synecdoche
First Post
I'm engaging in some setting creation, and I have created a blog to chronicle the creative process and what I do when I create a setting. Part of the reason I am doing this is to get input and feedback from the internet community, so feel free to provide constructive criticism, comments, or questions.
The blog is located at http://worldbuilder.blogspot.com/. Here is the text of the first post:
Initial Thoughts
I've been re-reading some of Ray Winninger's excellent Dungeoncraft articles (published in Dragon) and have been percolating some ideas for what I'd like my campaign world to be like.
The first thing I was thinking of was a frontier setting. I'd like to blend Westerns and Dungeons and Dragons, but maintain the high fantasy feel as much as possible. I'm thinking of something along the lines of HBO's Deadwood: the campaign can center (initially, anyway) on a recently settled town that has no affiliation with a larger nation or organization, and is essentially lawless, though it is for all intents and purposes run by a certain noble or businessman. I foresee a lot of people coming into the region (spurred on perhaps by a gold or silver mine) from a variety of walks of life, and the town can be characterized by gambling halls, brothels, and drunkenness. Now, the catch I was thinking of is that the area is largely unsettled because of an ancient curse that the gods passed down on the civilization that inhabited the land previously. The remnants of this civilization were turned into some sort of humanoid (orcs? mongrelmen?) and left a number of ruins to explore.
Naturally this raises some questions. Why was the area never settled before? One solution I was thinking of is that it is separated from the "mother countries" by a great mountain range, and the only way to navigate through it safely was by traveling through tunnels forged by Dwarves, which until recently were sealed off (possibly as a response to the ancient curse).
Second, why are none of the kingdoms on the other side of the mountains doing anything about it? The simple solution is that they haven't had time-- the settlers, looking for quick money, freedom from persecution, or a way to get away from the law. In fact, this might provide a campaign hook for me: the governments ARE looking to gain control of the region, and are being resisted by certain elements in the new town. Which side the PCs would fall on remains to be seen.
I'm sure there are other issues that are coming up that need to be addressed but that is all I am coming up with at the moment (in my defense, I am quite tired).
Now, the other thing I was thinking of is that it might be fun to run a plain old vanilla high fantasy game again. I remember the first few times I was playing D&D, and this is what we did, and it was great. But I would like to do something that sets my game apart, even if just a little bit.
Some other ideas I am throwing around:
1) Undead, and plenty of them.
2) A number of religious groups/churches/mystery cults are vying to get into the area.
3) With the pseudo-Western setting, lots of bandits are a given. Even bandit heroes.
These were just some initial thoughts. I'm going to go and re-read some Dungeoncraft articles and see what gets stirred up.
The blog is located at http://worldbuilder.blogspot.com/. Here is the text of the first post:
Initial Thoughts
I've been re-reading some of Ray Winninger's excellent Dungeoncraft articles (published in Dragon) and have been percolating some ideas for what I'd like my campaign world to be like.
The first thing I was thinking of was a frontier setting. I'd like to blend Westerns and Dungeons and Dragons, but maintain the high fantasy feel as much as possible. I'm thinking of something along the lines of HBO's Deadwood: the campaign can center (initially, anyway) on a recently settled town that has no affiliation with a larger nation or organization, and is essentially lawless, though it is for all intents and purposes run by a certain noble or businessman. I foresee a lot of people coming into the region (spurred on perhaps by a gold or silver mine) from a variety of walks of life, and the town can be characterized by gambling halls, brothels, and drunkenness. Now, the catch I was thinking of is that the area is largely unsettled because of an ancient curse that the gods passed down on the civilization that inhabited the land previously. The remnants of this civilization were turned into some sort of humanoid (orcs? mongrelmen?) and left a number of ruins to explore.
Naturally this raises some questions. Why was the area never settled before? One solution I was thinking of is that it is separated from the "mother countries" by a great mountain range, and the only way to navigate through it safely was by traveling through tunnels forged by Dwarves, which until recently were sealed off (possibly as a response to the ancient curse).
Second, why are none of the kingdoms on the other side of the mountains doing anything about it? The simple solution is that they haven't had time-- the settlers, looking for quick money, freedom from persecution, or a way to get away from the law. In fact, this might provide a campaign hook for me: the governments ARE looking to gain control of the region, and are being resisted by certain elements in the new town. Which side the PCs would fall on remains to be seen.
I'm sure there are other issues that are coming up that need to be addressed but that is all I am coming up with at the moment (in my defense, I am quite tired).
Now, the other thing I was thinking of is that it might be fun to run a plain old vanilla high fantasy game again. I remember the first few times I was playing D&D, and this is what we did, and it was great. But I would like to do something that sets my game apart, even if just a little bit.
Some other ideas I am throwing around:
1) Undead, and plenty of them.
2) A number of religious groups/churches/mystery cults are vying to get into the area.
3) With the pseudo-Western setting, lots of bandits are a given. Even bandit heroes.
These were just some initial thoughts. I'm going to go and re-read some Dungeoncraft articles and see what gets stirred up.
