Building this world [Archive] - Wizards Community

Building this world [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Master_of_Rouges
02-07-08, 11:13 PM Ok so i was wanting to build a world around a tower thats ruled by an overlord.

And I didnt want to go with the whole tower/castle surrounded by lava that has a rickety wooden bridge that leads to it.

So what could I put in this world that seems to originate around this tower?
Alexeduardo
02-07-08, 11:31 PM Lesser Towers?
Darth Syntax
02-07-08, 11:45 PM Building a whole world around a single architectural feature might be a bit of a stretch, unless it is a very important or impressive feature. However, having the tower dominate a region (possibly the region most central to the setting) makes rather a bit more sense.

Now, on to the issue of something or other eminating forth from this tower, I suggest the following ideas:

1. A maze (not a labyrinth as a labyrinth would have only a single path rather than many), possibly covering many hundreds of square miles. Within the maze are many settlements for the whole population of this strange nation lives within the maze. The maze both protects the people from the outside and confines them thus making then beholden to the rulers of the place.

2. A vast wasteland centered on the tower

3. Alternatively, a verdant and fertile plain wherein the farming is excellent but beyond the influence of the tower, the world is harsh and desolate.

4. A plague is always festive

5. The power of the gods. Perhaps some god or other erected the tower in the distant past and only those who swear absolute obedience to its master are permitted to interact with the divine.
james_gaines
02-08-08, 02:16 AM Various weather effects. It's always sunny/raining/cloudy/thundering/snowing around this tower.

Mutations. The animals appear sickly and misbegotten around here. Even the plants seem unhealthy.

Transfigurative Magic. Stealing this from Terry Pratchett. Every hour make your character roll a d20. A roll of a 1 means they're polymorphed. Have random things change into other things. Trees change into cake in front of their eyes. Rabbits turn into chocolate. A stream turns into beer.

Fantasy Land. Have the wizard's fantasies start to extend into the area. If he is especially hungry things will look like/turn into food. If he's a megalomaniac have statues of himself pop out of the ground. If he's obsessed with fey have them be everywhere.

Aura. This is pretty simple. Have an overwhelming aura of fear/glee/hatred coming from the tower, affecting the characters actions.

Nothing. Have the ground appear insubstancial. Things enter the area, but do not leave. The upper halves of trees appear to be floating in mid-air, oblivious to the fact that the trunk has disappeared.
Lord_Varos
02-08-08, 12:48 PM Whatever is special about the tower, it can't be so dangerous or frightening that it makes no one want to settle near it.

Perhaps it was the first building ever built, and the first city ever settled was built around it. The tower can be on high ground already, so that it is visible from a hundred miles or more away. This city is the center of trade, religion, and knowledge in the world, and the overlord has the final say on all matters of state.

Maybe the world is only kept stable by the inner magic contained in the tower, and as a traveler moves away from it toward the edges of the world magic becomes more and more unstable and unpredictable. At the fringes of the Towerworld, magic both divine and arcane is uncontrollable, and wild animals or people that wander too far out become... Something Else.

Or the tower could be magically charged with several powerful spells, allowing the current owner to Scry freely on the outside world through a scrying pool, summon powerful Outsiders atop the tower to do his bidding, erect buildings magically on a mystical floor-plan of the world, or shoot Sonicballs out of Arcane Cannons.
Tovec
02-09-08, 12:27 PM Taking a leap from a game a friend of mine ran. Why would everyone know the evil lord lives in the tower? Why not have a large city surrounding it and have the tower be the central place of government. Maybe have the tower, where the evil lord lives, be considered a relic with a mythic evil tyrant in it. Set it up that even though the evil lord is running the show he isn't immediately found out but the party could eventually realize that he is the bane of their lives and try and sneak into the most carefully guarded place in the city (and maybe a good portion of the world beyond) to try and remove him from his lofty home.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Master_of_Rouges 02-07-08, 11:13 PM	Ok so i was wanting to build a world around a tower thats ruled by an overlord. And I didnt want to go with the whole tower/castle surrounded by lava that has a rickety wooden bridge that leads to it. So what could I put in this world that seems to originate around this tower?
Alexeduardo 02-07-08, 11:31 PM	Lesser Towers?
Darth Syntax 02-07-08, 11:45 PM	Building a whole world around a single architectural feature might be a bit of a stretch, unless it is a very important or impressive feature. However, having the tower dominate a region (possibly the region most central to the setting) makes rather a bit more sense. Now, on to the issue of something or other eminating forth from this tower, I suggest the following ideas: 1. A maze (not a labyrinth as a labyrinth would have only a single path rather than many), possibly covering many hundreds of square miles. Within the maze are many settlements for the whole population of this strange nation lives within the maze. The maze both protects the people from the outside and confines them thus making then beholden to the rulers of the place. 2. A vast wasteland centered on the tower 3. Alternatively, a verdant and fertile plain wherein the farming is excellent but beyond the influence of the tower, the world is harsh and desolate. 4. A plague is always festive 5. The power of the gods. Perhaps some god or other erected the tower in the distant past and only those who swear absolute obedience to its master are permitted to interact with the divine.
james_gaines 02-08-08, 02:16 AM	Various weather effects. It's always sunny/raining/cloudy/thundering/snowing around this tower. Mutations. The animals appear sickly and misbegotten around here. Even the plants seem unhealthy. Transfigurative Magic. Stealing this from Terry Pratchett. Every hour make your character roll a d20. A roll of a 1 means they're polymorphed. Have random things change into other things. Trees change into cake in front of their eyes. Rabbits turn into chocolate. A stream turns into beer. Fantasy Land. Have the wizard's fantasies start to extend into the area. If he is especially hungry things will look like/turn into food. If he's a megalomaniac have statues of himself pop out of the ground. If he's obsessed with fey have them be everywhere. Aura. This is pretty simple. Have an overwhelming aura of fear/glee/hatred coming from the tower, affecting the characters actions. Nothing. Have the ground appear insubstancial. Things enter the area, but do not leave. The upper halves of trees appear to be floating in mid-air, oblivious to the fact that the trunk has disappeared.
Lord_Varos 02-08-08, 12:48 PM	Whatever is special about the tower, it can't be so dangerous or frightening that it makes no one want to settle near it. Perhaps it was the first building ever built, and the first city ever settled was built around it. The tower can be on high ground already, so that it is visible from a hundred miles or more away. This city is the center of trade, religion, and knowledge in the world, and the overlord has the final say on all matters of state. Maybe the world is only kept stable by the inner magic contained in the tower, and as a traveler moves away from it toward the edges of the world magic becomes more and more unstable and unpredictable. At the fringes of the Towerworld, magic both divine and arcane is uncontrollable, and wild animals or people that wander too far out become... Something Else. Or the tower could be magically charged with several powerful spells, allowing the current owner to Scry freely on the outside world through a scrying pool, summon powerful Outsiders atop the tower to do his bidding, erect buildings magically on a mystical floor-plan of the world, or shoot Sonicballs out of Arcane Cannons.
Tovec 02-09-08, 12:27 PM	Taking a leap from a game a friend of mine ran. Why would everyone know the evil lord lives in the tower? Why not have a large city surrounding it and have the tower be the central place of government. Maybe have the tower, where the evil lord lives, be considered a relic with a mythic evil tyrant in it. Set it up that even though the evil lord is running the show he isn't immediately found out but the party could eventually realize that he is the bane of their lives and try and sneak into the most carefully guarded place in the city (and maybe a good portion of the world beyond) to try and remove him from his lofty home.