Arcana: Adventures in the Old World [Archive] - Wizards Community

Arcana: Adventures in the Old World [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Gnomemaster
08-23-07, 06:38 PM Introduction

The Old World is the epic setting for my campaign, the world is divided into three major regions: Kargea, Stratton, and Alacaron.

Kargea is home to the Holy Empire, ruled by a man endowed by the gods themselves, The Holy Emperor has ruled justly for centuries, his land is divided into ten provinces that rule themselves as each provinces chooses. Each keeps it's individual identity and autonomy while still answering to The Holy Emperor.

Stratton was known as the eleventh province, until the Duke Jerick turned to dark magic to try and protect his people. When he called upon the magic of tablets carved from the teeth of a dead god, Duke Jerick plagued the island of Stratton. filling it with a hideous radiation that kills and raises people int draugr, living-dead. These intelligent undead remember nothing of their lives and only try to survive in a world that sees them as abominations.

Finally, Alacaron, the gem that has been out of the Emperor's reach since it's discovery 500 years ago. Alacaron is rich in exotic natural resources, and bizarre races. Including the Voth (lizard people), the Orcs (The orcs of Alacaron have an asian flavor and can be Samurai and Ninjas) and others.

The Old World is a land of danger, corners may hide a new creature waiting to eat you, patrons at the tavern may be hiding knife blades to slip between your ribs, dragons soar overhead looking for easy prey, demons and devils reach into the minds of the easily corrupt, and worse.
Are you prepared?

The Old World is a land of danger, corners may hide a new creature waiting to eat you, demons and devils forge cults that reach into the minds of the easily corrupt, and even worse horrors hide in the shadows.

Are you prepared?
Gnomemaster
08-23-07, 07:24 PM Design Notes and Preface

That's my small introduction that I would probably include in the beginning of a book, (I would probably make it a bit longer). It has always been my dream to publish this setting, but for now I will just have to write it up in this thread. I have always been a fan of the Player's Guide to Eberron, just the way it was written into small bite sized articles made it easier for me to understand. I definitely dislike reading someone's post campaign setting only to find a thick block of text (similar to the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting from the early days of 3rd Edition)

My Articles will be collected into chapters:

Chapter One: Races
There are several races in the Old World including:

Humans
Dwarves, who are very similar to Norse warriors, sailing the sees in search of a glorious death.
Orcs: Who can be compared to Japan at war. Orcs fight for honor and for their superiors.
Draugr: The draugr is the name of the living undead, not wholly evil, they were created through dark magic. (The name draugr comes from a norse undead)
The Voth: The voth are quick and agile lizard-men that are more intelligent then their more feral cousins the Lizardfolk. Voth are a non-native species from another plane of reality.

And that only names a few.

Chapter Two: Classes
Many of the classes from the Player's Handbook have new options, whether that is a new playing style, new abilities, or new alternate features.

Chapter Three: Feats
There will be regional feats and bonuses based upon where your character comes from.

Chapter Four: Equipment
New weapons, armors, mounts, gear, and magic items. With a powerful Mage Guild that rules a province in Kargea, I could see a huge catalog of Magic Items. I am a huge fan of Magic Items, so this would be a good section.

Chapter Five: Magic
Brand new spells that include my color system. Similar to Magic the Gathering, this just allows me to separate the magic system a bit. I may even include my own magic system.
The colors include:

White Magic: White spells include blessings, protection, purity, “buffs”, and light (but not necessarily good). Spells of white magic tend to protect and defend the weak.
Red Magic: Red spells include war, destruction, fire, ice, electricity, acid, and other energies. Spells of red magic tend to be attack spells that focus on dealing damage.
Black Magic: Black spells include death, amorality, demons, devils, undead, “debuffs” and darkness (but not necessarily evil). Spells of Black magic tend to use attrition as a theme.
Purple Magic: Purple spells include prophecies, illusions, trickery, and knowledge. Spells of Purple magic tend to use Divination and Illusions.
Green Magic: Green spells include nature, growth, fury and blessings. Spells of Green magic tend to give blessings to beasts, and include the organic side of nature.
Blue Magic: Summoning, transformations, dreams, and the planes of existence. Spells of Blue magic tend to create or conjure aid from thin air.

Chapter Six: The Lay of the Land
This section includes articles about different provinces and areas of the campaign. This will not be huge broad entries, instead it will include information important to a game. (so no info over imports and exports for example).
queenfange
08-24-07, 09:19 AM What, no gnomes?

I assume that orcs are fairly lawful in your setting, albeit evil? Both Voth and Draugr look quite interesting; I look forward to seeing more on them. As dwarves are now sea-faring, are they less connected with rocks and metal?

This is a rather uncreative idea, but perhaps magic item properties can be fairly easily distinguished by their glow relating to their magic school? This could open some interesting possiblities- a sword that glows blue might indicate it will summon an interplanar servant, polymorph the bearer into a toad, give the holder the strength of an ogre, or possess any who sleep near the item with a nightmare spell. Are you doing away with the conjuration, necromancy, etc. labels, or is the color system in addition? Though you say black and white magic aren't good or evil, you'll need to come up with some good ways to show that, since their current discriptions fit their stereotypical AL categories.

As for publication... I wish you best of luck; many of us have that eventual dream. Just remember to not use copyrighted material (which you seem to be well aware of) and keep working on it! You might want to look into http://www.eruvian.com, where you can post your campaign setting and not only get general feedback, but request that other people help you with specific parts through the content request system. I use it for my setting, Vere (though I also use these message boards, of course). :)

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Gnomemaster 08-23-07, 06:38 PM	Introduction The Old World is the epic setting for my campaign, the world is divided into three major regions: Kargea, Stratton, and Alacaron. Kargea is home to the Holy Empire, ruled by a man endowed by the gods themselves, The Holy Emperor has ruled justly for centuries, his land is divided into ten provinces that rule themselves as each provinces chooses. Each keeps it's individual identity and autonomy while still answering to The Holy Emperor. Stratton was known as the eleventh province, until the Duke Jerick turned to dark magic to try and protect his people. When he called upon the magic of tablets carved from the teeth of a dead god, Duke Jerick plagued the island of Stratton. filling it with a hideous radiation that kills and raises people int draugr, living-dead. These intelligent undead remember nothing of their lives and only try to survive in a world that sees them as abominations. Finally, Alacaron, the gem that has been out of the Emperor's reach since it's discovery 500 years ago. Alacaron is rich in exotic natural resources, and bizarre races. Including the Voth (lizard people), the Orcs (The orcs of Alacaron have an asian flavor and can be Samurai and Ninjas) and others. The Old World is a land of danger, corners may hide a new creature waiting to eat you, patrons at the tavern may be hiding knife blades to slip between your ribs, dragons soar overhead looking for easy prey, demons and devils reach into the minds of the easily corrupt, and worse. Are you prepared? The Old World is a land of danger, corners may hide a new creature waiting to eat you, demons and devils forge cults that reach into the minds of the easily corrupt, and even worse horrors hide in the shadows. Are you prepared?
Gnomemaster 08-23-07, 07:24 PM	Design Notes and Preface That's my small introduction that I would probably include in the beginning of a book, (I would probably make it a bit longer). It has always been my dream to publish this setting, but for now I will just have to write it up in this thread. I have always been a fan of the Player's Guide to Eberron, just the way it was written into small bite sized articles made it easier for me to understand. I definitely dislike reading someone's post campaign setting only to find a thick block of text (similar to the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting from the early days of 3rd Edition) My Articles will be collected into chapters: Chapter One: Races There are several races in the Old World including: Humans Dwarves, who are very similar to Norse warriors, sailing the sees in search of a glorious death. Orcs: Who can be compared to Japan at war. Orcs fight for honor and for their superiors. Draugr: The draugr is the name of the living undead, not wholly evil, they were created through dark magic. (The name draugr comes from a norse undead) The Voth: The voth are quick and agile lizard-men that are more intelligent then their more feral cousins the Lizardfolk. Voth are a non-native species from another plane of reality. And that only names a few. Chapter Two: Classes Many of the classes from the Player's Handbook have new options, whether that is a new playing style, new abilities, or new alternate features. Chapter Three: Feats There will be regional feats and bonuses based upon where your character comes from. Chapter Four: Equipment New weapons, armors, mounts, gear, and magic items. With a powerful Mage Guild that rules a province in Kargea, I could see a huge catalog of Magic Items. I am a huge fan of Magic Items, so this would be a good section. Chapter Five: Magic Brand new spells that include my color system. Similar to Magic the Gathering, this just allows me to separate the magic system a bit. I may even include my own magic system. The colors include: White Magic: White spells include blessings, protection, purity, “buffs”, and light (but not necessarily good). Spells of white magic tend to protect and defend the weak. Red Magic: Red spells include war, destruction, fire, ice, electricity, acid, and other energies. Spells of red magic tend to be attack spells that focus on dealing damage. Black Magic: Black spells include death, amorality, demons, devils, undead, “debuffs” and darkness (but not necessarily evil). Spells of Black magic tend to use attrition as a theme. Purple Magic: Purple spells include prophecies, illusions, trickery, and knowledge. Spells of Purple magic tend to use Divination and Illusions. Green Magic: Green spells include nature, growth, fury and blessings. Spells of Green magic tend to give blessings to beasts, and include the organic side of nature. Blue Magic: Summoning, transformations, dreams, and the planes of existence. Spells of Blue magic tend to create or conjure aid from thin air. Chapter Six: The Lay of the Land This section includes articles about different provinces and areas of the campaign. This will not be huge broad entries, instead it will include information important to a game. (so no info over imports and exports for example).
queenfange 08-24-07, 09:19 AM	What, no gnomes? I assume that orcs are fairly lawful in your setting, albeit evil? Both Voth and Draugr look quite interesting; I look forward to seeing more on them. As dwarves are now sea-faring, are they less connected with rocks and metal? This is a rather uncreative idea, but perhaps magic item properties can be fairly easily distinguished by their glow relating to their magic school? This could open some interesting possiblities- a sword that glows blue might indicate it will summon an interplanar servant, polymorph the bearer into a toad, give the holder the strength of an ogre, or possess any who sleep near the item with a nightmare spell. Are you doing away with the conjuration, necromancy, etc. labels, or is the color system in addition? Though you say black and white magic aren't good or evil, you'll need to come up with some good ways to show that, since their current discriptions fit their stereotypical AL categories. As for publication... I wish you best of luck; many of us have that eventual dream. Just remember to not use copyrighted material (which you seem to be well aware of) and keep working on it! You might want to look into http://www.eruvian.com, where you can post your campaign setting and not only get general feedback, but request that other people help you with specific parts through the content request system. I use it for my setting, Vere (though I also use these message boards, of course). :)