wlmartin
Explorer
I am currently fleshing out a setting idea and welcome any suggestions.
Here are some basics, in a nutshell for the setting
Cosmos : No stars/planets, world exists on a single plane that is a continent around the size of 500,000 square miles. There is a sun and moon but these are no related to celestial bodies. There exists a plane for the 4 elements, shadow, ethereal. There are godly realms and there is a heaven and hell (with a judgement system for mortal actions and their afterlife is awarded accordingly)
Gods : Are all made up of Ancient Dragons. It is unknown (or undecided) if these were ancient godly beasts that existed before Dragons (and thus created Dragons from their own image) or if they ascended in the long past. To make my life easy, we will likely go with the main types (colours, metals etc) as gods representing them.
Races : This is the most interesting part that I am enjoying right now... No traditional races. This means that although its hard to build for environments that aren't human or human-like (since you arent drawing from experience or other settings) I do like the idea of going in a different direction, especially since some of the races will have flying abilities
NOTE : Any of the races that share lineage with Dragons will only be playable in their metalic variation, chromatic ones will exist in the world but be part of the evil races the party faces
Draco : Tall, winged dragons that share a strong ancestory with their Dragon ancestors. Are typically quite aloof, live long lives and are rare to be seen. From a social point of view they fit in similar to how High elves do. Their biggest feature are that they can fly
Dragonkin (shortened to "kin") : Similar to Draco but only that they are a lot more populated in the world, are further from the evolutionary roots as Draco are and have lost their wings. Draco have a tentative relationship with Draco in the same way wood elves and high elves may have. Draco see Kin as a more diluted version of the pure ancestory and see them as a brash, uncut version of their own line. Kin see Draco as pompus and rightous, unwilling to take as many risks and a bit up themselves. Kin are the dominant race in the realm. - Dragonkin live shorter lives than Draco.
Wyvarn : Just as the bestiary option, Winged humanoid versions of Wyvern. Their place in the pecking order is yet to be determined but are likely seen as cousins to Dragons, less powerful politically.
Kobolds : More social and friendly than their regular monstrous build, similar to halflings in that they are small and are very much in the background to the social theatre. They are extremely populace, they breed like rabbits (or rabbits breed like Kobolds) and although they do nothing with their numbers to challenge the Kin, even though they may outnumber them a great deal. Kobolds are deemed quite stupid and common, the dregs of society
Lizardfolk : Just as the advanced race option, a more social version of the monstrous Lizardmen. These guys serve as Half-orcs may do in a typical setting. They are warrior like, tribal and fit just enough into the social pecking order that they arent shunned but are on the edges of this. They serve as strongmen, muscle and general "hit stuff hard" jobs and although there are plenty of world Lizardfolk, the ones that are playable are from a more civilized variant of the race.
Serpentfolk : Big snakes with arms and legs... nuff said? These guys are very connected to magic and its not uncommon to find Mages amongst their number. They are seen as quite intelligent and often serve in society running things and manipulating those around them. Unsure exactly how they fit into the social side of things above this, only that they are the smart ones.
This isn't the limit yet but the theme would continue, reptilian races, links to dragons and their type.
Story / History : A lot is spinning in my head but the nutshell of the story the PCs walk into is... Dragons are long sleeping/dead, they once ruled the world and warred amongst each other forcing races to split into good vs evil factions. The Dragons vanished into time and the void was filled with the lesser races (as above) stepping into their shoes. Old rivalries between chromatic and metalic dragonkin are still alive and carried on to this day.
The story is likely where the dragons return and the old rivalries fire up across the realm.
I appreciate there are still some more details I need to flesh out but from a "high concept" perspective, does it look ok? Any suggestions or experiences to share?
Here are some basics, in a nutshell for the setting
Cosmos : No stars/planets, world exists on a single plane that is a continent around the size of 500,000 square miles. There is a sun and moon but these are no related to celestial bodies. There exists a plane for the 4 elements, shadow, ethereal. There are godly realms and there is a heaven and hell (with a judgement system for mortal actions and their afterlife is awarded accordingly)
Gods : Are all made up of Ancient Dragons. It is unknown (or undecided) if these were ancient godly beasts that existed before Dragons (and thus created Dragons from their own image) or if they ascended in the long past. To make my life easy, we will likely go with the main types (colours, metals etc) as gods representing them.
Races : This is the most interesting part that I am enjoying right now... No traditional races. This means that although its hard to build for environments that aren't human or human-like (since you arent drawing from experience or other settings) I do like the idea of going in a different direction, especially since some of the races will have flying abilities
NOTE : Any of the races that share lineage with Dragons will only be playable in their metalic variation, chromatic ones will exist in the world but be part of the evil races the party faces
Draco : Tall, winged dragons that share a strong ancestory with their Dragon ancestors. Are typically quite aloof, live long lives and are rare to be seen. From a social point of view they fit in similar to how High elves do. Their biggest feature are that they can fly
Dragonkin (shortened to "kin") : Similar to Draco but only that they are a lot more populated in the world, are further from the evolutionary roots as Draco are and have lost their wings. Draco have a tentative relationship with Draco in the same way wood elves and high elves may have. Draco see Kin as a more diluted version of the pure ancestory and see them as a brash, uncut version of their own line. Kin see Draco as pompus and rightous, unwilling to take as many risks and a bit up themselves. Kin are the dominant race in the realm. - Dragonkin live shorter lives than Draco.
Wyvarn : Just as the bestiary option, Winged humanoid versions of Wyvern. Their place in the pecking order is yet to be determined but are likely seen as cousins to Dragons, less powerful politically.
Kobolds : More social and friendly than their regular monstrous build, similar to halflings in that they are small and are very much in the background to the social theatre. They are extremely populace, they breed like rabbits (or rabbits breed like Kobolds) and although they do nothing with their numbers to challenge the Kin, even though they may outnumber them a great deal. Kobolds are deemed quite stupid and common, the dregs of society
Lizardfolk : Just as the advanced race option, a more social version of the monstrous Lizardmen. These guys serve as Half-orcs may do in a typical setting. They are warrior like, tribal and fit just enough into the social pecking order that they arent shunned but are on the edges of this. They serve as strongmen, muscle and general "hit stuff hard" jobs and although there are plenty of world Lizardfolk, the ones that are playable are from a more civilized variant of the race.
Serpentfolk : Big snakes with arms and legs... nuff said? These guys are very connected to magic and its not uncommon to find Mages amongst their number. They are seen as quite intelligent and often serve in society running things and manipulating those around them. Unsure exactly how they fit into the social side of things above this, only that they are the smart ones.
This isn't the limit yet but the theme would continue, reptilian races, links to dragons and their type.
Story / History : A lot is spinning in my head but the nutshell of the story the PCs walk into is... Dragons are long sleeping/dead, they once ruled the world and warred amongst each other forcing races to split into good vs evil factions. The Dragons vanished into time and the void was filled with the lesser races (as above) stepping into their shoes. Old rivalries between chromatic and metalic dragonkin are still alive and carried on to this day.
The story is likely where the dragons return and the old rivalries fire up across the realm.
I appreciate there are still some more details I need to flesh out but from a "high concept" perspective, does it look ok? Any suggestions or experiences to share?
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