two of my friends would have a field day visiting this place

Thanks Morte! And "Kirpah Nasmong" is actually a scrambled word...an anagram? See if you can figure it out and foil those dastardly gnomes!

And the Divine Mandate idea is swank. *Quid pro quo yoink*

 

[Storyteller01]

Doppelgangers are not a simple force to bludgeon at mid level: They're taking over!!

I house ruled that the doppelgenger's detect thought ability is treated as an illusion (ie, you don't get a save unless you feel your mind is being read).

gets especially evil when the doppels take character levels...

 

[painandgreed]

No humans, elves, dwarves, gnomes or halflings. The character races are the ones out of the monster manual with info on how to make them player characters (Bugbears, Centaurs, Derro, Doplegangers, Jann, Giants, Githyanki, Githzerai, Gnolls, Goblins, Grimlocks, Hobgoblins, Kobolds, Minotaurs, Ogres, Ogre Mage, Orcs, Rakshasas, Satyrs, Pixies, Troglodytes, Trolls, and Yaun-Ti). Ditch the usual alignment restrictions due to race. make the humanoids like orc and hobgoblin the civilized kingdom makers while the fey type creatures like centaurs, satyrs, and pixies are nature lovers. perhaps take the emphasis away from good vrs. evil and make it law versus chaos.

 

[Psion]

I've often wondered why every setting needs a hook. What is wrong with the cookie cutter approach?

Can speak for anyone else, but for me, it's simply a case of "been there, done that."

For me, part of the joy of making a world with new twists (and playing one) is exploring new possibilities, experiencing fresh takes I have not before.

(/me busily jots down notes as potential pit stops for my players.)

 

[Space monkey]

No humans, elves, dwarves, gnomes or halflings. The character races are the ones out of the monster manual with info on how to make them player characters (Bugbears, Centaurs, Derro, Doplegangers, Jann, Giants, Githyanki, Githzerai, Gnolls, Goblins, Grimlocks, Hobgoblins, Kobolds, Minotaurs, Ogres, Ogre Mage, Orcs, Rakshasas, Satyrs, Pixies, Troglodytes, Trolls, and Yaun-Ti). Ditch the usual alignment restrictions due to race. make the humanoids like orc and hobgoblin the civilized kingdom makers while the fey type creatures like centaurs, satyrs, and pixies are nature lovers. perhaps take the emphasis away from good vrs. evil and make it law versus chaos.

I love this idea but think it needs one tweek.

There are all these small, ugly, nasty, dirty, little two legged monsters running around trying to destroy your world by building civilasations(castles, forts, citys, towers) that eat away at the natural world and there way more powerfull then they should be.

Give the Evil monsters vs good humans a complete tail spin. but make it not Your now the evil monsters, make it understandable you feel compasion for the goblins who's world is being destroyed by dwarves. and what about those poor giants, leave my mountain alone. and dragons well there kind of like halfings they do stuff just because it's fun.