Your ideal campaign setting?
- Thread starter tsadkiel
- Start date
Setting I am currently working on...
Neu Ungren
-Magic: strictly based on mythical sterotypes: Necromancers do only necromancy, Demonologists summon demons, Alchemists fiddle with potions and try to make elixir of life (not to mention metalic transmutations). Spells are slow to cast require dangerous components and last *much* longer then the PHB ones.
All of this puts the magic into the background as the playground of slightly insane capable of occasionaly causing significant disruptions but not changing the way people live.
-Religion: strong monotheistic based on gnositicsm (one good god fighting a creator who is incredbily evil) with the added proviso that the only god god is half the demon and half human. Cult of saints (incuding a Saint prestige class - the only one capable of wielding a true divine magic) very present. The way most people interact with divinity is through acummulating faith points (for good eeds, fasts and so on) which can be turned (by a priest) into minor cures, moral bonuses and other non-flashy divine magics.
-Demographics and Geography: Setting is centered on the big city (appx 80.000 inhabitants) situated in a vast swamp at the only navigable harbour on the treacherous sea that divides "north" and "south". Key to the wealth and power are jelaously guarded routers of the "navigators" books giving, to the innitiated, instructions as to how to travest the sea and bring the riches of the south to trade in the city. In the background is an empire, once a mighty theocracy of the One God now decaying amidst political games and moral decline. Geography is dominated by the River a mighty flow dividing almost entire norhern continent in half. Once a border of the empire the River, longer and wider then the Nile is the lifeline of comunications among the hundreds of cultures that live on it's banks bringing the detritus of the thousand nations to the City in the swamp.
-Races: Humans (and Demons who were once Humans) are only inteligent race, that said the variations among the humans are limitless, from the short and stocky "dwarves" who guard the endless staircase of the 1st cataract and 7 feet tall red haired wariors of the north to the ashen coloured demon worshipers who have no women and guard the only passage arround the middle sea.
Possible Adventures: From the politics of the city where the influence of the nobility crumbles before the economic might of the navigators to the explorations of the endless river, from the religious strife against the demons who were once rulers of all the world to the building up of the criminal empires, from the attempts to resuect the old ways which have died when the Word of the One God was brought to the Riverlands to trying to carve the piece of the glory from the wreckage of the disintegrating empire the opportunities for the adventure are almst limitless.
Rules: Grim&Gritty combat system (to prevent super-hero characters) and my own magic system based to some extent on Mongoose's encyclopaedia arcane/divine books.
Neu Ungren
-Magic: strictly based on mythical sterotypes: Necromancers do only necromancy, Demonologists summon demons, Alchemists fiddle with potions and try to make elixir of life (not to mention metalic transmutations). Spells are slow to cast require dangerous components and last *much* longer then the PHB ones.
All of this puts the magic into the background as the playground of slightly insane capable of occasionaly causing significant disruptions but not changing the way people live.
-Religion: strong monotheistic based on gnositicsm (one good god fighting a creator who is incredbily evil) with the added proviso that the only god god is half the demon and half human. Cult of saints (incuding a Saint prestige class - the only one capable of wielding a true divine magic) very present. The way most people interact with divinity is through acummulating faith points (for good eeds, fasts and so on) which can be turned (by a priest) into minor cures, moral bonuses and other non-flashy divine magics.
-Demographics and Geography: Setting is centered on the big city (appx 80.000 inhabitants) situated in a vast swamp at the only navigable harbour on the treacherous sea that divides "north" and "south". Key to the wealth and power are jelaously guarded routers of the "navigators" books giving, to the innitiated, instructions as to how to travest the sea and bring the riches of the south to trade in the city. In the background is an empire, once a mighty theocracy of the One God now decaying amidst political games and moral decline. Geography is dominated by the River a mighty flow dividing almost entire norhern continent in half. Once a border of the empire the River, longer and wider then the Nile is the lifeline of comunications among the hundreds of cultures that live on it's banks bringing the detritus of the thousand nations to the City in the swamp.
-Races: Humans (and Demons who were once Humans) are only inteligent race, that said the variations among the humans are limitless, from the short and stocky "dwarves" who guard the endless staircase of the 1st cataract and 7 feet tall red haired wariors of the north to the ashen coloured demon worshipers who have no women and guard the only passage arround the middle sea.
Possible Adventures: From the politics of the city where the influence of the nobility crumbles before the economic might of the navigators to the explorations of the endless river, from the religious strife against the demons who were once rulers of all the world to the building up of the criminal empires, from the attempts to resuect the old ways which have died when the Word of the One God was brought to the Riverlands to trying to carve the piece of the glory from the wreckage of the disintegrating empire the opportunities for the adventure are almst limitless.
Rules: Grim&Gritty combat system (to prevent super-hero characters) and my own magic system based to some extent on Mongoose's encyclopaedia arcane/divine books.
Crothian
First Post
I want a setting with a rich history. So many are just about the now with lieelt info on what has happened 10, 50, 100, 500, or thousands of years ago. It doesn't have to be a history of wars and epic events, but just a sense that the world didn't start with my campaign. I like to link thinks to events in the past. I like to have mysteries and falsehoods within the histories that can be uncovered and solved.
NoOneofConsequence
First Post
tsadkiel said:
Actually, isn't this just what the FR is?
OK, an over simplification perhaps, but especially early on, it was pretty clear that Toril was really Terra with a slightly messed up map. All the geographical relationships between the various "countries" remained pretty much the same.
Personally, I want to see a setting with history and culture - and preferably not just Earth 2 knock offs. For example, if you want to have a religious structure, then include a few religious wars, have churches seek to influence the politics of multiple lands, have teocracies. IMO the worst thing about FR is that all the religions have just rolled over and given the mages a free reign. In the series of novels that ended in "Death of a Dragon" the kingdom of COrmyr goes into a huge uproar because someone tries to establish a royal temple of a given deity. There's all this chatter about how untrustworthy priests are and how they can't be allowed to influence the royal family. But no one bats an eyelid about Vangerdahast (the court wizard) and his war wizards running the show.
Let's get the wizards to move over and give the priests a go. Or better yet, leave the conflict between them but stop it being such a one-sided battle.
And give the priests some parishoners to care about. I hate the fact that 90% of D&D clerics gain spells to heal some godless fighter who doesn't give a hoot for the cleric's god or his faith. Clerics shouldn't be field medics.
Hey there's an idea - a secular healer PrC. It gets my vote.
Rant over!
Christian Walker
First Post
tsadkiel said:
I want a setting that isn't a sentient zoo. Many folks will explain the fact that we've got elves, duergar, trolls, treeants, and trogs all living together because of magic. I'd like to see a more thoughtful approach. If there are a MM's worth of critters in a world, then why?
Furthermore, why are humans so prevalent? As a species we are ubiquitous on this planet because the environment is the only barrier to our progress. In a fantasy setting you have fire breathing dragons and spell slinging drow. There's no way that humans would be as omnipresent as they are in most settings.
Gimme some good names. I can't pronounce half of the names in the Kingdoms of Kalamar.
That's all for now...the baby is trying to eat the keyboard.
There's plenty of truths and falsehoods in that.
teitan
Legend
Scarred Lands
Well, I have to sadly admit that my ideal setting I sent to WOTC and it wound up being way similar to the Scarred Lands, though I may create it as a homebrew and use it. Scarred Lands is the closest to ideal setting I have found, but I really want a setting that I can change at a whim. I think I may be on to this though. heh heh heh.
Scarred Lands is actually tied with Forgotten Realms Third Edition as being close to my ideal setting though. I love them both, FR for it's scope and SL for it's dark fantasy aspects. Kind of reminds me of Sargent's tke on Greyhawk in many ways.
Jason
Well, I have to sadly admit that my ideal setting I sent to WOTC and it wound up being way similar to the Scarred Lands, though I may create it as a homebrew and use it. Scarred Lands is the closest to ideal setting I have found, but I really want a setting that I can change at a whim. I think I may be on to this though. heh heh heh.
Scarred Lands is actually tied with Forgotten Realms Third Edition as being close to my ideal setting though. I love them both, FR for it's scope and SL for it's dark fantasy aspects. Kind of reminds me of Sargent's tke on Greyhawk in many ways.
Jason
I can't list the exact elements of what would be my perfect setting, but here's the basics:
- Epic feel with a sense of history, but no real metaplots
- Exotic locations/people/creatures/magic
- A really good explanation of the "hows" and "whys" related to magic
- Preferably more imaginative and original races than the standard dwarf/elf/wee folk/orc/goblin mix
- A tangible sense that this is a living, breathing world that doesn't always revolve around the players and what they're doing
Sure, it's a tall order, but this is a list of ideal settings, right?
- Epic feel with a sense of history, but no real metaplots
- Exotic locations/people/creatures/magic
- A really good explanation of the "hows" and "whys" related to magic
- Preferably more imaginative and original races than the standard dwarf/elf/wee folk/orc/goblin mix
- A tangible sense that this is a living, breathing world that doesn't always revolve around the players and what they're doing
Sure, it's a tall order, but this is a list of ideal settings, right?
MaxKaladin
First Post
Joshua Dyal said:
Actually, while Celts and Vikings are cliche, it seems to me that you rarely see Romans done in fantasy settings. I remember there being Thyatis in the Known World/Mystara but that's about it. I don't think Greyhawk has Romans, unless you count the Great Kingdom which seems like Byzantines to me. The Realms has no Romans. Kalamar did have Romans after a fashion. Other than that, there don't seem to be a lot of Romans around. That's one reason I chose Roman-types to be a major feature of my homebrew.
I'm A Banana
Potassium-Rich
The Mouse basically expressed my opinion.
There's a time and place for everything...a mood, a style, an environment that fosters it. I can't narrow down what I want into some predefined category, because what I want varies based on what mood I'm in.
I can say what I definately *don't* want in a setting...but I can never really say what I do want in a perfect setting...because it would be everything and none of it all at once.
There's a time and place for everything...a mood, a style, an environment that fosters it. I can't narrow down what I want into some predefined category, because what I want varies based on what mood I'm in.
I can say what I definately *don't* want in a setting...but I can never really say what I do want in a perfect setting...because it would be everything and none of it all at once.
