D&D 5E Pitch me a new WotC setting (+)

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Also, since I don't think it's been said yet, Gamma World as a 5E setting.

 

[Parmandur]

When I studied Medieval history, there was a real fear of world-ending catastrophe as the CE year 1000 approached; a bit like the “Millenium Bug” of the late 1990s, but with divine wrath, demons, angels, floods etc.
Obviously it didn’t happen but I have toyed with a campaign set in a not-Europe after the event actually happened, with “demons” unleashed and a pretty devastating breakdown of much of the society at the time. The “demons” being as much standard D&D monsters returning from myth, alongside some actual demons influencing political figures.

The general idea is to start in around 1002 CE, with a partially de-populated Europe beginning to come to terms with new realities.
Characters likely to be Norman or Saxon, charged with taking the 17 year old Emma of Normandy to her marriage to Aethelraed Unraed of England, but with the “unraed” part of his name referring to actual evil counsel by demonic forces, including evil plans for Emma, which the PCs will hopefully foil. Her brother, Richard the Good of Normandy is decent enough and a recent father to a baby, Robert, who IOTL would be William the Conqueror’s father. The Papacy was a corrupt mess at the time (sometimes called the Rule of the Harlots!), so that’s easy enough to play. Brian Boru was “King” of Ireland, so easy enough to bring in a not-Celtic angle.
I’d probably make a big play on “The Ruins” poem and involve Roman ruins, probably “haunted” by ghosts of legionaries (possibly benign) such as at Anderida (Pevensey) and similar.
Forests such as Andredeswald would be wild and dangerous, and I’d nod to the gaming past by a very old hero, Thegn Tostig, slayer of the hag, Angbeffor, as a mentor. (If you know, you know!)
Legendary items such as Beowulf’s sword could feature, and I’d centre a fair bit around the Neolithic ruins near where I live, possibly playing a couple of games there with my face-to-face group.
As the group travel around a devastated England, places such as Glastonbury will figure of course, and future figures such as a young Godwin will play a part

Nothing like a “sell me pitch” as I’ll never produce seriously, but I’ll probably put something together for my monthly group after I finish with Scarlet Citadel. Anyway, just thought I’d share.

Just to be nit-picky, because an old academic advisor was an expert in this particular bit of Mediveal arcana...people didn't freak out at the year 1000. They freaked out at various points in the best couple hundred years, but at esoteric dates thst ate not nice and round. My prof would always get calls from journalists when there was a fresh end-tines fever (it's a perennial phenomenon) to get an expert quote, he would tell them the actual dates of Mrdieval ebd-tines hysteria and the journalist would always go (that date seems totally random." And my professor would have to point out that is the point of esoteric tea-leaf reading: it can't be an obvious date. Anyways, long story short he never got quoted and the journalists would trot out the 1000 canard instead.

 

[Minigiant]

Kamen Rider
King Arthur and the Knights of Justice.
He-Man
Power Rangers
Danny Phantom
Iron Man
Thor
Golden Era Flash
Captain Marvel
Ultraman

Henshin D&D​

 

[SkidAce]

The world is a spinning cylindrical spaceship, with a sun down the middle.

Gravity is by centripetal force. Airships ply the low grav heights, unable to ever land because of the gravity gradient. The fastest way to the other side of the world is striaght up (flying around the sun, of course). The steep gravity gradient allows for flying races in the heights.

Resources are limited. Mining is dangerous (if you delve too deep you hit vacuum!).

The world is deliberately kept in ignorance and at a low tech level by the crew of the ship. The inhabitants believe that crew members are gods, or at least the servants of gods due to their (high-tech) powers. There aren't enough resources to support a high-tech civlisation, so the crew are in an impossible position, forced to opress the passengers on the ship.

The long-term goal of a campaign could be to learn the truth about the world.

I bet a beer your enjoy reading Arthur C. Clarke, dont yah?

 

[SkidAce]

Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle?

 

[Greenstone.Walker]

I bet a beer your enjoy reading Arthur C. Clarke, dont yah?

I should have included my references.

"The Book of the Long Sun" by Gene Wolfe.
The various Ringworld books by Larry Niven.
The movie "Pandorum" (2009).

I also did a lot of thinking about how you could support large flyers and giant insects and other creatures that the square-cube laws work against. A steep gravity gradiant allows for such life, as well as adding the dramatic ideas that for a high-living creature, going down into a valley is death (in the same way that for an air-breather going into the an ocean is death).

I also really like the idea of some sort of high-tech overlords keeping the majority of the world in ignorance, that technology like gunpowder exists but the D&D world doesn't have it because some group is actively supressing it. For example the the Priest-Kings in the Gor books by John Norman.

 

[Redwizard007]

A portal fantasy setting for D&D seems really long overdue.

WTH, man?
-Planescape

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

WTH, man?
-Planescape

"Portal fantasy" has a specific meaning, typically someone going from the real world to a fantasy world. Think Alice, Narnia, the Magicians, etc.

Fantasy - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Vaalingrade]

Maybe there's a language barrier and the mean 'Door Fantasy'.

 

[Redwizard007]

"Portal fantasy" has a specific meaning, typically someone going from the real world to a fantasy world. Think Alice, Narnia, the Magicians, etc.

Fantasy - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Well, shucks. I learned something today.