Ongoing Campaign Setting Development by Reynard

[Reynard]

It has been a long time, but I have actually been running a campaign in Abyscor for a few months. As such, i am doing more development as the compaign moves along.

Dragons (a draft)

Since this monday will mark the first session in which
PCs come face to face with a dragon of Abyscor, I
thought I'd take a moment to describe them in more
detail than I have. This isn't the definitive
"Dragons of Abyscor" document I plan to write, but
rather a collection of thoughts and ideas subject to
change.

Dragons are eldricht power and elemental fury made
flesh. They have existed as long as the world has,
being creatures of it in the truest sense. They arose
in Abyscor because that continent is both the nexus of
the world's magical energy and possessive of a varied
and tumultuous environment.

Dragons do not breed, but they are born. Whena
volcano erupts in proximity to a elrdricht well (a
place hwere magic erupts from the ground), a red
dragon egg may be born. In a great blizzard, a white;
at the heart of a deep jungle, a green; and so on.
The ferocity or elemental power of the event and the
intesity of the magic determine the size and power of
the dragon. Abyscor dragons do not age -- the D&D age
categories are better described as gauges by which to
measure the birthing of the dragon.

That being said, dragons do learn and change over
time. Many take class levels, including levels in the
draconic prestige classes presented in Draconomicon
and other sources. No two dragons -- even if they are
the same color and the same age category -- will be
the same, and few will appear exactly as they do in
the Monster Manual.

And while all dragons consider their kind far and
above the other creatures of the world, they are not
all considered equal. Smaller and weaker dragons must
vie for domains away from the more powerful. "Young"
dragons must make pacts and alliances to survive long
enough to learn the secrets of their elder bretheren.
dragons battle over domains, both geographical and
political, and often raise armies of orcs, ogres, and
giants, and many create their own soldiers (the Spawn
of Tiamat from MMIV).

Dragons hoard treaure because it is the symbol of
their power and influence among other dragons. The
value of any given hoard is a complex thing, with gold
and precious stones weighing differently than objects
of art and artifice, and magical materials and
knowledge at the pinnacle. Dragons also consider
their servants and hunting grounds as part of their
hoard, and will often barter with one anoter with
their hoards for more of these.

Few mortals ever come to know dragons, and those that
do fear them. Not just for their power, but because
dragons consider lesser races to be insignificant and
little more than prey or, occasionally, pets. Only
when mortals display vast power -- as the ancient orc
empire did and the Babyrast Wizard Kings did -- do
dragons concern themselves with mortals. And we know
what happened to both of those great civilizations.

Dealing with dragons in Abyscor is an unfortunate inevitability.

 

[Reynard]

A Dragon's Obituary

Crysix the Screaming Wind was born during a particularly violent thunderblizzard at the site of an eldricht well nearly 100 years ago. Though small and inexperienced, she managed to maintain a small domain in the World Core Mountains. Under her dominion were a few dozen whitespawn hordling and a handful of whitespawn hunters.

More cunning than brilliant and more cruel than calculating, Crysix often came into conflict with more powerful, neighboring dragons. Conflicts she usually instigated and always lost. Nonetheless, her presence was tolerated as she kept watch over the Old Towers and the Way Between, as well as keeping the population of nomadic half-ogres to a minimum.

Crysix met her end in the Long Hall of the Way Between, apparently at the hands of mortal interlopers -- perhaps even agents of the reviled Wizards of Babyrast. Though she gave a valiant fight, no evidence suggests she managed to kill any of her assassins. Given her avaraice, it is possible she conetrated to much on some treasure possessed by the attackers and not enough on the attackers themselves.

Her death was felt throughout the World Core Mountains and her nearby bretheren have taken note of the loss of one of their own. Crysix was survived by a pack of hordlings and two hunters.

 

[Reynard]

A Player's Response to the Obituary of Crysix:

a note...

Alas poor Crysix, we slew her well
laid low with cunning, sword, and spell
her cries rang like an icy bell
and now she lies in frozen Hell
so it is we who live to tell
of how the dragon fought and fell.

-The Hands of Vengeance

 

[Reynard]

When the giant races were driven across the land bridge to Abyscor ten millenia ago, they brought with them many slaves -- mostly of human stock. As the orcs, ogres and giants came to build their civilization under the watchful eye of the Dragons of Abyscor, they bred their slaves with members of their own kind, creating a servitor race that is known colloquially as half-ogres (though, in fact, their blood is mixed with that of all the giant races as well as humans and, it is suspected, dwarves).

For millenia, the half-ogres existed only to serve their masters, the Orcish Empire in particular. they were used as labor, gladiators and even soldiers (as the giant races are inherently warlike, in the absence of other enemies they often fought one another). When the Orcish Empire grew to great and too proud, and the Dragons destroyed it, however, the half-ogres were inadvertantly blessed with their freedom. They rose up against their greatly weakened masters and fled into the wilds of Abyscor.

For thousands of years since, the half-ogres have lived in small, roving bands -- hunting, gathering, travelling and, when they could, raiding orcs and ogres and giants out of both necessity and revenge. Life in Abyscor is harsh and little time is left for pursuits byond simple survival, however, so the half-ogres never built cities or developed a unified culture. they have existed ever as nomads and raiders, enemies and prey of both the Dragons of Abyscor and the giant races.

When the Great Catastrophe came and humans, elves, dwarves and goblins came to reside in Abyscor, the half giants, when encountered, were most often treated as just another kind of orc or ogre to be driven off or slaughtered. As the power of the Babyrast Wizard Kings grew, the half-ogres, who though they might have new allies in their struggle against the Dragons and the giant races, found instead a new enemy. While some stories exist of half-ogres coming to the rescue of human villages against orcs and the like, most encounters resulted in violence between the two.

Since the fall of the Babyrast Empire, some half-ogre tribes have been moving shoreward in an attempt to escape the extreme conditions of the World Core and the depredations of the Dragons. On occassion, they come in contact with outlying settlements. often, violence and death result. however, slowly but surely, the other mortal races of Abyscor are beginning to recognize the half-ogres as allies, or at least as non-enemies.

Game Data:

+4 Strength, +2 Constitution, -2 Dexterity, -2 Intelligence: Half-ogres are tough and strong, but not too nimble and weaker of mind than other races.

Giant: Half-ogres are not subject to spells or effects that affect humanoids only, such as charm person or dominate person.

Medium: As Medium creatures, half-ogres have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.
Half-giant base land speed is 30 feet.

Low-Light Vision: A half-ogre can see twice as far as a human in starlight, moonlight, torchlight, and similar conditions of poor illumination. He retains the ability to distinguish color and detail under these conditions.

Cold Acclimated: Half-ogres have a +2 racial bonus on saving throws against all cold spells and effects and do not suffer nonlethal damage from exposure to cold.

Powerful Build: The physical stature of half-ogres lets them function in many ways as if they were one size category larger.

Whenever a half-ogre is subject to a size modifier or special size modifier for an opposed check (such as during grapple checks, bull rush attempts, and trip attempts), the half-ogre is treated as one size larger if doing so is advantageous to him.

A half-ogre is also considered to be one size larger when determining whether a creature’s special attacks based on size (such as improved grab or swallow whole) can affect him. A half-ogre can use weapons designed for a creature one size larger without penalty. However, his space and reach remain those of a creature of his actual size. The benefits of this racial trait stack with the effects of powers, abilities, and spells that change the subject’s size category.

Automatic Language: Giant. Bonus Languages: Draconic, Common.

Favored Class: Barabrian

Level Adjustment: +1.

 

[Reynard]

Character Classes

The following will give a brief description of how each of the base classes, including the new ones from various books, fit into Abyscor. Some classes, such as the Warlock and Hexblade, are limited to NPCs only. if a class is not listed, it is not available. in addition, some classes' variant abilities are noted, either as options or as requirements.

PHB Classes

Barbarian: Barbarians are relatively rare among the civilized mortal races (humans, elves, dwarves and goblins). This is not to say they are unheard of, however, among those races. Many different cultures came to Abyscor at the time of the Great Catastrophe, and many more were forced to flee into the wilderness by the depredations of the Babyrast Wizard Kings.
Variants: The following variants from unearthed Arcana are available to barbarians: totem barbarians, “hunter barbarians” and the Whirling Frenzy rage variant. The Berserker Strength variants class ability from PHB II is also available.

Bard: Bards are common in Abyscor. Unlike most other spellcasters, bards were not hunted to near extinction by the Wizards Kings of Babyrast – mostly due to the fact that bards were not considered much of a threat. bards use a different kind of magic than do other arcane casters, one that draws on the “music of creation”. being jacks of all trades, bards tend to travel a lot and have been key in keeping the disparate city states of Abyscor at least marginally connected to one another. Bards are most often humans and elves, though all races have the capability to connect to the music of creation.
Variants: All Abyscor bards are Divine Bards per Unearthed Arcana (their spells are defined as Divine). With that change in mind, the Bardic Sage and Savage Bard are both available.

Cleric: Clerics are most common among humans (who first “discovered” the gods) but all civilized races recognize the divine powers (even if those divine powers have stopped recognizing mortals in return). Goblins are the least likely to be devout, but, ever practical, goblins do have “prists of convenience” among their number. Clerics come in two types: crusaders and scholars. While most adventuring clerics will be the former, the latter are in fact far more numerous.
Variants: The UA Cloistered Cleric is available (and is, in fact, the most common kind of cleric in the setting). Crusading clerics can trade the turn undead ability for Smite, as per UA. Spontaneous Domain Casting from PHBII is the standard in Abyscor (so if you want to be a healing battery, take the Healing domain!)

Druid: In Abyscor, druids are often associated with the same cultures as barbarians. They serve as both powerful war leaders and wise men. Some druidic sects believe Abyscor should remain uncivilized and work toward that goal, and considered outlaws and terrorists by the rulers of the various city states.
Variants: The UA Druidic Avenger is available. Note that the Shapeshift ability from PHB II is the standard for druids (in place of Wild Shape). Druids may spend a feat to gain an animal companion, but do not automatically gain one.

Fighters: Fighters in Abyscor are soldiers and guardsmen, mercenaries and adventurers, strongmen and thugs. Abyscor is a land constantly in conflict and men-at-arms are both feared and respected throughout the land and all the races.
Variants: The Thug from UA is available, as are all the alternate class features from PHB II.

Monk: The tradition of the monk was born among the goblins – among a group that eschews the goblin commercialism and materialism – but has spread throughout all the races. Monks are rare, and most often remain within their remote cloisters. Traveling monks are usually on an undefined quest for enlightenment, or serving the greater needs of their order. monks of different orders, particularly if they are of opposing alignment, often battle (sometimes to the death) when they meet.
Variants: The Fighting Style variants from UA are the standard for monk characters – a monk must choose one of the fighting styles at 1st level. The Decisive Strike variant class ability from PHB II is available.

Paladin: Warrior zealots exist among all the religions of Abyscor, and even as non-chirch associated fraternities or sororities of divinely inspired soldiers beholden to no church. Many are wary of these groups, as they act of their own will and belief and are difficult to control.
Variants: All four Paladin types from UA exist in Abyscor and a paladin PC must choose one path to follow. In addition, any sort of paladin may take the “favored enemy” variant from that book.

Ranger: Rangers are common in Abyscor, serving as scouts and as guides for travelers between the city states. Though they often work alone or in small groups, there are many ranger fraternities where rangers meet to trade information and occassionally join into larger groups to deal with particularly dangerous threats. Rangers often serve as the first line of defense against the orc, ogre and giant forces pushing toward the city states.
Variants: The UA Urban Ranger, as well as the Favored Environment variant, are available. The Distracting Attack ability from PHB II is available.

Rogue: If there is one class more common than the fighter, it is the rogue. In a world of scheming merchants and warring city states, those that survive and thrive by stealth and guile are both necessary and everywhere.
Variants: Wilderness rogues from UA are available, as is the Disruptive Attack variant class feature from PHB II.

Sorcerer: Long ago, there were many different kinds of sorcerers, mortals infused with the magic of the world via the mystical creatures that inhabit it. then the dragons took notice of sorcerers and, over centuries, eliminated all but those sorcerers that were magically associated with dragons. In society, sorcerers serve much the same function as wizards and other arcane casters, but in reality they are different enough that wizards, particularly those who follow the teachings of babyrast, do not trust sorcerers.
Variants: The battle sorcerer from UA is available, as is the Metamagic Specialist class feature from PHB II. In addition, all sorcerer characters must pick a chromatic dragon type with which they are associated. The sorcerer gains the abilities of a “minor bloodline” of the dragon type, per UA. Also, spell lists should be built around the dragon type with which the sorcerer is associated. And finally, draconic “fear aura” is an aura of command for sorcerers of the associated type, meaning that a sorcerer who fails the save is charmed by the dragon instead of affected by fear.

Wizard: In Abyscor, the place of wizards is an uncertain one. magic was once the key to the success of the civilized races, but since the Wizard Kings of Babyrast, with their demonic pacts and infernal magic, corrupted the place of the wizard in society, arcane casters of all sorts have found themselves on the fringes of society. Sometimes, wizards are outlawed, even hunted. ost times, though, they are simply distrusted. the Order of Arcane Light has made efforts, and continues to do so, to rectify this view but has met with only limited success. that said, there are many who would scour the remains of the Babyrast empire in search of arcane knowledge hoarded and buried by the Wizard kings.
Variants: All wizards must be specialist mages, and all the variant specialist wizard abilities listed in UA are available, as are the Immediate Magic abilities in PHB II.

PHB II Classes

Beguiler: Beguilers are a kind of “specialist wizard” developed among the Babyrast to infiltrate and confound their arcane adversaries. Since the fall of Babyrast, the school survives but in limited numbers and are hunted and often killed if captured. While there are some few “good” beguilers, most serve their own interests are still work for what remains of Babyrast.

Dragon Shaman: Only known among the orcs, ogres and trolls, Dragon Shamans are the favored of their draconic masters and serve their ends as powerful warriors and leaders among the giant tribes. The Dragon Shaman is not a PC class.

Duskblade: Duskblades are most often elves, for that is where the marriage of the arts arcane and war came together first. However, duskblades can be found among all the civilized races. like all arcane casters, they suffer the stigma of association with Babyrast, though their tendency to rely on strength of arms in addition to magical might makes some more comfortable with the duskblade than the sorcerer or wizard.

Knight: Knights are often commanders among infantry and serve in the many armies of the many city states of Abyscor. Some knights are “errant”, traveling the land on their own and performing deeds of valor for their own reasons.

Complete Series Classes

The following base classes from the Complete Series are the only ones available.

Favored Soul: Some people believe that the gods turned away from mortals when the Great Catastrophe occurred. the favored souls, few as they are, know better. While they cannot truly explain it, the know, without a doubt, that the gods are still there, watching and manipulating the mortal races. Favored souls are conduits to these divine powers and their destinies are already written, even if the favored soul cannot read it.
Variants: The PHB II Deity's Favor ability is the standard for favored souls in Abyscor.

Hexblade: Warriors cloaked in infernal darkness, hexblades were commanders and specialists of the Babyrast Wizard Kings. Like beguilers, hexblades largely disappeared when the empire fell, but a few yet remain – most in service of Babyrast, but some as independent agents. And like beguilers, hexblades are hunted and severely punished if found. Hexblade is an NPC only class.

Scout: Scouts are relatively common in Abyscor, serving much the same function as rangers and wilderness rogues, though tend to be more often associated with a military or civil organization than either of those groups. independent scouts are often veterans of Abyscor's city state wars who have decided warfare is not their calling and hire themselves out as guides or to merchant caravans.
Variants: The Dungeon Specialist variant from PHB II is available.

Swashbuckler: Swashbucklers exist in all parts of Abyscor among all races, though they are not as common as fighters and tend to be more closely associated with those city states with a slightly higher than average level of technology and culture than most city states.
Variants: The Shield of Blades variant from PHB II is available.

Warlock: Like beguilers and hexblades, warlocks were “created” in Babyrast and represent the ultimate link between mortal and the infernal realms. It is rumored that warlocks were bred, not trained, and that the ritual involved in their creation was the most vile of all Babyrast's crimes. few Warlocks exist outside the city of babyrast, and those that do are either hiding or on a mission for their masters. Warlock is an NPC only class.

 

[Emirikol]

http://www.ngmapstore.com/shopping/...=PRODUCT&iMainCat=6&iSubCat=44&iProductID=147

National Geographic is probably where you got the idea..but here's the map (above).

I thought the same thing about a campaign. In fact, I was considering starting work on a Hyborian-Hyperborean campaign.

jh

 

[William drake]

The Beginning: Broad Strokes


History: Up until a few thousand years ago, the continent was home to wild beasts, dragons and orcs and giants only. Then, catastrophe on the rest of the world led to a mass migration – over a period of a century or so – of peoples and races of many different lands to the continent. In time, these migrants formed new civilizations along the coast. They interacted with one another the way all civilizations do: through trade, cultural exchange and war. Despite regular raids by savage races and monsters from deeper within the continent, most of these new civilizations flourished. After a time – one thousand years or so – one city state came to dominate the rest. It was a magocracy, ruled by powerful wizards who used their mastery of the arcane to build a powerful and decadent civilization. This city state dominated the continent for a thousand years, growing ever more powerful, decadent and ambitious. At first, it sought to control only the coastal belt, but in time began to push inward. It was this that was their undoing. The wizard-kings made one too many forays into the depth of the continent and sparked the ire of the great dragons that dwelled there. The dragons and their minions warred with the wizard kings, their armies and their demon servants. The war lasted generations. Eventually, much of the great arcane empire lay in ruins. Perceiving no more threat from the mortal races, the dragons retreated pole-ward once again.

Civilization: The draconic war ended centuries ago. Even so, the mortal races never fully recovered. When the wizard-kings were destroyed, the empire shattered and remains so to this day. There are no real nations on the continent. Rather, city-states are the most powerful political and military forces, with wide expanses of wilderness between them. Most trade is done via coastal sailing vessels, but the seas all around the continent are notoriously dangerous – due to both weather and the sea dragons that dwell beneath the surf. Huge, claustrophobic metropolises are surrounded by small farming hamlets and the estates of the wealthy and powerful, but only as far out as the local military can keep the wilderness at bay. Beyond that, there are few settlements – mostly outposts for mining, lumbering or an attempt to clear land for farming. Each city-state has its own unique flavor, language and possibly even dominant race. The long rule of the wizard-kings, however, provided some standards that live on, however: a trade tongue (“common”), weights and measures, and mutually agreeable coinage.

Religion: The many different peoples that migrated to the continent brought with them innumerable faiths. Every flavor of worship can be found among the city states of the continent. The gods themselves, however, are not present in the world (though there are powerful extra-planar beings such as demons and elemental lords that set themselves up as gods). Religion is the artifice of mortal minds and while divine magic exists, and priests and clerics believe it to be bestowed upon them by the gods, the truth of the matter is uncertain.


Dragons: Dragons are the most powerful force on the continet. They are native to the land and have ruled it since before the mortal races were born. For eons, Dragons hunted freely of the other monsters of the land and fought wars for territory, mates and riches. When the orcs, ogres and giants came to the continent millenia ago, the dragons watched them with curiosity for centuries before deciding to lord over them. It was the same with the other races, particularly the humans, during the great migration. Assuming humans would be as thoughtless and bestial as their other subject was the dragons' greatest error. Before the dragons had decided to intervene in human affairs, the wizard-kings had already risen to power. Over the next centuries, a cold war of sorts existed between the dragons and the arcane empire. As the wizard-kings grew in power and sought to expand their influence pole-ward, the dragons' patience was spent. Over the course of only a few decades, the dragons and their thralls destroyed the arcane empire and then retreated back to the cold darkness near the pole. Dragons are immensely ancient and powerful and their minds are almost to alien for mortals to grasp fully. While they vary in Alignment and have their own agendas, most mortals view dragons much in the same way they do volcanoes, hurricanes or tsunamis – unstoppable forces of nature to be feared and fled. If the dragons have one collective weakness it is their dismissal of mortal races as inconsequential: they believe humans and their kin will never again rise to the power and audacity of the wizard-kings.

How old is the world, not just where the game will be played, but the history that takes in what happend out side of the gameplay world before everything hit the fan. You have people coming from all parts of the world...I assume brining their history, and the religions with them...detail that. Also, what is so great about the POLE...why did the W.K want it?
Overall sounds good, I don't hear offten that Dragons are played up to be the Gods of D&D that they should be, how powerful, and rare they should be to be seen, and even more so to be dealt with in battle when fleeing is the morelikely of choices.
Game ON.



As a side note, I once had a game where players wished to fight a Great Elder Red Wyrm for they knew how I treated Dragons in my games. SO, I entertained this idea and two game nights later *each lasting almost 5 hrs* the players, all seven who were over 19th level, a few in the low 20's, were fully armed and equiped with some of the best weapons, armor, magic and healing obilities: a monk, a barbarian, a paladin, a sorcerer, two clerics, and a druid/ranger the playerse stood their ground in a city that they were able to use as cover; to doge, and escape the beast over head...found, at the end, that only a 3rd of the great city still stood..and only tw players were still standing. The rest were out of combat: either KO'd, or should've been dead but were saved by allies who moved their bodies to safe spots. Also, while the players were fighting, the city had it's own defenses...catapults, balista....nets...and some 3thousand soldiers. All were killed or dying.

The beast, was knocked out, wounded, with a severed wing, and missing some of its jaw and left eye. But it was still battle capable if it woke up, the players made sure that it didnt.

That's how I feel about dragons, they loved it.

 

[rounser]

That's a lot of words, and effort. Wouldn't it be better spent writing an "adventure path" that the players can actually interact with...? i.e. First the adventures, then the history of elven migrations! (You may well find that detailing the latter isn't even needed.)

 

[Reynard]

How old is the world, not just where the game will be played, but the history that takes in what happend out side of the gameplay world before everything hit the fan.

The setting is in development not just as I write, but as I run games in it. In the most recent session, I defined for the PCs (who came into the presence of the Red King) exactly how old the dragons were (and a hint about how old the world is).

See, in this setting, dragons don't have age categories -- they have power categories. They are eldricht beings formed when elemental fury and ley lines intersect. They fought a small white dragon recently, which was born of a thunder blizzard and a small "eldricht well". The Red King, by contrast, was born when a meteor slammed into the earth at the site of a massive elricht well one million years ago.

 

[Reynard]

That's a lot of words, and effort. Wouldn't it be better spent writing an "adventure path" that the players can actually interact with...? i.e. First the adventures, then the history of elven migrations! (You may well find that detailing the latter isn't even needed.)

I am currently running a campaign in Abyscor, and have run a "historical" one shot as well. When I run a couple D&D games at Origins, they'll be in Abyscor. If I run a D&D one shot or short series for my other group, it'll be in Abyscor. When this campaign ends and we start anew, it'll be in Abyscor. My intent for creating the setting was to have *a* world for me to run D&D in.

As you can see, the histories and other stuff are relatively light on detail -- just enough for me to know what has gone before so I can create adventures for the now. If I am uncertain about a setting element, I introduce it in play (half-ogre PCs, for a recent example) and see how it fits. Abyscor is, and probably always will be, under development by both me scribbling/typing, and by players exploring it and adding their own input.

That, to me, is how you create a good, "living" campaign setting.