The Fool (recruiting and/or setting creation)

[fireinthedust]

Hey all. While I'm sure everyone is waiting on someone else to run a game, I'd love to get talking to people about making characters.


I'll be frank: I'd love to play a Wizard. That said, I'd also love to make up a setting. I'm swamped in life, and playing catch-up with my other games (which I will do today). Regardless, having a group discussing the new edition and who they'd like to be would be fun. Honestly, even if it goes nowhere, this sort of thing is good fun. And hey, maybe it'll get the 5e ball rolling on this site


So: I'm thinking a humble village and surrounding area.

Human-centric with a very healthy dose of hobbits, and a smattering of Dwarves who've found a home in the area, mining coal to make ends meet. The region is farmsteads, with large families in each; and a central market village; and a road leading to "the city". There is a centrally-located Inn, which just happens to be built at a waterfall. River traffic must stop there, using the Inn's workers to move goods up or down the falls, where other riverboats take them the rest of the way.

Humans are mostly "Midlanders", but there are barbarian tribes in the hills; and a race of Roamers, called the Old Race, who travel in circus caravans, telling card fortunes for coppers. Their ancestors, so they say, built the ruins that dot the countryside; yet the Old Civilization fell eons ago, and the Roamers who live now are their descendants, living as wanderers, entertainers. Midlanders are the most populous in the region, simple folk but hale and hard-working farmers.
Then there are the travelling folk from over seas, the dark-skinned Alkebulans and the tan-skinned Xinn, who are welcomed for their trade goods from exotic lands. Many of them have settled in Midlander realms, and become locals themselves after generations. (ie: any ethnicity or skin color is perfectly reasonable)


The Dragonborn in the region are from a mercenary army, the Legion of the Scale; most Dragonborn in the world tend to be in one of these legions, but this lot isn't too bad (so far). Most would be hired out as private security, such as village guards or even tavern security, or to merchant caravans (the actual camp is far from human settlements, a fortress they bought some time back).

Elves hail from the Forest, including both the Wood Elves and their rulers, the High Elves (who call themselves "Eladrin", thanks, and consider themselves "star elves"). There is a massive tower in the middle of the forest, where the Eladrin live and work magic. The Wood Elves are far more populous, and have communities built in treehouses connected by bridges. Elves tend not to leave the Forest.

In the hills are many human barbarian tribes, some of which are truly savage and little raised above forest apes; others are more noble, proud warriors, who often travel among civilized folk, and come down from the hills for mead or work, buying iron weapons and supplies.

Closer to the Mountains are the tribes of Orcs and Goblins, though it has been some time since they've thundered down from the hills.

 

[fireinthedust]

Well, it's an idea for a starting setting. Low level, basic setting deal.

Thoughts?

 

[mips42]

It's a good start. There seems to be a place for all and all seem to have a role.
For me, the next step would be figuring out where the roads and rivers lead and get some general ideas about those places. You don't need a lot, but some.
Once you have a decent idea of your town and, say, the surrounding 100 miles, I'd start figuring out who your prime movers are, what they're doing, why they're doing it, how it affects your town and it's people and, finally, Can the players affect it. Do they even WANT to?
Example 1:
Maybe the local lord wants to bring an army through the area. If so, he'll likely need to 'commandeer' the inn and several, if not all, of the local farmhouses, at least for a while. How do the people feel about this? Are the players part of the army? Is the lord just? Is the troop movement part of a larger plot to annex a neighboring Lords' land and, if so, how do the people feel about that? Etc.
Example 2:
Maybe the Orcs have a new, powerful and charismatic leader who is gathering various small tribes into one massive tribe so he can finally take his place alongside the other races. The movement of the monsters is likely to upset the trade routes and, possibly, bring them into direct conflict with the town. Can the town defend itself against this new threat or does it need the PC's help? Is a full confrontation the smart thing to do? Is it even possible?
Maybe the Lord from example one is moving the troops to try and bolster his borders against the monstrous horde in example 2...
Jut start asking questions like this. You don't need to know all the answers right away but this will lead you to other questions that you MIGHT need to know right away.
Once you have enough questions and answers (only you can determine when this is) you can start building a framework for the Adventure the PC's can undertake.
Good luck, good job on getting this far (lots of prospective DM's don't) and don't worry about it being The Hobbit or anything fantastic. If you and your players have fun, you've won.

 

[Shayuri]

Here's what I like...

Suppose the Eladrin actually are 'star elves.' As in, from another planet. The tower could be what's left of their starship. Doesn't have to be technological. Could just as easily (or even MORE easily) be a magical construct.

Even better: The Old Civilization of the Roamers was laid low BY the Starfall. The ship didn't softland...it hit hard. The land was then restored and the forest regrew, with help from the elves, but the devastation undid the old Roamer culture and scattered their people.

I'd also propose that humans and orcs are related...distantly, perhaps. Like humans and neanderthals would be related IRL had any of them survived this long. In the past, they competed fiercely for limited resources at the fringes of the Old Civilization, but the Starfall decimated it, and the humans migrated into the vacuum.

While the elves dealt with the internal strife that resulted in the schism between 'wood elves' (those who wish to integrate with this world and its people and ways) and 'eladrin' (those who wish to preserve the customs and traditions and magic of the past), and restored the forest around their new home, the humans moved into one of the ruins of the Old Civilization and uncovered enough knowledge to help them learn how to settle and plant farms and establish a stable non-nomadic culture.

MOAR - oh gode, what have you done?!

Suppose the Old Civilzation was NOT human-centric. Say instead it was hobbit/dwarf-centric. In fact, it kind of HAD to be, since humans were all barbarians out in the hills, squabbling with orcs and stealing cattle back then.

When the catacylsm hit, the dwarves fled into the mines and tunnels underground...and didn't come back up. They adapted to life underground. Hobbits are the ones who scattered, became nomadic...though some of them later settled back into shires in sheltered, unobtrusive places. By then, the humans had come in.

Or maybe dwarves had always been subterranean, or semi-subterranean, and the halflings were either cooperative or enslaved. The dwarves did the mining and smithing while the halflings did the farming and animal husbandry and OH

Even BETTER.

Both dwarves AND halflings were slave races! The Old Civilization was ruled by SOMETHING ELSE. They were obliterated, or...their rule was shattered when the elves hit. What was left of them; the remnant of a remnant, retreated to lick their wounds. The dwarves and halflings were also devastated, but became free to choose their own destinies. The dwarves bunkered up in their underground fastnesses, the halflings dispersed into either nomadic caravans or small decentralized settlements that dot the land. Both doing their best to ensure they could not be easily enslaved again.

Since then, centuries have passed...maybe even a thousand years or more.

Human beings have made contact with the dwarves and halflings...the dwarves are as suspicious of outsiders as ever; their long lives ensuring they have not forgotten the old empire. It's hard to call them the friends of Midland, but they are far from enemies, and trade is profitable for both. The halflings and humans co-exist...they are a friendly and accepting people; perhaps molded to be so by their former masters? It's even possible halflings were once human, altered and changed to be subservient...these are the uneasy musings of sages, rarely spoken of to others.

Elves remain largely isolated as a people. The individualistic wood elves roam far and wide during their lives, but their culture is not expansionistic. They simply lack the numbers or rapid reproduction to need to be. The eladrin, by and large, remain in the fortress they made from the hulk of the starship, guarding the old secrets. Sometimes one or two will emerge to chase down some item of lore that attracts their attention. It's known the ship did not hit in one piece...perhaps there are fragments of the old elf science out there in other places in the world...or stolen artifacts or secrets waiting to resurface.

There is a radical sect of elves as well who believe that they are squandering this new home, and that they SHOULD expand, conquering where necessary, to secure their future. They are the most innovative of the elves, unsatisfied with protecting and rediscovering old knowledge...obsessed instead with charting new courses, new discoveries.

In general, other races view elves with some measure of distrust. No one really knows them, or understands them. The halflings have legends about their arrival that have become highly fantastical oral traditions. The dwarves carved their history of events into stone, and have a clear record...they know the elves' coming freed them, but they also know that many died with that arrival, and still more from the famines and discord that took place deep underground when the dwarves were cut off from any food from the surface. Humans are often fascinated by the strange creatures, at once so like them and so different. There are tensions where the forest and human lands meet...where the local humans keep wanting to push into elf lands, and the elves keep having to protest and rebuff them. The resources of the forest, and the secrets of elf magic, are powerful lures for the ever-ambitious successors to the Old Civilization.

And what of the old masters? The now vanquished creatures who dominated the fertile breadbasket of what is now Midland? What were they? Where are they? What do they plan now?

Pray we never find out.

Edit 2 - Electric boogaloo

Oh yeah, the Dragonborn! Okay, couple options.

1) They were just janissary warriors of the Old Civilization. When it crumbled they stuck to what they knew; war. They organized into military regiments, but now were no longer under a centralized command. Might have to work a bit to explain why they didn't just carve out a homeland for themselves. Maybe it was cheaper/easier/more in line with their carefully manipulated disposition not to?

2) The Old Civilization was actually dragons! They had a big conclave and ruled from on high, which worked great until the elves SMASHED THEM, and wiped out most of the elder wyrms in the conflagration! The younger ones all fled, as the fires and slave revolts ravaged their empire and everything fell apart. This also has the advantage of explaining why they haven't done anything for so long.

They were waiting to grow up.

 

[fireinthedust]

amazing!


Elves: on the same page for the ships bit.

Orcs: Gah! How did you... Okay, that was a spoiler. Um, yes, there's a "rumour" that Orcs are the result of a plague or curse that debases humans. Those who resist it before it takes hold are half-orcs, and many are good-hearted heroes (ie: their willpower resisted the change) or simply resisted the curse or were healed (the non-heroic half-orcs). The full orcs are brutal, bestial savages, by necessity NPCs.

The rest is good stuff, I hears ya (let me digest it for a bit).

HOWEVER: before we get too into the cosmic origins, I'd like to focus on the immediate region. Keep it somewhat generic fantasy, and maybe focus on inter-character relationships?

Like: who's the Innkeeper's daughter in love with, is it the son of a shepherd or one of those wandering minstrels? why does the dwarven blacksmith refuse to speak to the dwarves that come down from the mines? The rug merchant just hired a crew of Dragonborn caravan guards (more expensive than normal humans), so what's his cargo, and how can he afford it?

Little sub-plot adventure hooks, maybe.

 

[fireinthedust]

Hmmm... Maybe this game isn't fated to start yet.

Shayuri, I'll get back to you; I think we're on the same page for setting design, and I'd like to show you some other stuff I've been working on.

Anyone else who's also interested in a 5e pbp can also, of course, PM me.


Mods: thread can be locked or deleted.

 

[Herobizkit]

I see the Dragonborn as a proud race of Warpriests and Paladins. Having been smashed by the Elves, they turned to their creator, Tiamat, for guidance and direction. Most are fearlessly and unwavering fervent in their worship and service, the Dragonborn seek Vengeance (eh? Paladins of Vengeance!) against their Elven 'betters' and work to undermine them at every turn.

While they are comfortable with Dragon-powered Sorcery, they see other Arcana as an Elven weapon and seek to destroy Arcane sources of power wherever they are found.