Jürgen Hubert
First Post
As I've hinted at, I'm currently writing the Player's Guide to Urbis. And I'd like to hear your comments on the Introduction. I wanted to convey the basic idea of the setting without getting too pretentious or too wordy. What do you think?
[quote="A Player's Guide to Urbis]Welcome to Urbis - A World of Cities, a new fantasy setting for Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition. Fantasy has been one of the standard genres of role-playing games from the very beginning. Yet most published settings postulate a world strongly reminiscent of the European Middle Ages, one where kings and nobles rule from their castles, peasants toil the field, travel and communication is no faster than the fastest horse, and few people can read or write. Magic and fantastic creatures exist, but their impact on society and progress are small; in fact, many worlds seem oddly static. While grand empires supported by magic have existed in the past, they always seem to collapse from internal or external pressure, leaving behinds nothing but ruins for brave adventurers to loot for artifacts of power.
But what if the magical civilization doesn't collapse? What if magic, instead of going away, is pushing humanity to greater and greater innovations, and transforming society much as the Industrial Revolution transformed first Europe and then the world?
This is the premise that Urbis seeks to explore. A world of vast cities. A civilization supported by magic. And, despite all civilization, a setting full of danger and opportunities for adventurers seeking out its dark underbelly.
This Player's Guide to Urbis contains everything players need to know to get started and create an adventurer ready to play in the Flannish Cities, \index{Flannish Cities[/i] the ``Core Region'' of the setting and its most advanced region. The upcoming Gazetteer to the Known Lands will detail the regions surrounding the Flannish Cities, while the Urbis Companion will detail a variety of new optional rules material as well provide in-depth information about a variety of organizations active in the setting which can both help and hinder the player characters.[/quote]
[quote="A Player's Guide to Urbis]Welcome to Urbis - A World of Cities, a new fantasy setting for Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition. Fantasy has been one of the standard genres of role-playing games from the very beginning. Yet most published settings postulate a world strongly reminiscent of the European Middle Ages, one where kings and nobles rule from their castles, peasants toil the field, travel and communication is no faster than the fastest horse, and few people can read or write. Magic and fantastic creatures exist, but their impact on society and progress are small; in fact, many worlds seem oddly static. While grand empires supported by magic have existed in the past, they always seem to collapse from internal or external pressure, leaving behinds nothing but ruins for brave adventurers to loot for artifacts of power.
But what if the magical civilization doesn't collapse? What if magic, instead of going away, is pushing humanity to greater and greater innovations, and transforming society much as the Industrial Revolution transformed first Europe and then the world?
This is the premise that Urbis seeks to explore. A world of vast cities. A civilization supported by magic. And, despite all civilization, a setting full of danger and opportunities for adventurers seeking out its dark underbelly.
This Player's Guide to Urbis contains everything players need to know to get started and create an adventurer ready to play in the Flannish Cities, \index{Flannish Cities[/i] the ``Core Region'' of the setting and its most advanced region. The upcoming Gazetteer to the Known Lands will detail the regions surrounding the Flannish Cities, while the Urbis Companion will detail a variety of new optional rules material as well provide in-depth information about a variety of organizations active in the setting which can both help and hinder the player characters.[/quote]
