What kinds of things could you find on a lost continent?

[der_kluge]

I have this continent (not a huge one, mind you) that my players will be exploring in an upcoming campaign. This continent will be temperate, and devoid of advanced civilizations. That is, no human cities. An elven city could be a possibility, but they would be extremely fey, and probably wouldn't speak common.

What kinds of things might one find on this continent?

I'm thinking of things like:
ancient ruins
unique terrains
abandoned cave complexes in the mountains
strange monsters
...???

I'm really struggling with this for some reason.

 

[Cyclops]

Every lost continent needs Dinosaurs!

And south pacific villagers where the girls all have charismas of 16 to 20 (and really good constitutions, if'n ya take my meaning).
No real mages, adepts and sorcerers mostly. With bizzare spells.

Ruins yes. Try the pelucidar approach. keep the human tyopes primitive, and make reptiles the true civilization. But human types are captured for slaves.

try this: Pterafolk are the true masters (page 74, Monsters of Faerun). Lizard men are next forming the upper class of craftsmen. And the armies are intelligent apes (use half orc stats, bur describe them like planet of the apes gorrillas).

The pterafolk are true wizards and psionicists.
The Lizardmen are clerics and sorcerers.
The apes are fighters and rangers.
Human types are just slaves/food.

 

[Kemrain]

What did we descover when we found the 'lost continents' on earth? Y'know, the Americas?

Primitive societies, both based in cities and not, ruins, unique terrain, strange animals, all of those thigns awaited explorers. But there were lots of other things, take plants for example. I've heard, though not confirmed in my paltry history education, that tomatos, potatos, tobacco, coffee, coca, coco, and a lot of other things we take for granted now came from the new world. There are probably tons of strange plants and animals to subjugate, conquor, and export.

If you find primitive societies, they will probably, as Cyclops suggests, rely on sorcerers over wizards. Their religions will seem strange and bizarre.

You have a lot of freedom to just create strange things. And if they don't work, they can be very localized populations, and thus not a threat to your game.

- Kemrain the Suggestion Box

 

[Hand of Evil]

Dinos yes but also thing dangerous, lots of man-eating plants.

The land down under, Oz as some call it, 70% of the animals are poisonous, you could do the same here, from bites, spurs, touch.

I think I would have a single evil race, maybe on the lines of Trogs/Cloakers, that only come out at night.

 

[Malicene]

and what about Giant Kingdom, more "gulliver" than "giant to bash" a giant civ ! with dinosaurs (rifding, cattle...)!
"look at this giant king with his T-Rex pet !"

and as well "nymphoid barbarian in dinosaur hell" (Toxic Movie)

 

[Castlin]

Check out Dougal Dixon's "The New Dinosaurs". It's kind of expensive on Amazon there, but maybe you could find a copy at the library. They're not dinosaurs; they're dinosaurs that kept evolving.

And check out H.P. Lovecraft's "At the Mountains of Madness".

Build a society, or the ruins of a society, of something most players never think might have a society. Like... slime. Or electricity.

 

[Ferret]

Kangeroos and no rain.

 

[der_kluge]

The evolved dinosaur thing is kind of interesting. Although, I had been avoiding the dinosaur angle just because it's been done to death. I was looking for more of a magic/mysterious/fantastical approach.

Like one I had come up with yesterday was a field full of huge gears - some kind of remnant from Mechanus that landed in the prime eons ago. Inhabited by those ant dudes. Just a concept at this point. But it gives me something to work with.

The point about sorcerers is well taken, though.

 

[Cyclops]

Hmmm. The gears from Mechanus are interesting. How about some degenerate Formian ants...now really into the "army ant thing." totally carnivorus.

Rogue modrons gone native might be interesting as well. Perhaps they could unknowingly serve as walking native totems, and eat vast amounts of sacrifices.

A native sorcerer living on a gear could have figured out a way to start a few gears rotating, and derived some magical benifit from it. maybe he can conjure and control natives from mechanus. or use the lawful nature to force infernal summoned creatures to obey his orders.

 

[Hand of Evil]

The evolved dinosaur thing is kind of interesting. Although, I had been avoiding the dinosaur angle just because it's been done to death. I was looking for more of a magic/mysterious/fantastical approach.

Like one I had come up with yesterday was a field full of huge gears - some kind of remnant from Mechanus that landed in the prime eons ago. Inhabited by those ant dudes. Just a concept at this point. But it gives me something to work with.

The point about sorcerers is well taken, though.

You may want to look at the Monstericon for the Iron Kingdom, bring steam jacks, thralls (clockwork zombies), and Iron Liches. I have not see it at my local store yet but Fantasy Flight has their Stream and Socorery book out.

I could see a lost continent ruled by steam powered liches, their zombie hordes mining and laying waste to the land.