Storminator
First Post
LOL. In 30+ years of gaming I've never once thought about how worms interact with a setting's magic system.
PS
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Tell Us Of Your Game Settings
- Thread starter Oversquid
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LOL. In 30+ years of gaming I've never once thought about how worms interact with a setting's magic system.
PS
LOL. In 30+ years of gaming I've never once thought about how worms interact with a setting's magic system.
PS
You can be the first then!
LostSoul
Adventurer
My setting is based on the 4E implied setting with my own take on things.
1. Not sure. "All you need to get what you want is the will to make it happen" is maybe one. "And in the process you will be changed." Maybe that's another. I haven't really thought about it that much.
In terms of genre, it's weird fantasy. I think I was calling it "post-apocalyptic science-fantasy western" at one point.
The setting is harsh - civilization is dead. Monsters roam the wilderness, the few settlements that survive are small and threatened, and new warlords are trying to fill the power vacuum. Many civilizations have failed; the medieval world is filled with ruined "cities of glass & steel" (modern cities with skyscrapers), strange ziggurats built for human sacrifice, cities of snake-men, devil-worshippers, etc.
A couple of sessions ago a PC got a space ship (think Tintin's rocket ship) so she could travel to see a god on a distant planet (and fought some of his "angels" - androids).
There's occult magic that makes its practitioners "strange" (social outcasts). Cults that serve distant entities who dispense power for a price. Religions created by the "gods" to indoctrinate mortals - as well as teach them how to alter reality as they wish.
2. The setting is a universe - a small one, more like a single solar system. I had the idea that it's a holographic "universe" trapped in the accretion disc of a black hole in our reality. Just because I think it's neat.
3. I try to make sure that there's lots of weird stuff out there. Instead of a dungeon being an abandoned mine it might be an old missile silo or nuclear power plant or factory for processing human sacrifices.
I try to make sure there are lots of opportunities for change - the PC I mentioned with the rocket ship has seen her STR drop to 3 (but she was lucky and grabbed some randomly-generated and placed gauntlets of ogre power), she shares her soul with a dead demi-god (who she "convinced" to die after she altered his world-view), and she just got brain surgery (infected with nano-bots that - luckily, after a passed save - increased her mental abilities), so now her head's shaved and some Matrix-like plugs are jutting out of her skull.
4. The setting is 4E-ish, with primordials and gods and all that, but I've made some changes. I have a timeline that I use when I roll up a magic item - I want to know who created it and why, and that colours its powers. (The ancient dwarves made magic items for different purposes than the more recent dwarves - e.g. "Mixing earth and stone to create something new and unique" vs. "A desire to possess more and more and more".)
The fate of the universe came up in the last game. The PC was talking to a pair of angels of knowledge - she wanted to find out what they truly loved (so that she could get some more power from the dead demi-god with whom she shares her soul - a warlock-patron set-up). They truly loved the acquisition of knowledge, which means learning new things, which means change is necessary; but eventually change will lead to a point where they can't store that knowledge, and that means no more learning is possible (some kind of entropic death of the universe). They could try to stop it but that would mean stopping change and they'd be in the same boat. I believe they called this the "Thardizdun Paradox".
But who knows what's going to happen. The PC in question has (the belief that it is) her destiny to create a new universe. Maybe that will happen. That's why we play.
1. Not sure. "All you need to get what you want is the will to make it happen" is maybe one. "And in the process you will be changed." Maybe that's another. I haven't really thought about it that much.
In terms of genre, it's weird fantasy. I think I was calling it "post-apocalyptic science-fantasy western" at one point.
The setting is harsh - civilization is dead. Monsters roam the wilderness, the few settlements that survive are small and threatened, and new warlords are trying to fill the power vacuum. Many civilizations have failed; the medieval world is filled with ruined "cities of glass & steel" (modern cities with skyscrapers), strange ziggurats built for human sacrifice, cities of snake-men, devil-worshippers, etc.
A couple of sessions ago a PC got a space ship (think Tintin's rocket ship) so she could travel to see a god on a distant planet (and fought some of his "angels" - androids).
There's occult magic that makes its practitioners "strange" (social outcasts). Cults that serve distant entities who dispense power for a price. Religions created by the "gods" to indoctrinate mortals - as well as teach them how to alter reality as they wish.
2. The setting is a universe - a small one, more like a single solar system. I had the idea that it's a holographic "universe" trapped in the accretion disc of a black hole in our reality. Just because I think it's neat.
3. I try to make sure that there's lots of weird stuff out there. Instead of a dungeon being an abandoned mine it might be an old missile silo or nuclear power plant or factory for processing human sacrifices.
I try to make sure there are lots of opportunities for change - the PC I mentioned with the rocket ship has seen her STR drop to 3 (but she was lucky and grabbed some randomly-generated and placed gauntlets of ogre power), she shares her soul with a dead demi-god (who she "convinced" to die after she altered his world-view), and she just got brain surgery (infected with nano-bots that - luckily, after a passed save - increased her mental abilities), so now her head's shaved and some Matrix-like plugs are jutting out of her skull.
4. The setting is 4E-ish, with primordials and gods and all that, but I've made some changes. I have a timeline that I use when I roll up a magic item - I want to know who created it and why, and that colours its powers. (The ancient dwarves made magic items for different purposes than the more recent dwarves - e.g. "Mixing earth and stone to create something new and unique" vs. "A desire to possess more and more and more".)
The fate of the universe came up in the last game. The PC was talking to a pair of angels of knowledge - she wanted to find out what they truly loved (so that she could get some more power from the dead demi-god with whom she shares her soul - a warlock-patron set-up). They truly loved the acquisition of knowledge, which means learning new things, which means change is necessary; but eventually change will lead to a point where they can't store that knowledge, and that means no more learning is possible (some kind of entropic death of the universe). They could try to stop it but that would mean stopping change and they'd be in the same boat. I believe they called this the "Thardizdun Paradox".
But who knows what's going to happen. The PC in question has (the belief that it is) her destiny to create a new universe. Maybe that will happen. That's why we play.
gamerprinter
Mapper/Publisher
The last full setting I was developing as a homebrew, I've actually published as an imprint under Rite Publishing for Pathfinder called: the Kaidan setting of Japanese horror. Obviously, the genres are feudal Japan and Asian horror (kind of a mash up, but very authentic to Japan.) Through my connections as an freelance RPG cartographer, having never published game material before, I have ventured into the game design field!
Because I am half Japanese, I felt there were many inconsistencies, misspellings, misunderstood Asian/Japan concepts among game products created to emulate a Japan analog. OA all editions, L5R, and many others weren't bad, but the inaccuracies drives a history/folklore buff like myself crazy. I'd always wanted to develop my own Japan setting that fixed the problems I perceived.
Geography: it is an archipelago of islands consisting of 3 large islands and hundreds of smaller ones in a climate from cold temperate in the north to semi-tropical in the south. It was designed to be ready to use as a Japan analog for anyone's existing campaign world, as long as they have an open place in the ocean to drop it in.
Unique features: In some ways it emulates features of Ravenloft in that visitors can get in, but they can't always get out. In Kaidan, if you die, you are trapped in a doomed cycle of reincarnation. Like Ravenloft, the rulers of the land are evil, more than that, they are all undead (LE) with a goal to maintain the status quo and remain in control. The rulers became undead through an ancient divine curse that founded the realm in the first place.
Influence: Beyond Ravenloft, an incredible effort has been made to emulate feudal Japan historically (somewhat), culturally, of its religions and authentic folklore. The name Kaidan means "ghost story", and much of the content is based on translated Kaidan stories from the 19th century and earlier, especially of the translated works of Lafcadio Hearn (Kiozumi Yagumo).
We have an introductory trilogy of modules called the Curse of the Golden Spear with Part 1: The Gift, Part 2: Dim Spirit, and Part 3: Dark Path. We also have 3 one-shot adventures: Up from Darkness (7th level), Tolling of Tears (3rd level), and Frozen Wind (5th level - and a FREE product). We also have an extended encounter/adventure site with a unique ghost, haunts and curse called Haiku of Horror: Autumn Moon Bath House. We have 2 faction guides: Way of the Samurai and Way of the Yakuza. We have 3 race guides: In the Company of Kappa, In the Company of Henge, and In the Company of Tengu. We have a haunts guide: #30 Haunts for Kaidan.
The setting guides both GM's and Players are in the final stages of development following a Kickstarter to fund it, and should be released this year.
Because I am half Japanese, I felt there were many inconsistencies, misspellings, misunderstood Asian/Japan concepts among game products created to emulate a Japan analog. OA all editions, L5R, and many others weren't bad, but the inaccuracies drives a history/folklore buff like myself crazy. I'd always wanted to develop my own Japan setting that fixed the problems I perceived.
Geography: it is an archipelago of islands consisting of 3 large islands and hundreds of smaller ones in a climate from cold temperate in the north to semi-tropical in the south. It was designed to be ready to use as a Japan analog for anyone's existing campaign world, as long as they have an open place in the ocean to drop it in.
Unique features: In some ways it emulates features of Ravenloft in that visitors can get in, but they can't always get out. In Kaidan, if you die, you are trapped in a doomed cycle of reincarnation. Like Ravenloft, the rulers of the land are evil, more than that, they are all undead (LE) with a goal to maintain the status quo and remain in control. The rulers became undead through an ancient divine curse that founded the realm in the first place.
Influence: Beyond Ravenloft, an incredible effort has been made to emulate feudal Japan historically (somewhat), culturally, of its religions and authentic folklore. The name Kaidan means "ghost story", and much of the content is based on translated Kaidan stories from the 19th century and earlier, especially of the translated works of Lafcadio Hearn (Kiozumi Yagumo).
We have an introductory trilogy of modules called the Curse of the Golden Spear with Part 1: The Gift, Part 2: Dim Spirit, and Part 3: Dark Path. We also have 3 one-shot adventures: Up from Darkness (7th level), Tolling of Tears (3rd level), and Frozen Wind (5th level - and a FREE product). We also have an extended encounter/adventure site with a unique ghost, haunts and curse called Haiku of Horror: Autumn Moon Bath House. We have 2 faction guides: Way of the Samurai and Way of the Yakuza. We have 3 race guides: In the Company of Kappa, In the Company of Henge, and In the Company of Tengu. We have a haunts guide: #30 Haunts for Kaidan.
The setting guides both GM's and Players are in the final stages of development following a Kickstarter to fund it, and should be released this year.
I wanted to do spelljammer, but I couldn't find much info on it, so I just decided to make my own.
1 I guess the best way to describe the theme would be "diversity is good". Kind of the general idea was to stuff as many diver ideas as I could into the setting. Most places would look like the cantina scene of star wars. Also I was planing on color coding the good guys as diverse and the bad guys as racist/sexist/elitist.
2 The setting was aether filled space. The aether meant you could breath in space and that you could use aether winds to control your ship. I didn't like how spelljammer seemed to require magic for everything, so the idea with aether was to cut down on that magic requirement. The actual map I pictured as mostly filled with small planetary bodies rather then big ones. I had a hard time nailing down exactly what elements made up the world, bust some ideas were free forming rivers that flowed in crazy paths. Giant fire balls that orbited planets. Big structures like harbors and buildings just simply built in space with no foundation.
3 The space thing as the big thing, but I had a few other ideas. One idea what the the humans would be really bad at magic, so they would spend a lot of time building davinci style gadgets in order to make up for it. The elfs would be the bad guys and would be heavy users of magic. (I like elven bad guys most settings I come up with have them be the antagonist.) Gravity would be a big thing. I used the idea of large objects creating their own shallow gravity carpets with players being able to walk on most object and even jump between them like Mario galaxy. A lot of building would take advantage of it often building a entire second structure under the first. You would be able to walk on the hull of most ships. Also gliders would be able to function like fighters and bombers.
4 I didn't spent too much time thinking about the past. I had a vague idea that a long time ago giant golem gods destroyed everything. (I was playing mass effect at the time.) The idea was that going forward there would be a big battle between the elves and the humans, but I never like to think too far in advanced of the players because you know.
My players didn't like the idea. I wasn't able to convince them to try it.
1 I guess the best way to describe the theme would be "diversity is good". Kind of the general idea was to stuff as many diver ideas as I could into the setting. Most places would look like the cantina scene of star wars. Also I was planing on color coding the good guys as diverse and the bad guys as racist/sexist/elitist.
2 The setting was aether filled space. The aether meant you could breath in space and that you could use aether winds to control your ship. I didn't like how spelljammer seemed to require magic for everything, so the idea with aether was to cut down on that magic requirement. The actual map I pictured as mostly filled with small planetary bodies rather then big ones. I had a hard time nailing down exactly what elements made up the world, bust some ideas were free forming rivers that flowed in crazy paths. Giant fire balls that orbited planets. Big structures like harbors and buildings just simply built in space with no foundation.
3 The space thing as the big thing, but I had a few other ideas. One idea what the the humans would be really bad at magic, so they would spend a lot of time building davinci style gadgets in order to make up for it. The elfs would be the bad guys and would be heavy users of magic. (I like elven bad guys most settings I come up with have them be the antagonist.) Gravity would be a big thing. I used the idea of large objects creating their own shallow gravity carpets with players being able to walk on most object and even jump between them like Mario galaxy. A lot of building would take advantage of it often building a entire second structure under the first. You would be able to walk on the hull of most ships. Also gliders would be able to function like fighters and bombers.
4 I didn't spent too much time thinking about the past. I had a vague idea that a long time ago giant golem gods destroyed everything. (I was playing mass effect at the time.) The idea was that going forward there would be a big battle between the elves and the humans, but I never like to think too far in advanced of the players because you know.
My players didn't like the idea. I wasn't able to convince them to try it.
Ahnehnois
First Post
1. I'd say the central theme of the setting is individualism. It's about people believing in themselves, equal divisions of power, independent thought and action, and more.
2. A multiverse, with a planet with several continents, an undiscovered infinite universe of stars and planets around it, a set of other associated planes roughly matching the Great Wheel, and a portal at the center that leads to an infinite number of alternate realities (representing other campaign settings). I'm comprehensive like that.
3. Dragons and deities are always at war, and their conflicts are superimposed over the normal (often alignment-based) conflicts inherent to D&D.
The world is large and has many continents, but in any given era, most of them are unknown to each other.
People and things from other campaign settings occasionally drop in to visit.
4. The creator entities manifested the world as it exists now and made forms for themselves (the early dragons). For their amusement, they created a lesser race, from which all mortals are descended (the illithids), adding a cycle of life and death to keep things interesting. When they got bored, they assigned certain mortals to watch over the cycle of life and death (the first deities).
The dragons planned to end the universe experiment after a while, but grew complacent and eventually the deities overthrew them and trapped them in the Material Plane. The deities spend eternity warring with dragons, trying to remove their creators and establish themselves as supreme overlords, concentrating more and more power among themselves and increasingly dominating all of existence.
The world descends into chaos and perpetual war, its inherent entropic qualities ensuring that each generation is worse than the last. Eventually, some lesser mortals help the dragons escape, and a combined army of dragons and mortals burns the heavens in a Ragnarok-like battle, ending the world and returning all souls to their previous state of higher existence.
2. A multiverse, with a planet with several continents, an undiscovered infinite universe of stars and planets around it, a set of other associated planes roughly matching the Great Wheel, and a portal at the center that leads to an infinite number of alternate realities (representing other campaign settings). I'm comprehensive like that.
3. Dragons and deities are always at war, and their conflicts are superimposed over the normal (often alignment-based) conflicts inherent to D&D.
The world is large and has many continents, but in any given era, most of them are unknown to each other.
People and things from other campaign settings occasionally drop in to visit.
4. The creator entities manifested the world as it exists now and made forms for themselves (the early dragons). For their amusement, they created a lesser race, from which all mortals are descended (the illithids), adding a cycle of life and death to keep things interesting. When they got bored, they assigned certain mortals to watch over the cycle of life and death (the first deities).
The dragons planned to end the universe experiment after a while, but grew complacent and eventually the deities overthrew them and trapped them in the Material Plane. The deities spend eternity warring with dragons, trying to remove their creators and establish themselves as supreme overlords, concentrating more and more power among themselves and increasingly dominating all of existence.
The world descends into chaos and perpetual war, its inherent entropic qualities ensuring that each generation is worse than the last. Eventually, some lesser mortals help the dragons escape, and a combined army of dragons and mortals burns the heavens in a Ragnarok-like battle, ending the world and returning all souls to their previous state of higher existence.
Lwaxy
Cute but dangerous
I have so many settings it's scary.
Most played one right now is 13 main worlds in a multiverse connected by the World Tree (think Xmas tree with worlds instead of baubles). Some worlds are tech worlds, some are barely out of stone age, some are fully magical, and on some magic works very diufferently. One is mostly psionic. One is an alternate near-apocalyptic Earth where the fantasy races arrived just when Hannibal was about to cross the Alps and from there history changed significantly.
Most played one right now is 13 main worlds in a multiverse connected by the World Tree (think Xmas tree with worlds instead of baubles). Some worlds are tech worlds, some are barely out of stone age, some are fully magical, and on some magic works very diufferently. One is mostly psionic. One is an alternate near-apocalyptic Earth where the fantasy races arrived just when Hannibal was about to cross the Alps and from there history changed significantly.
Thaumaturge
Wandering. Not lost. (He/they)
I've been blogging my setting over at ageofshambles.com for a couple of weeks now. I welcome y'all to poke around and get much more in depth than what I'm posting here.
The big idea of Age of Shambles is that at the end of the previous Age, magic-users created giant, city-sized golems. These golems, called Shambles, trod the world into dust. The only remnants of civilization left are those deep underground or in the cities that have been built atop the Shambles. Some worship the Shambles as saviors, saying that those who created them did so to save what they could from a great catastrophe.
That's the elevator pitch. I'd love any feedback anyone would have.
Edit to add: It's definitely a first draft, and I know there are contradictions from one post to another. It's my plan to even those out in an editing pass at some point. It has definitely taken more form as I've written it.
Thaumaturge.
The big idea of Age of Shambles is that at the end of the previous Age, magic-users created giant, city-sized golems. These golems, called Shambles, trod the world into dust. The only remnants of civilization left are those deep underground or in the cities that have been built atop the Shambles. Some worship the Shambles as saviors, saying that those who created them did so to save what they could from a great catastrophe.
That's the elevator pitch. I'd love any feedback anyone would have.
Edit to add: It's definitely a first draft, and I know there are contradictions from one post to another. It's my plan to even those out in an editing pass at some point. It has definitely taken more form as I've written it.
Thaumaturge.
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