So what's YOUR world's 'hook'?
- Thread starter curiosity
- Start date
Umbra
First Post
The Lost
Centuries ago, the folk at a giant trading fair (in FR's) were mysteriously transported to another world. Stunned and disorientated they were overwhelmed by a race similar to Lamias. Resisters and obvious spellcasters were killed. Using wisdom drains and charm, the Lamia's enslaved the survivors and took them to their city.
The PC's are slaves, descendants of those who Lost their homelands. They begin the campaign deep within the giant stone wheel known as the city Ak G'Ard (essentially stuck underground) where paranoia is a way of life. You don't know who you can trust. You don't know who works for the masters, the G'Ard. Over hundreds of years mothers have betrayed daughters, husbands have betrayed wives. You obey or you disappear. The powers of the G'Ard ensure no resistence.
Or so the G'Ard thought.
Dwarves began it. Their innate resistence helped them. Over the first few decades they gathered what knowledge of the Lost they could before it disappeared forever. Using their stonecraft, a few built secret ways to hide what was to become a resistence movement. A faint connection to a goddess called Neshalah (who is secretly trapped beneath the city) was made and members of the resistance gain the ability to cast a spell from one of two randomly chosen domains each day.
Apart from this power, the Lost have little else. A few sorcerors have been thrown up by the genetic pool but all other magic is lost.
Any skills where equipment or contact with the natural world are banned. Any skills considered 'survival' skills in this enviroment are raised one level (from cross class to class or banned to cross class). For example, everyone gains sense motive, diplomacy, bluff. Each character can also have a craft skill which is part of their slave duties (eg: weaving)
Over time, the chosen of Neshalah built up the resistence. Until now.
The PC's begin as new members of the resistence. They live in giant halls far from the outside world. Their homes are a patch of floor behind simple cloth walls that are constantly moved by the G'Ard. Possessions are few with no metal available at all.
After a few adventures within the city under the guidance of a cell leader, the resistence movement is discovered. The cell leader shows the PC's a secret way which had been prepared for the eventual liberation of the Lost. In the chaos of the G'Ard rounding up people, the PC's need to escape, deal with the fear of being outside after a lifetime indoors, cross the desert they will find, get help, build up their skills, find equipment, and return to rescue the Lost and (unknown to them at the time) the goddess Neshalah.
Centuries ago, the folk at a giant trading fair (in FR's) were mysteriously transported to another world. Stunned and disorientated they were overwhelmed by a race similar to Lamias. Resisters and obvious spellcasters were killed. Using wisdom drains and charm, the Lamia's enslaved the survivors and took them to their city.
The PC's are slaves, descendants of those who Lost their homelands. They begin the campaign deep within the giant stone wheel known as the city Ak G'Ard (essentially stuck underground) where paranoia is a way of life. You don't know who you can trust. You don't know who works for the masters, the G'Ard. Over hundreds of years mothers have betrayed daughters, husbands have betrayed wives. You obey or you disappear. The powers of the G'Ard ensure no resistence.
Or so the G'Ard thought.
Dwarves began it. Their innate resistence helped them. Over the first few decades they gathered what knowledge of the Lost they could before it disappeared forever. Using their stonecraft, a few built secret ways to hide what was to become a resistence movement. A faint connection to a goddess called Neshalah (who is secretly trapped beneath the city) was made and members of the resistance gain the ability to cast a spell from one of two randomly chosen domains each day.
Apart from this power, the Lost have little else. A few sorcerors have been thrown up by the genetic pool but all other magic is lost.
Any skills where equipment or contact with the natural world are banned. Any skills considered 'survival' skills in this enviroment are raised one level (from cross class to class or banned to cross class). For example, everyone gains sense motive, diplomacy, bluff. Each character can also have a craft skill which is part of their slave duties (eg: weaving)
Over time, the chosen of Neshalah built up the resistence. Until now.
The PC's begin as new members of the resistence. They live in giant halls far from the outside world. Their homes are a patch of floor behind simple cloth walls that are constantly moved by the G'Ard. Possessions are few with no metal available at all.
After a few adventures within the city under the guidance of a cell leader, the resistence movement is discovered. The cell leader shows the PC's a secret way which had been prepared for the eventual liberation of the Lost. In the chaos of the G'Ard rounding up people, the PC's need to escape, deal with the fear of being outside after a lifetime indoors, cross the desert they will find, get help, build up their skills, find equipment, and return to rescue the Lost and (unknown to them at the time) the goddess Neshalah.
Kalendraf
Explorer
Candide said:
Cool. That's one of the primary foundations for my campaign. I decided to take some real-world historical events and blend them together to form the background for this campaign. I originally considered the possibility of the divine-side of the power having undergone some kind of major power loss, like maybe several gods had died, or lost worshippers and thus had no or little power. A possible example of that could be the ending of the Egyptian, Greek or Roman theologies. Later, I started looking at the arcane side as being the ones that had been devestated, and it just clicked. The main real-world historical elements I've tried to blend in this campaign include:
- The witchhunts of medieval europe/early colonial U.S. history. In this campaign, the Witchhunters have been tracking down arcane casters for centuries, though now they are only supposed to only go after Tainted casters.
- The crusades. After the dawn of the Taint, the surviving churches wiped out the lesser or weakened ones, and launched full-crusades to eradicate all non-believers until only a handful of all-powerful churches remained. The crusades ended just a few years ago.
- Colonization/Settlement of North America. The new continent is being settled with new arrivals coming every day. The party began their careers in a town near the edge of the settled lands, which would be the equivalent of this world's Wild West.
- Oppression/War against the Native Americans. The natives of this new continent, known as the Wilders (druids, rangers, barbarians), and various humanoid clans have been pushed westward by the new settlers. Some resistance and skirmishes have happened, and increasingly deadlier conflicts are inevitable.
This isn't some alternate earth, though I suppose I could have save myself some map development and made it that way. This is still a mostly normal fantasy world, but arcane power is dangerous & magic items are far less common.
Wizards & Sorcerers have it pretty rough here. Spells they cast can be dangerous, and permanent items they make are illegal to possess and may very well become cursed items. Renegade witchhunters may try to kill them. And even the local populace doesn't like them. To help balance all these drawbacks, they get some added benefits:
Lingering Magic - As a result of the previous changes to the Arcane Spellpool, arcane magic now is less predictable. All spells cast by wizards & sorcerers with a duration of 1 time unit/level now last an additional 0-3 time units. This is determined secretly by the DM when the spell is cast. For purposes of Extend type feats, the base duration is doubled, then the 0-3 additional units are added. This lingering ability tends to help lower level casters more than higher level ones.
1st level Wizards gain Eschew Materials feat
1st level Sorcerers gain Arcane Preparation feat
4th level Wiz/Sorc gain Heighten Spell feat
7th level Wiz/Sorc gain Arcane Sight (detect magic & taint at will)
8th level Wiz/Sorc gain Energy Affinity[Lightning] feat
11th level Wiz/Sorc gain Energy Affinity[Fire] feat
14th level Wiz/Sorc gain Energy Affinity[Cold] feat
17th level Wiz/Sorc gain Energy Affinity[Acid] feat
19th level Wiz/Sorc gain Free metamagic feat of their choice
Due to mistrust & stigma, Wiz/Sorc suffer a -2 penalty on Diplomacy checks, but gain +2 bonus on Intimidation checks.
Were I to re-do this, I would likely incorporate several of the Sudden meta-feats from the Miniatures Handbook instead of the other feats I originally offered.
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