Post/Author/DateTime	Post
inthesto 12-06-07, 02:22 AM	Working Title: Aelcota While I could cram some prose in here about how this is the culmination of my meager efforts as a DM to stuff my players into a world, I won't. I'm going to use this thread mostly as a scratchpad to develop the world I intend on using every time I DM. For now, I'm just going to outline the core ideas, but over the next few weeks (particularly over holiday break), expect me to go top to bottom over everything I can think of appropriate for this campaign setting. I've edited this first post into tentative table of contents, though don't be surprised if these categories get rearranged, erased, and new ones made as I go on. Table of Contents: 1. Core Concepts and Guiding Principles (http://forums.gleemax.com/showpost.php?p=14532385&postcount=6) 2. Cosmology (http://forums.gleemax.com/showpost.php?p=14532394&postcount=7) 3. Cosmogony and The Origin of Races (http://forums.gleemax.com/showpost.php?p=14532399&postcount=8) 4. A Brief History of Divinity (http://forums.gleemax.com/showpost.php?p=14532401&postcount=9) 5. Individual Gods: Profiles and Histories 6. Ecology and Geography 7. Races and Religion 8. The Modern-Day State 9. Classes 10. Organizations and Factions 11. The Pervasiveness of Evil Also, I'll address questions and issues I have here, so as to not clutter up my own topic with excessive posts from myself. FAQ Q: Have you presented this to your players? Is it something that people want, or are you just ego-tripping? A: To be fair, any creative process I go through is just one blatant ego-trip on my part. In the past when I DMed, I used a prototypical version of this setting, though on the small scale many of the larger points (such a outer planes not existing and divinity being ultimately mortal) did not come up. I readily acknowledge that a campaign setting like this is not for everyone, as plenty of people don't want a dirt-in-your-mouth world that reflects the more cynical angles of metaphysics. What can I say? A creative product is going to reflect its creator, and if you don't like it, you're free to leave it or drop in criticism or suggestions to make it better. Q: War is a constant? Dude, that's ludicrous. A: Good point. Chances are, I overstated myself, as I usually do. It might be more accurate to say "conflict is a constant", but I felt that wasn't distinct enough, since in a typical D&D setting any two small-time lords could be at one another's throats. My point is that fighting is pretty deeply ingrained into the world, far beyond (what I perceive to be) the point of a typical setting. Q: Have you though through the ramifications of lessening the rarity of high-level NPCs? A: Completely? No. But I feel somewhat safe that by cutting outer planes out of the picture, high-level NPCs can be major players, but won't be scraping the edges of divinity any time soon. I've received comments that this heightens potential for NPCs to overshadow PCs, but I've tried to make sure that high-level NPCs will typically be burdened by other commitments in order to save the day in the PCs' place. Q: Alignment! Red alert! A: When I prototyped this setting, I ran it without alignment. (Actually, I run all my games without alignment, but that's another story) As for alignment-based spells, we went with the simple house-rule of making all alignment-based spells work on anyone, but simply one spell level higher. This setting can just as easily be run with alignment, and I will be sure to include parenthetical alignments to any appropriate characters or personas. Q: How familiar will this setting ultimately be? A: Again, I find that ultimately up to the individual DM, but I find that with day-to-day adventuring, the setting isn't radically different. Granted, I tested it at low to mid levels, so the changing of cosmology could change things at higher levels, so I leave that as a possible flaw/criticism. The philosophical backing is really more supposed to impact the critical point where the party has to decide whether they're going to kill or spare the BBEG. Additionally, it will bend the nature of what kind of plot hooks and adventures DMs will write, but there's nothing that ever discludes a simple "storm the cave, slay the dragon" adventure. Q: Hey, got a map yet? A: You bet. Bonus points if you can figure out what the hell I ripped off and edited to get this: http://www.aieli-ileia.com/inthesto/campaign_map.gif
PoorHobo 12-06-07, 04:42 AM	This just doesn't sound fun to me. Thats my 2 cents. It seems too angsty/depressing. Have you presented this to your soon to be players? Are your players tired of the graceful elves, the alignment system and D&D cosmology, or is this more for you?
Khallhadras 12-06-07, 09:52 AM	6. War is a constant: The world primarily consists of three human nations, who are always going back and forth at one another. Add in other races who are either allied with one human nation or another, or even just out to kill all the humans, and global conflict is pretty much non-negotiable. While this is suggestive of military campaigns, it also leaves plenty of room for adventurers to fill in the gaps when the governments are busy slinging mud at one another. Cross-racial conflicts also allow PCs to tackle larger problems. 8. The PCs are not the hottest thing under the sun...by a long shot: In a typical D&D world, a hardened veteran of war would be something like a 7th level fighter - easy fodder for a mid-level party. The underlying D&D assumption is that after a certain point, the PCs stop dealing with worldly things and start fighting stuff from other worlds. Given that these other worlds have been cut out of the picture now, high level interaction is remains on the material plane. The local assassin isn't a third level rogue but a tenth level assassin. The king with a fighting background isn't an aristocrat with a few levels of fighter, but a fighter with a number of levels in warblade. The high court arcanist isn't a mid-level wizard specializing in divination but a high level archmage with comprehensive grimoires. While the PCs certainly will be a cut above the commoners, until they have quite a bit of experience under the belt, the local guards will pose a number of problems. And even once the PCs do reach those higher echelons of power, they will find that their competition is just as mortal and in-the-world as they are. I disagree with point #6. Now matter how turbulent the collective feelings are there will always be need for alliances and temporary armstices. Communities will always need time to repopulate themselves, constant war will only result in the populace slowly declaring exodus for a less warring and more peaceful land. I agree with most of your other points and I think you were aiming to define point #6 much different then I have perceived, but as it is point #6 is poorly thought over. Point #8 is something else I would like to address. I do this in my own campaigns, as I do not see generals of imperious armies and Master Commanders of grand navy's as lowly level fighters with a splash of some other variant. I also have a very distinct vision of how epic level should be played. Some see epic as the quint-essential Dnd hero, with this I agree. However it isn't long from epic to god, and with this I have a problem. In my games a famous hero of old who was also a royal general was a lvl 12 Fighter/ lvl 10 Cavalier. He was a very proficient and skilled hero yes, and his name was known by lands far and near, provoking fear within the hearts of his enemies. However he was no closer to being a god than the decrepit and aging king who has since lost the ability to fight(I agree that willpower should be the one true route to godhood, and in this you have made a fine point.Maybe you should ponder whether one should make a will roll in order to become an immortal. This makes sense and seems natural, as clerics and monks would be the most likely to become gods, this seems natural as these two base classes are the ones who so praise the gods the most, aside from druids. Also think of gods as new beings who are bestowed with a seperate set of stats then they posessed in there former life, as they are now a seperate entity unto themself. These stats should be the epitome of a certain number of quality's and characteristics. I believe this was do justice to symbolize the shedding of the individuals worldy skin and ascension to a higher state of being.). And a common veteran soldier would be a 6th-8th level fighter yes, but I find it interesting to give each veteran an extra feat or two, which highlights not only a veteran warriors experience and skill in battle, but also the countless drilling he has done throughout his life in particular tactics and movements. You make some very good points but as you can see a lot of this needs reworking. I understand this is a rough concept and am in anticipation for your next post on this campaign. I also like the underlying style of this campaign world you are musing within you're mind, it seems very real-world, gritty, and has a coarse texture to it. If you are going to travel this path then a good bit of bleak realism and pragmatic flavoring is in order. Add more description to this world and I am slightly reminded of George R.R. Martin's "A Game of Thrones". Keep up the good work and keep the feedback you receive in mind. Best Regards, Khallhadras
Sir_Wolfgar 12-07-07, 03:39 AM	It looks to me like a great beginning, but you have some work ahead of you. For starters, you'll need to reconcile points 2 and 3. The way it looks now, the gods are distant beings who were once mortals of powerful will. Well, if mortals are becoming gods, they probably want to use their new power to affect other mortals, at least I know I would. Just sit down and really think how the whole system works, make a few example gods, and see if you like the way they feel. You can always change it. And for number 4, I say either keep alignment the way it is in classic D&D, or simply scrap it and all the spells, items, and effects associated with it. That way when someone casts Holy Word or Blasphemy you are not forced to make a arbitrary decision based on a character's actions. I'm working on a world without alignment right now, and this is the approach I'm taking. No alignment means no Detect Good/Evil, and also means Paladins really need some careful thought. Your thoughts on the Orcs and Elves sound great. Try some research into European/indigenous peoples relationships for ideas.
Calium 12-07-07, 07:27 AM	I have to say I agree a little bit with poor hobo. However I haven't been playing Dnd for countless years in a row I've just be playing on and off for a couple years. So having to relearn a world completely every couple years is kinda a pain. But it just sounds to me like your tired of the standard Dnd world. I don't know I just like at least a little familiarity in my games. I guess thats why I kind of dislike low magic games. I do like what you did with the changed roles of orc and elf. I did a similar thing in my current campaign were I switched the general social class of Drow and driders. Making Driders the upper class and drow Lolth's less favored.
inthesto 12-08-07, 02:53 PM	The first question when designing something is, "What makes mine any different?" Now, I don't claim to be a creative genius; in fact, I'll be the first to say that I'm far from one. However, as I've played D&D, every pre-made campaign setting I've seen has left me feeling a little empty. Granted, I've only directly dealt with three and know only a handful more by proxy, so this may just be some narcissism towards my creative impulses speaking. Regardless, I feel the need to create a campaign setting that calls into question what I think are the interesting aspects of the human condition. The following is a list of the central issues upon which I build my campaign setting. The idea is that if it's not mentioned in here, assume the D&D norm; if it is mentioned here, then expect it to heavily influence nearly everything that follows, from cosmology to nation states to cultural beliefs. I've attempted to organize them from most overarching to least, but it can be difficult to put them in order, so forgive any structural disagreements you may have. 1. Humans are not good nor evil; instead good and evil are human: Right off the bat, I'm going to tackle cosmology, theology, and morality all at once. One of the most basic assumptions in D&D (and one that drives me nuts every time I have to tackle a moral issue in-game) is that Good and Evil are absolute, primal forces with otherworldly sources that aren't up for debate. Okay sure, that makes a nice setup for epic fights where you tear down the big bad demon, but at the same time it really asks for the dumbing down of choice making and the challenge of the moral dilemma. Instead, I propose that in ideas of "good" and "evil" are based on and within humanity (NOTE: Although I use "humanity", I only do so because I'm used to talking about this sort of thing in the framework of philosophy. You can probably safely subtitute in any mortal race and the same will apply, but I may have to amend that later). What this means is that actions aren't about the approval or disapproval of some extraplanar being whom you're probably never going to see until you croak, but about the values of you, your peers, and your cultures. Speaking of extraplanar beings... 2. Outer planes are, at best, distant theories with little to no ground: No gods high up on a mountain with cherubims playing trumpets. No big red guys with horns and whips roasting in the pits of hell. No celestials, no fiends, no big ugly frogs that plant their eggs of manifested chaos in your chest cavity. In effect, I'm severing out the "big guys" in the cosmological picture and refocusing the lens on the little guy. Again, this is a setting that arises mostly out of personal preference, but I'll bet I'm not alone on this. I feel that just having the option of being able to appeal to a higher being that definitely exists cheapens any kind of justification a character will ever be able to make, and making humans the highest echelon of existence (i.e. YOU must defend your choices) makes the questions posed much more interesting. 3. Gods are the manifestation of human willpower: This will have to be amended when I write up my section on theology, but I am making this a cosmological truth of my world, even if the general populace is ignorant of it. This may be partially inspired by the Forgotten Realms pantheon where many dieties are former mortals who ascended to power. However, I find in the FR setting that this generally happens due to either having overbearing power as a mortal or through insane circumstances. My setting will attempt to differ in that ascendence to godhood doesn't happen because you killed another god and seized his divinity, but instead through sheer power of will. By now, you should see a common pattern forming, and whether or not this setting is one that interests you should be very obvious. 4. Alignment is either downplayed or outright abolished: This one is much more mechanical than any of the others, but it's something that I might as well get out of the way now. If you've ever seen me post in an alignment topic, it's pretty obvious where I stand on the issue as a whole. From my previous three points, it should be obvious that I was leading up to this, so here it is. I am primarily designing this setting with alignment completely out of mind, though DMs have the option of allowing alignment to be a pair of words that determine how individuals react to certain spells. Not much else to say here, though I imagine I'll come under a lot of flak for this one. 5. To fight evil is to eventually become evil: But wait, didn't I just say alignment doesn't exist? When I use the words from now on, let's just assume I use modern conventions, i.e. mass murder is evil, eating spinach is not. Anyways, I intend for the Taint system from Unearthed Arcana to find its way into the setting in some way or another, though how much tweaking I'll have to do on the system is another question yet to be resolved. The idea here is that since good and evil are things that arise out of being human, engaging against evil is something that will eventually influence you. Since I'm likely not making much sense here, take this: killing a killer also makes YOU a killer, so how do we deal with this? Typical D&D hardly considers this a problem, because we can say "He was holding the princess hostage", "He showed up red on my evildar", or "He had funny-colored skin". Instead, I propose that even if you kill a mass murderer, do it enough times and you become a mass murderer yourself. Mix this with dark gods who are vying to rise back to power in any way possible, and being an adventurer begins to lose its luster and glory. 6. War is a constant: The world primarily consists of three human nations, who are always going back and forth at one another. Add in other races who are either allied with one human nation or another, or even just out to kill all the humans, and global conflict is pretty much non-negotiable. While this is suggestive of military campaigns, it also leaves plenty of room for adventurers to fill in the gaps when the governments are busy slinging mud at one another. Cross-racial conflicts also allow PCs to tackle larger problems. 7. Adventuring is an ultimately thankless job: Sure, the PCs may be the heroes who saved the day, but they are unlikely to be seen as such. The PCs will likely find themselves called mercenaries in a derisive tone more often than not, and most people find adventurers as troublemakers at best and unpunished outlaws at worst. Of course this doesn't mean every single person is going to scorn them at the drop of a hat, but the overall culture in most lands are not going to welcome the adventuring lifestyle. 8. The PCs are not the hottest thing under the sun...by a long shot: In a typical D&D world, a hardened veteran of war would be something like a 7th level fighter - easy fodder for a mid-level party. The underlying D&D assumption is that after a certain point, the PCs stop dealing with worldly things and start fighting stuff from other worlds. Given that these other worlds have been cut out of the picture now, high level interaction is remains on the material plane. The local assassin isn't a third level rogue but a tenth level assassin. The king with a fighting background isn't an aristocrat with a few levels of fighter, but a fighter with a number of levels in warblade. The high court arcanist isn't a mid-level wizard specializing in divination but a high level archmage with comprehensive grimoires. While the PCs certainly will be a cut above the commoners, until they have quite a bit of experience under the belt, the local guards will pose a number of problems. And even once the PCs do reach those higher echelons of power, they will find that their competition is just as mortal and in-the-world as they are. 9. Enlightened nobility is a myth: In fact, I use one of the main human nations to subvert this common assumption in D&D. The ruling class of this nation thinks they rule with a just and kind hand over its subjects, but in reality their commoners are no better off than those in any other nation. It's also no coincidence that this same nation is politically the weakest in comparison to the other two. The other two at-large governments are shameless monarchies that use brainwashing ideologies to keep their citizenry in control. While living conditions are fairly humane by modern standards, liberties and freedoms are not. 9. Two racial roles are intentionally and blatantly subverted: It's a side note, but I feel it's worth putting down here. I'll be frank: I'm tired of the beautiful and graceful elves being the naturalistic good guys and the crude, ugly orcs being the typical bad guys. I'm blatantly reversing their good/evil roles, so now orcs resemble the "noble savage" archetype and elves look more like the Greenpeace terrorist division. And these elves do not have dark skin. :rolleyes: So, these things considered, what do we draw? At least in my head, I'm picturing a gritty, unforgiving world where you are your own savior. Gods, devas, and demons: none of these things are around to give you a helping hand. While this may appear bleak at the onset, it can be simultaneously empowering: anything you did, YOU did.
inthesto 12-08-07, 02:54 PM	As I've already stated, the existence of the outer planes is unknown to mortals, and possibly unknown to the gods. Whether or not they exist at all is up to the individual DM, as that's a potential can of worms for epic-level adventures. Regardless of the status of the outer planes, I have decided to keep the elemental planes, but the positive and negative energy lanes are done away with. Additionally, the elementals planes are completely uninhabited; they are merely pure planes of existence for each element (Platonic forms, if you would). Each of the elemental planes briefly makes contact with the material plane, though exactly where is unknown to mortals and therefore up to the DM to decide (yes, I'm that lazy). The etheral, shadow, and astral planes are all going to be left alone. I will make note that the astral plane will be the key tool for DMs who want to throw outer planes or other material planes into the mix. Here, I'll address some of the mechanical implications of my cosmological changes. If it isn't obvious by now, I'm attempting to cut the Outsider type out of the picture completely. Contact with outsiders should be something well beyond three standard deviations from the norm, and certainly not attainble without some unique and pointed research. Creatures from the elementals planes are no longer outsiders, though I figure some elbow grease will easily re-integrate them as mundane monsters on the material plane without too much trouble. Elementals are no longer creatures summoned from elsewhere, but are now elements animated by the force of mortal will. Thus, we don't really "summon" elementals anymore, but will them into being for short amounts of time. (Note that there may be a potential adventure where an elemental breaks off of its creator's will - what then?) Although I have abolished the planes, positive and negative energy still exist, but are again manifested in the form of the individual will to create or destroy. The etheral and shadow planes are left completely intact because I'm lazy, I want to give DMs at least some extraplanar wiggle room, and because not everything in the universe needs to be explained.
inthesto 12-08-07, 02:54 PM	The material plane originally came into being when each of the four elemental planes intersected at a single point for a moment. All four elements poured into a single pocket of being and fought for dominance, though none of them were able to win. However, the co-existence of all four in a single place gave rise to the possibility of life. Non-sentient plant life became a reality before long, with non-intelligent animals following afterwards. For a long time, sentient life did not exist, until it seemingly spontaneously generated around a single tree. This tree still exists in the modern day and is in the dead center of elven homelands. Elven legend holds that "The Mother" (as the elves call it) has existed since the beginning of the material plane, and while it certainly is an old tree, the truth of that claim is unverifiable. Originally, sentient life was confined to a single race that habitated in the lands around The Mother. This original race most resembles modern-day elves, though it had its own features (which are up to the DM). What is to note, however, is that members of the original race were immortal - they did not die of age, and natural disasters, violence, and conflict did not exist back then. Over the course of time, small groups of the original race would break off and wander elsewhere into the world. As they traveled farther from the The Mother, their agelessness waned, and they found that the new environments were not so perfectly suited to their needs. In spite of this, these spinter groups managed to adapt and survive, and over countless years transformed into most of the other races of the modern day (most notably: giants, orcs, and dwarves). Two particular splinter groups make their note in elven history. One came about with a group that was not content to simply gather replenishable grasses and fruits and sleep under the stars. With their bare hands, they shaped stone and wood to their command, they hunted animals, and they built homes. They were merely seen as bizarre until they sought to break a branch off of The Mother, at which point they were sapped of their immortality and disfigured into a form that was just familiar enough to be a reminder of what they once were. Cast out into the world, these exiles were forced to multiply much faster due to their short lifespans. However, they had the learned advantage of how to manipulate natural materials into tools, and passed this knowledge to their descendants. When they inevitably came across their wandering relatives of the olden days, this knowledge was shared and passed around, but the exiles always inherently had a better mastery. Because of this, they spread out the most and became the predominant people of the land. These exiles became the humans. The second splinter group did not come for another number of centures, after a global war (that will be covered more extensively later) ravaged the face of the planet, and even scarred bits of land around The Mother. The original race divided into two factions over an ideological debate: the majority saw humans as the cause of the war, and in order to protect the planet, the humans had to be eradicated. A sizeable minority hotly disagreed, arguing that the humans were a creation of The Mother as much as anything else on the planet (note that while The Mother is not the all-creator, these guys seem to think so), and deserved their protection just as much. The minority was eventually exiled, and thrust into the rest of the world so late, found difficulty integrating into any other race's culture. They were thus forced to live among animals, living in a splintered, uncivilized existence. However, while growing closer to animals every day, they closely kept their memories of life with The Mother and never forgot their intent to guard the earth. Over time, they developed the ability to shapeshift to animals and back - this was the first discovery of magic. These exiles became the lycanthropes.
inthesto 12-08-07, 02:55 PM	While I did say gods would be the manifestation of human willpower, I have to admit that I lied just a little bit. The first god, The Mother, was actually the manifestation of the will of a tree. This tree was the one in an impossible probability, developing awareness and sentience out of nowhere (unless you want me to make a mangled argument for emergent complexity here :smile:). While this tree knew of itself, it knew of no others. Rather than create other minds in its own image, The Mother sought to exceed its own limitations, i.e. being stationary, etc. The life that The Mother created instead mimicked animals, though The Mother used its own imagination to invent a new form. This became the original race that grew to worship The Mother. During this race's first footsteps, death was frequent and violent, and The Mother frequently outlived its own children. Wrought with pain and grief, The Mother wished with all its power to create a utopia, where violence and death were cut out of reality. This marks The Mother's transcendence from the will of a plant to an actual god. As a god, The Mother did not manifest itself into a coporeal form. Instead, its mind and will still exist within the tree, but at the same time transcend material being. If this makes no sense at all, that's what I'm aiming for - after all, the Holy Trinity is about as logical. Through sheer force of will, The Mother was able to stop aging, force climatic change, and create a paradise. The rest of the gods come about as a response to violence. At a point in time between the exile of humans and the exile of lycanthropes, a single human figures out that violence need not only apply to animals, but can also be turned to other humans. This lead to the first violent conflict in history, where a legion of humans turned to violence, indiscreetly killing any other person they came across. Murder and pillaging ran across all of human territory and even ran into the land of The Mother, as nobody knew how to defend themselves. Those who did not want to be slaughtered joined the force instead, and humanity seemed to be on the verge of wiping itself out. However, one hamlet contained three brothers of exceptional courage - one a woodcutter, one a hunter, and the last a fisherman. With their meager arms (a hatchet, a hunting bow, and a harpoon - none of them weapons for combat), they met the legion. Each of the brothers killed hundreds of enemies in their place, but were defeated in the end. The eldest brother, the woodcutter, was the last to die, and as he felt the fatal blow, he made one wish: to be able to save the world he protected from beyond the grave. Days later, three beasts of impossible size appeared and tore the legion to pieces, restoring the land to peace. One was a hulking predator the size of a hill, one a raptor with a wingspan that could block the sun, and the third an aquatic serpent that could tear apart any sea vessel. These three became known as the God-Beasts Behemoth, Ziz, and Leviathan, respectively. Though they dissapated into the obscurity of the wild afterwards, they became the object of worship primarily among humans and orcs. (Note that after this conflict is where the lycanthropes are exiled) After violence became a reality, humanity began to organize itself into fledgling governments. Those with the ability to fight and lead made themselves into lords, forming a crude feudalism. Two centuries after the first war, five lords joined together in order to destroy pain and suffering once and for all. Each lord stood for a virtue: patience, courage, cunning, justice, and perseverance. They roamed the land, protecting the innocent and punishing the wicked, but they felt empty, believing they were treating only symptoms, not the cause. The arcanist of their group, the lord of patience, attempted to divine the original source of all destruction, and pinpointed it to The Mother. The five then dove into elven lands to complete their mission. They were met with resistance, as the elves developed their own martial arts in response to the last war. Cutting their own way through, they found The Mother guarded by a force more intense than anything they had faced before. Slaughtered in the face of impossible odds, the lord of perseverance was the last to die. With his dying breaths, he crawled up to the tree of The Mother and smashed his fist into the tree, crying that he refused to let his comrades die until their mission was finished. Afterwards, the lords were reborn into perverted images of themselves. They became the Lords of Decay, Carnage, Deception, Hatred, and Terror. These five are now know as the Dark Lords, and any knowledge of their status prior to their transformation is lost to antiquity. The Dark Lords then turned back upon humanity, starting another conflict that dwarved its predecessor. Again, many joined the Dark Lords in order to save themselves from slaughter, though this time many also sought out the God-Beasts. The three rose out of obscurity to defend the world once more, but this time with warriors by their side. Lycanthropes (disguised as humans) also fought by humanity's side, and eventually the Dark Lords were defeated. The two most powerful Dark Lords, Hatred and Terror, were torn limb from limb in the hopes they could never reform, while the other three were sealed away by the power of the God-Beasts. The Lord of Deception managed to wriggle free over time, but not without cost to her own divine power. The next era knew peace on the global scale, though local fights between lords and a few conflicts on a larger scale were inevitable. During this time, the Lords of Hatred and Terror were forced to manifest themselves in the unconscious of individuals who exerted the feelings they embodied. Torn away from most of their power, they had to reaccumulate it through the appropriate emotions - something they knew was inevitable over time. When they had finally reached critical mass, they would materialize themselves once more, break their companions free, and finish the war they lost. This process took five centuries, but it happened. When the Dark Lords rose again, the God-Beasts had been weakened for maintaining seals for so long, and humanity was constantly at battle with elves. The Dark Lords once more wreaked havoc, but four individual women rose to meet them: a veteran warrior, a devout priestess, an elusive sneak, and a wise sage. They would meet the Dark Lords in battle time and time again, with no decisive victories until each of the heroines met a single Dark Lord in single combat. Strangely, the Lord of Terror did not meet any of the heroines, and did not even attempt to aid any of his fellow Lords in their individual fights. As a result, each of the lords was defeated and sealed away, with the Lord of Hatred being the sole exception. Vastly weakened, he hunted down the Lord of Terror and lashed out against him. In the ensuing fight, the Lord of Hatred ursurped much of Terror's power, becoming the Lord of Tyranny. Terror became the Lord of Greed as a result. However, this was a trap, as the four heroines ambushed the new Lord of Tyranny and sealed him away with their collective power. Greed was then escorted to another location, where he too was sealed, though with a much weaker one that still allows him to free manifest and roam about the material plane. During this final sealing process, the four heroines devoted their lives to safeguarding humanity. They killed themselves, but their wills transcended to godhood, becoming the Four Ladies that are the most widely worshipped gods by humanity today: Sola, Terra, Luna, and Astra.
Space_Dragon 12-08-07, 08:46 PM	Your exposition is so self-referential and distracted that I can hardly read it. Please rewrite some of this material without all the "my preferences, my opinion, me, me, me" and just get to the point.
A_Ninja_Errant 12-08-07, 09:59 PM	I don't know, I like it. :) It seems to me where you're going with the ascension to godhood involves dying for a cause as an important part of the process. Are you going to keep resurrection as an easily accessed ability? If you do you may want to ignore this, but if you don't what I would suggest is that when a high level, or particularly strong willed, PC dies, ask them to explain to you what their PC wanted to accomplish most, and then have him roll a will save(vs a ridiculously high DC with no magical modifications, though you could give a circumstance bonus if you like their explanation) to be reborn as some form of divinity related to the cause or mission he died for. But I think this should be a one shot thing, so Resurrection spells may take a lot of the special out of it. Just thought I'd toss that out there. Keep it up, I like the sound of it so far!
Kelmourne 12-10-07, 11:09 PM	Bonus points if you can figure out what the hell I ripped off and edited to get this Looks kinda like the Arabian Peninsula rotated so it's pointing down.
Sir_Wolfgar 12-11-07, 03:09 AM	I think you are right. The body of water just to the left of center is definitely the Persian gulf flipped on it's side. The right third of the map has got to be an inverse of Antarctica/South America and the Straights of Magellan.