Pirate Earth?

[Zardnaar]

Looks like my players want to do a pirate themed game next.

I'm thinking of doing an anything goes game set on fantasy Earth.

Now I plan on replacing real life people with equivalents from the PHB.

Map can be totally anachronistic though.

Major human areas are going to be Egypt, Greece, Scandinavia with the appropriate pantheon's from the PHB.

Former Roman Empire is Dragonborn.

Elves gonna be a naval based empire based out of the UK. The Empire is in decline.

Dwarves will be in not Switzerland.

Yuan Ti in the Amazon and Yucatan.

In Africa not Mali/Songhai will be a thing. Gnolls,lion men,loxodons etc will hail from this area.

So just wondering where you would put the other races and I need a major human nation located in Spain/Portugal type area.

Not sure what to do with not France area.

They won't be major parts of the campaign but I need a rough idea where to locate things.

Starting in 2-3 weeks.

Sasserine from Savage Tide AP is going to be where Havanna is. Saltmarsh may also be in the area.

 

[Tonguez]

Marco Polo gives an account of the Malabar Pirates of India thus

Spoiler

"And you must know that from this Kingdom of Melibar, and from another near it called Gozurat, there go forth every year more than a hundred corsair vessels on cruize. These pirates take with them their wives and children, and stay out the whole summer. Their method is to join in fleets of 20 or 30 of these pirate vessels together, and then they form what they call a sea cordon, that is, they drop off till there is an interval of 5 or 6 miles between ship and ship, so that they cover something like a hundred miles of sea, and no merchant ship can escape them. For when any one corsair sights a vessel a signal is made by fire or smoke, and then the whole of them make for this, and seize the merchants and plunder them. After they have plundered they let them go, saying, 'Go along with you and get more gain, and that mayhap will fall to us also!' But now the merchants are aware of this, and go so well manned and armed, and with such great ships, that they don't fear the corsairs. Still mishaps do befal them at times.[/spolier]

Anyway for some reason I think Dwarf pirates would make a good fit

Halflings fit for France, maybe Tritons too

Genasi and Aarakocra in Indonesia

 

[Eltab]

The Roman Empire included France, Spain, and Britain, so that is filled.
Your elves may have to move to Ireland and Pictia err Scotland. They turned to the sea because the big land is spoken for.

If you can find the "When Dragons Conquered America" threads from last year, you could put a different spin on the Aztecs.
Bugbears &c in the US - but they are allergic to salt water so they usually stay near shore. And are really cranky upon going ashore again if they sailed beyond view of land. Going into the bay between Cape Hatteras and the mainland would be a mistake; that is fresh-enough water for them. Local myth says the whole world tilts slightly down to the north; this is why the ocean has a permanent current in it.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

The French should be Kender. Trust me. If not, then Gnomes or Kobolds.

Australia, etc. should be Halflings. Orrr...Kobolds- tie in aboriginal beliefs with how Kobolds talk about their ancient draconic heritage.

Egupt might be a good location for anthropomorphic/beast-headed races, possibly with human slaves.

Spain? Castilian Lizardmen, complete with lisp.

 

[MarkB]

In a pirate-themed game, I trust that the Scandinavian humans will be appropriately Viking-like? If not, dwarves make good Vikings.

Tieflings with their fire resistance would do well in a hot, desert type environment. Maybe Arabian area, or midwestern USA.

 

[Tonguez]

In a pirate-themed game, I trust that the Scandinavian humans will be appropriately Viking-like? If not, dwarves make good Vikings.

Tieflings with their fire resistance would do well in a hot, desert type environment. Maybe Arabian area, or midwestern USA.

Tieflings belong in Italy - putting them in Arabia is all kinds of bad juju (Genasi might be better anyway)

Dwarf vikings is playing to stereotype - may as well make them Barbarian Half-Orcs named Hadar Hadarhad and Sven Svensonsson

 

[aco175]

Do you have the dragonborn as Rome, where they conquered the greater area? Were they the ones that encountered all these other races and created a connection where language and trade bring them together before the northern orcs swept through. Are humans the dominant race like most other worlds, if so I would swap the dragonborn to more Spain and the Humans to Rome,

 

[Eltab]

Tieflings with their fire resistance would do well in a hot, desert type environment. Maybe Arabian area, or midwestern USA.

(emphasis added)

Not this year - we got snow in May!

 

[Zardnaar]

Do you have the dragonborn as Rome, where they conquered the greater area? Were they the ones that encountered all these other races and created a connection where language and trade bring them together before the northern orcs swept through. Are humans the dominant race like most other worlds, if so I would swap the dragonborn to more Spain and the Humans to Rome,

Times gone but that's the origin of the Dragonborn.

I think I'll put a human kingdom in Spain/France. It's new.

Heart of campaign probably be the Americas/, Caribbean. I just need to know where stuff goes and where ships to pirate are going to and from.

Dragonborn and Tieflings could be located in Egypt and Anatolia.

Humans aren't dominant. Not France and not Spain would be the most powerful human nation.

Not Egypt is essentially off map.

I don't plan on giving the players world maps or large scale maps.

Doesn't have to be 100% accurate with earth map. If the Isle of Dread needs to go where Madeira is so be it.

 

[aco175]

It may be cool if the PC races are around the Caribbean and the mainland contains dinosaurs that attack any settlements that try to form along Florida and Carolinas. The pirate theme works with all the races being able to have some sort of Port Royal to mingle in and major trade routes sailing by going back and forth. Fountain of Life and Lost City of Gold are all good ideas to develop.