Brainstorming . . . [Archive] - Wizards Community

Brainstorming . . . [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Vernors_the_Valiant
03-06-07, 10:48 PM So, I have about a year to come up with a fully developed world from which can spring multiple campaigns.
My friends and I have been playing since 2ed and have done homebrews (generic) and Forgotten Realms, Eberron, and D&D minis -- this is our hobby;

However, I want to come up with a unique world, something that makes it vastly different than FR or Eberron, or Ravenloft, etc. . . yet at the same time I want to retain that classic feel of D&D as that is something we very much love.

I have been brainstorming lately, but not to much success. I was hoping this thread could serve as a place for people to offer ideas and intelligent discussion abou the creation of a unique homebrew . . .I will post some of my thoughts below about things I may use to make my world *unique*; feel free to give me your feedback on these ideas, but also please, please, please, offer suggestions as to what you think would make a very interesting fantasy world.

Some ideas --

1) I am trying to make a very comprehensive world . . . not dwarves live here, elves live here, etc . . .though some of that may exist . . .I want to focus on cultures moreso than race (i think) That being said the Dwarves of Goladgura are much more fierce and barbaric than the mercant kings of D'Lyd Peaks -- another thing I was thinking about was a war between Elves and Dwarves in a region of the world. . . a horrific and long lasting battle.

2)Thinking about doing away with Vancian system. . . .by that I mean eliminating sorceror, wizard, and bard . . .but using shadowcaster, binders, truenamers, and psionics with different flavor -- then again I really enjoy arcane casters. Really i am just trying to make magic unique to this realm . ideas?

any help is appreciated
Vernors_the_Valiant
03-06-07, 10:55 PM Oh yeah, thinking about upping the tech level a little bit at least . . . maybe even firearms . . .anyone have good ideas about this or sourcebooks that help??
yellowdingo
03-07-07, 08:01 AM Keep Sorcerers:
The Goat herders of Yan Madoc
Let them focuss everything on spell wizardry so they cast only what they research and memorize.

Magic missile becomes "enchant a throwing stone".
Vernors_the_Valiant
03-07-07, 10:50 AM :bump:
WotC_Huscarl
03-07-07, 11:19 AM If you have a year, then the subject line of this thread is the right path -- brainstorming.

Start a list of everything you think of that could go into this world. Don't worry about whether they're good ideas. If it pops into your head, put it on the list. Don't limit yourself in any way during this process. Notes about geography, weather, trade routes, social customs, wars, history, are all fair game.
Every week or so, read through your list and cross off the ideas that don't seem so good anymore.
At the same time, expand on those that seem especially promising.
Don't get too caught up in history. What's happening now is much more useful to you than what happened a millennia ago.

After a month or so, you should have more than enough material to start organizing it into a coherent world. The problem then becomes throwing things away. If you try to include a little bit of everything, you wind up with a setting that has no character. Pick a theme and stick with it.

And don't stop brainstorming. It's never too late to include a good idea.

Steve
WotC_Huscarl
03-07-07, 11:22 AM P.S. I wouldn't start messing with the character classes until late in this process. Give yourself a good, long time to develop the setting before you start changing game rules. If you must have this in mind in order to develop other things, then consider -- sorcerers are basically non-Vancian to begin with. If you simply disallow wizards and bards, you're halfway to your goal already.

Steve
Yakman
03-07-07, 11:37 AM Find a local theme--something that defines the hometown/base of operations for the adventurers, and then build outwards from there.

When you find something you enjoy, like say, people all live on a gigantic cow, then you can build out, and in, from there.
Vernors_the_Valiant
03-07-07, 12:19 PM Thanks for the outline and support
Vernors_the_Valiant
03-07-07, 12:50 PM Ideas:

- Include a tech level -- a touch of steampunk, firearms, explosives, gadgets . . .

- Eliminate Gnomes or halflings, or both

- Give hobgoblin culture more play, heck give orc, goblin, kobold, culture more play

- make dragons akin to gods . . .or make them savage shells of the rulers they use to be

- Multiple contintents, a very geographic diverse world

- have a nation of undead, or ruled by an openly undead tyrant

- leave much of the world untamed and uncivilized . . .pockets of civilization here and there . . . give the world a young feel, give the campaign a sense of exploration

- low magic campaign

- no real gods, but religions based on culture

- ?//????
Yakman
03-07-07, 01:10 PM Ideas:
- Include a tech level -- a touch of steampunk, firearms, explosives, gadgets . . .
Plenty of settings you can steal this from--Iron Kingdoms for instance. Personally, I like firearms--they give mages something to worry about. and they go *BOOM*
- Eliminate Gnomes or halflings, or both
yes, and yes. Add elves to the chopping block as well. Dwarves are cool, but the rest are all lame.
- Give hobgoblin culture more play, heck give orc, goblin, kobold, culture more play
Personally, I'd pick one from orc/hobgoblin/bugbear and one from kobold/goblin and leave it at that. There's no real need to differentiate between all these races that are fundamentally the same thing, except one's big and the other is small.
- make dragons akin to gods . . .or make them savage shells of the rulers they use to be
Savage shells are better. the ones that still have their minds are ancient and usually slightly bonkers. take the wings off them too--i think there's some examples of these in draconomicon, but I remember some really cool 'nordic' dragons from 2nd edition that were all evil, stupid, and nasty (and didn't fly).
- Multiple contintents, a very geographic diverse world
Go for it. Take away the huge oceans--lotsa land, lotsa islands, no ocean is more that a hundred miles across. that way you have more room for cultures, and you have even more opportunities for adventuring, piracy, etc.. Big oceans are nice in the real world, but unless you want to do an underwater campaign, they kinda suck for a campaign setting.
- have a nation of undead, or ruled by an openly undead tyrant
meh. I think (mostly) dead necromancers are more interesting. Ravenloft and whatnot have done government by undead. Let's do government by the Pale Masters and the mostly dead--there's a handful of real undead walking around, and plenty of skeletons doing grunt work, but most people in the country are just kinda... off... think the Dustmen from Planescape, but make it your own.
- leave much of the world untamed and uncivilized . . .pockets of civilization here and there . . . give the world a young feel, give the campaign a sense of exploration
Go for it. Civilization is confined to a few valleys and islands--beyond are monsters and giants. lands ripe for heroes to clear out.
- low magic campaign
oh hell yeah. steal from Grim Tales or Iron Heroes.
- no real gods, but religions based on culture
pantheons suck. use something akin to buddhism or taoism or zorastrianism. simple, light v. dark, enlightenment v. substance. There's plenty of room for priestly factions and not all the lameness of FR or Greyhawk pantheons.
- ?//????
take advantage of the geography--you have lots of land, make different lands have different sets of magical rules. Not just, 'oh, the mages live here, the psionicists live here, but you can use your magic over there too.' but 'the mages live here, and oh yeah, your psionics won't work there.'

Make magic weapons not something you create, but are created by being wielded by heroes--that magic sword wasn't forged by a wizard, but was used by Akbar the Slayer who killed the Wizard Baron Abdullah, and was carried by Akbar's son Osman in the war of the seven crowns.

That way, they have cool histories--and are all a bit intelligent... they carry a bit of the spirits of the great heroes who carried them--and the villains they slew.....
gorckat
03-07-07, 04:04 PM There's a site out there (http://www.web-writer.net/fantasy/30days.html) geared towards fantasy writers- something about world-building in 30 days. It's a process that covers culture, weather, theme- everything on which to build a story without touching the story just yet, iirc.

Might be a good place to start.
Vernors_the_Valiant
03-08-07, 06:19 PM Thanks for the responses everyone . . .anyone who has ideas feel free to submit . . .on to some more thoughts that have crossed my mind

! - No Drow or any subraces for that matter

! - A culture that uses undead as servants/slaves/labor . . .this is the culture that is also most technilogically advanced -- a dark, twisted, realm of horrible machines that fill the sky with smog -- a perpetual night almost

! - A northern culture (Human dominant, dwarves, orcs, elves, goblins in there as well) that is a theocracy, a smaller nation -- currently beset in a struggle against united tribes of Goliaths

! - The Cressian Empire -- a former great empire. Epic heroes and legendary wars litter its history and literature -- currently in the throes of civil war (North Cressia and the Free Cities of Aldaras) Civil war stems from an increase in taxation, forceful recruiting (drafting of new army), and growing arrogance of the monarchy. Culture is again cosmpolitian in regard to race here

! - Along the lines of races, open to player characters will be - Humans, Centaurs, Dwarfs, Elfs, Goblins, Orcs, Goliaths, Raptorans, Minotaur (maybe more as I want choices for my players) Racism does exist, but I want to avoid 'Orcs live here, Dwarves here, etc' Some areas maybe culturally dominated but others still live there, and of course some areas may still be xenophobic -- either way I still want that tension to exist "Though the Allied forces of Cressia would never forgive or forget the violent incursions by the Eglro Minotaur tribe, they could not deny the influx of copper from their mines was a boon to economy"

! - Alignment like Eberron -- anything goes

! - No universal pantheon

! - vast tracks of wilderness that do exist are just as likely to contain an evil tribe of uncivilized humans as they do goblins (for example)

just fleshing out, using this as a place to put ideas . . .input appreciated
krichaiushii
03-08-07, 06:56 PM Try to find a copy of Hollowfaust (http://www.gamewyrd.com/review/56) - a city of LN (for the most part) necromancers that use mindless undead as tools and actively hunt down and destroy intelligent undead - ESPECIALLY liches.

Loot it for ideas or use it wholesale.

I am pretty sure that its available as a pdf from some places, to save more money.
KeshFerrar
03-08-07, 09:49 PM ! - Along the lines of races, open to player characters will be - Humans, Centaurs, Dwarfs, Elfs, Goblins, Orcs, Goliaths, Raptorans, Minotaur (maybe more as I want choices for my players) ...

A good eclectic mix. Now you have to think how they all got to your world. You don't have an over-arching pantheon, but you do still have D&D gods? They could be patrons of the races; each created in a pocket of the world but they have spread to be fairly uniform.

Also, are any of the races related? Orcs & goblins? Or maybe orcs and goliath (I know nothing about goliath). Goblins & dwarves perhaps. Having races be related offers a lot of plots and hooks for characters and adventures.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Vernors_the_Valiant 03-06-07, 10:48 PM	So, I have about a year to come up with a fully developed world from which can spring multiple campaigns. My friends and I have been playing since 2ed and have done homebrews (generic) and Forgotten Realms, Eberron, and D&D minis -- this is our hobby; However, I want to come up with a unique world, something that makes it vastly different than FR or Eberron, or Ravenloft, etc. . . yet at the same time I want to retain that classic feel of D&D as that is something we very much love. I have been brainstorming lately, but not to much success. I was hoping this thread could serve as a place for people to offer ideas and intelligent discussion abou the creation of a unique homebrew . . .I will post some of my thoughts below about things I may use to make my world unique; feel free to give me your feedback on these ideas, but also please, please, please, offer suggestions as to what you think would make a very interesting fantasy world. Some ideas -- 1) I am trying to make a very comprehensive world . . . not dwarves live here, elves live here, etc . . .though some of that may exist . . .I want to focus on cultures moreso than race (i think) That being said the Dwarves of Goladgura are much more fierce and barbaric than the mercant kings of D'Lyd Peaks -- another thing I was thinking about was a war between Elves and Dwarves in a region of the world. . . a horrific and long lasting battle. 2)Thinking about doing away with Vancian system. . . .by that I mean eliminating sorceror, wizard, and bard . . .but using shadowcaster, binders, truenamers, and psionics with different flavor -- then again I really enjoy arcane casters. Really i am just trying to make magic unique to this realm . ideas? any help is appreciated
Vernors_the_Valiant 03-06-07, 10:55 PM	Oh yeah, thinking about upping the tech level a little bit at least . . . maybe even firearms . . .anyone have good ideas about this or sourcebooks that help??
yellowdingo 03-07-07, 08:01 AM	Keep Sorcerers: The Goat herders of Yan Madoc Let them focuss everything on spell wizardry so they cast only what they research and memorize. Magic missile becomes "enchant a throwing stone".
Vernors_the_Valiant 03-07-07, 10:50 AM	:bump:
WotC_Huscarl 03-07-07, 11:19 AM	If you have a year, then the subject line of this thread is the right path -- brainstorming. Start a list of everything you think of that could go into this world. Don't worry about whether they're good ideas. If it pops into your head, put it on the list. Don't limit yourself in any way during this process. Notes about geography, weather, trade routes, social customs, wars, history, are all fair game. Every week or so, read through your list and cross off the ideas that don't seem so good anymore. At the same time, expand on those that seem especially promising. Don't get too caught up in history. What's happening now is much more useful to you than what happened a millennia ago. After a month or so, you should have more than enough material to start organizing it into a coherent world. The problem then becomes throwing things away. If you try to include a little bit of everything, you wind up with a setting that has no character. Pick a theme and stick with it. And don't stop brainstorming. It's never too late to include a good idea. Steve
WotC_Huscarl 03-07-07, 11:22 AM	P.S. I wouldn't start messing with the character classes until late in this process. Give yourself a good, long time to develop the setting before you start changing game rules. If you must have this in mind in order to develop other things, then consider -- sorcerers are basically non-Vancian to begin with. If you simply disallow wizards and bards, you're halfway to your goal already. Steve
Yakman 03-07-07, 11:37 AM	Find a local theme--something that defines the hometown/base of operations for the adventurers, and then build outwards from there. When you find something you enjoy, like say, people all live on a gigantic cow, then you can build out, and in, from there.
Vernors_the_Valiant 03-07-07, 12:19 PM	Thanks for the outline and support
Vernors_the_Valiant 03-07-07, 12:50 PM	Ideas: - Include a tech level -- a touch of steampunk, firearms, explosives, gadgets . . . - Eliminate Gnomes or halflings, or both - Give hobgoblin culture more play, heck give orc, goblin, kobold, culture more play - make dragons akin to gods . . .or make them savage shells of the rulers they use to be - Multiple contintents, a very geographic diverse world - have a nation of undead, or ruled by an openly undead tyrant - leave much of the world untamed and uncivilized . . .pockets of civilization here and there . . . give the world a young feel, give the campaign a sense of exploration - low magic campaign - no real gods, but religions based on culture - ?//????
Yakman 03-07-07, 01:10 PM	Ideas: - Include a tech level -- a touch of steampunk, firearms, explosives, gadgets . . . Plenty of settings you can steal this from--Iron Kingdoms for instance. Personally, I like firearms--they give mages something to worry about. and they go BOOM - Eliminate Gnomes or halflings, or both yes, and yes. Add elves to the chopping block as well. Dwarves are cool, but the rest are all lame. - Give hobgoblin culture more play, heck give orc, goblin, kobold, culture more play Personally, I'd pick one from orc/hobgoblin/bugbear and one from kobold/goblin and leave it at that. There's no real need to differentiate between all these races that are fundamentally the same thing, except one's big and the other is small. - make dragons akin to gods . . .or make them savage shells of the rulers they use to be Savage shells are better. the ones that still have their minds are ancient and usually slightly bonkers. take the wings off them too--i think there's some examples of these in draconomicon, but I remember some really cool 'nordic' dragons from 2nd edition that were all evil, stupid, and nasty (and didn't fly). - Multiple contintents, a very geographic diverse world Go for it. Take away the huge oceans--lotsa land, lotsa islands, no ocean is more that a hundred miles across. that way you have more room for cultures, and you have even more opportunities for adventuring, piracy, etc.. Big oceans are nice in the real world, but unless you want to do an underwater campaign, they kinda suck for a campaign setting. - have a nation of undead, or ruled by an openly undead tyrant meh. I think (mostly) dead necromancers are more interesting. Ravenloft and whatnot have done government by undead. Let's do government by the Pale Masters and the mostly dead--there's a handful of real undead walking around, and plenty of skeletons doing grunt work, but most people in the country are just kinda... off... think the Dustmen from Planescape, but make it your own. - leave much of the world untamed and uncivilized . . .pockets of civilization here and there . . . give the world a young feel, give the campaign a sense of exploration Go for it. Civilization is confined to a few valleys and islands--beyond are monsters and giants. lands ripe for heroes to clear out. - low magic campaign oh hell yeah. steal from Grim Tales or Iron Heroes. - no real gods, but religions based on culture pantheons suck. use something akin to buddhism or taoism or zorastrianism. simple, light v. dark, enlightenment v. substance. There's plenty of room for priestly factions and not all the lameness of FR or Greyhawk pantheons. - ?//???? take advantage of the geography--you have lots of land, make different lands have different sets of magical rules. Not just, 'oh, the mages live here, the psionicists live here, but you can use your magic over there too.' but 'the mages live here, and oh yeah, your psionics won't work there.' Make magic weapons not something you create, but are created by being wielded by heroes--that magic sword wasn't forged by a wizard, but was used by Akbar the Slayer who killed the Wizard Baron Abdullah, and was carried by Akbar's son Osman in the war of the seven crowns. That way, they have cool histories--and are all a bit intelligent... they carry a bit of the spirits of the great heroes who carried them--and the villains they slew.....
gorckat 03-07-07, 04:04 PM	There's a site out there (http://www.web-writer.net/fantasy/30days.html) geared towards fantasy writers- something about world-building in 30 days. It's a process that covers culture, weather, theme- everything on which to build a story without touching the story just yet, iirc. Might be a good place to start.
Vernors_the_Valiant 03-08-07, 06:19 PM	Thanks for the responses everyone . . .anyone who has ideas feel free to submit . . .on to some more thoughts that have crossed my mind ! - No Drow or any subraces for that matter ! - A culture that uses undead as servants/slaves/labor . . .this is the culture that is also most technilogically advanced -- a dark, twisted, realm of horrible machines that fill the sky with smog -- a perpetual night almost ! - A northern culture (Human dominant, dwarves, orcs, elves, goblins in there as well) that is a theocracy, a smaller nation -- currently beset in a struggle against united tribes of Goliaths ! - The Cressian Empire -- a former great empire. Epic heroes and legendary wars litter its history and literature -- currently in the throes of civil war (North Cressia and the Free Cities of Aldaras) Civil war stems from an increase in taxation, forceful recruiting (drafting of new army), and growing arrogance of the monarchy. Culture is again cosmpolitian in regard to race here ! - Along the lines of races, open to player characters will be - Humans, Centaurs, Dwarfs, Elfs, Goblins, Orcs, Goliaths, Raptorans, Minotaur (maybe more as I want choices for my players) Racism does exist, but I want to avoid 'Orcs live here, Dwarves here, etc' Some areas maybe culturally dominated but others still live there, and of course some areas may still be xenophobic -- either way I still want that tension to exist "Though the Allied forces of Cressia would never forgive or forget the violent incursions by the Eglro Minotaur tribe, they could not deny the influx of copper from their mines was a boon to economy" ! - Alignment like Eberron -- anything goes ! - No universal pantheon ! - vast tracks of wilderness that do exist are just as likely to contain an evil tribe of uncivilized humans as they do goblins (for example) just fleshing out, using this as a place to put ideas . . .input appreciated
krichaiushii 03-08-07, 06:56 PM	Try to find a copy of Hollowfaust (http://www.gamewyrd.com/review/56) - a city of LN (for the most part) necromancers that use mindless undead as tools and actively hunt down and destroy intelligent undead - ESPECIALLY liches. Loot it for ideas or use it wholesale. I am pretty sure that its available as a pdf from some places, to save more money.
KeshFerrar 03-08-07, 09:49 PM	! - Along the lines of races, open to player characters will be - Humans, Centaurs, Dwarfs, Elfs, Goblins, Orcs, Goliaths, Raptorans, Minotaur (maybe more as I want choices for my players) ... A good eclectic mix. Now you have to think how they all got to your world. You don't have an over-arching pantheon, but you do still have D&D gods? They could be patrons of the races; each created in a pocket of the world but they have spread to be fairly uniform. Also, are any of the races related? Orcs & goblins? Or maybe orcs and goliath (I know nothing about goliath). Goblins & dwarves perhaps. Having races be related offers a lot of plots and hooks for characters and adventures.