Creating a New Country [Archive] - Wizards Community

Creating a New Country [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Lord Obsidian
01-03-08, 03:59 PM Alright, so I'm planning to create a country influenced by Conan the Barbarian, Darksun, and a little bit of Ravenloft. The idea for the setting is a savage, gothic country that is largly unsettled land with a few large, independant cities scattered about, ruled by warlords who are constantly at war with one another, as well as with the barbarian tribes that roam the wild lands.

I also had an idea for the country to have its own small pantheon of gods. The way I see it, the people of this country worshipped their own gods until priests from other lands came and forced their religion on the country. the old gods were mostly forgotten (except maybe by the barbarians) and the new gods were embraced. I'm not sure what impact this might have on a game, but right now I'm more concerned with getting the setting created.

So I'm looking for ideas, advice, thoughts, comments, and anything else you can come up with. Basically this is a discussion thread for this setting. I'd love to get help creating it if anyone is interested in contributing NPCs, cities, barbarian tribes, or anything else.

I have nothing planned or created for this setting other than what you have just read through, so any help at all is welcome. Also so far this ne country has no name, so any suggestions for that would be great. :cool:
Etarnon
01-03-08, 04:24 PM Seems like a good plan so far.

Now get some paper, and a pen and map it.
bravo052492
01-03-08, 08:04 PM What's the story behind the campaign? The driving theme and style?

Is it a dark, hopeless tale, like most of LotR, or a hopeful tale that's more childish, like Stardust?

Are there any major changes to D&D mechanics?
thebax2k
01-03-08, 09:07 PM Here are some tidbits you might put to use Lord Obsidian:

Look up everything you can find on the Celts. If this is a savage land and the old gods have been replaced by new ones, there are likely to be megaliths, ruined temples, ceremonial sites, etc. The druids or some other class you designate could be the keepers of the old ways, being able to tap into special powers at those sites (not sure which 3.5 hardback it was, but one had suggestions/rules for designing "power sites" with special abilities) but suffering persecution at the hands of the followers of the "new" gods. Check out the Monsternomicon's 1 and 2 from Privateer Press. Although the Iron Kingdoms is entering the gunpowder era, both monster compendiums feature fey and druidic guardians/constructs that hint at a much older world.

Speaking of fey, why have the people of your fictional land not advanced from savagery? Are they the degenerate remnants of some elder civilization that tampered with things man was not meant to know or is there something in the land that causes civilizing efforts to come to grief?

I'd also put some thought into designing the "new" gods. Why are the numbers of their followers expanding and their territory growing? Are they part of some kind of Roman style culture that brings its divinities with it as it expands, are the followers engaged in some type of crusade/holy war, or are the missionaries and followers part of a mercantile empire that brings its religion with it as it establishes trading posts. For better versimilitude, the followers of the new gods need some type of reason for being in the land in the first place.

The works of Robert E. Howard, Clark Ashton Smith, H.P. Lovecraft, Lord Dunsany, Edgar Rice Burroughs, and others in and around the pulp era are useful for mining for background, tone, and inspiration.

If you can find it, check out Wilderlands of High Fantasy from Necromancer Games. The setting has a relatively low population density while having oodles and oodles of encounter areas that hint at older, previous civilizations. Also, while large sections of it are to civilized for what you want to create, take a look at Tekumel.com and its background info on Empire of the Petal Throne. EPT is highly unusual for its lack of western influences on the cultures that make up its world--if you're looking for an interesting mix of savagery and high sorcery, EPT has it.

Home some of the above helps Lord Obsidian, good luck with your world.
Lord Obsidian
01-03-08, 10:17 PM Hm...there seems to be a misunderstanding. this is not going to be a world unto itself. this is simply one new country that I'm adding to my already existing homebrew world. I also have no current plans to run a storyline through this country.

I'm just trying to create the country so its there when I feel the need for it. When I call it a savage land I don't mean everyone is a barbarian. The cities are just as advanced and civilized as any other kingdom, but here are vast stretches of unexplored, untamed land between them. Thats how I envision this country.
Lord Obsidian
01-04-08, 04:49 PM Okay, this is a map of the new country. It only shows the landscape, no cities or anything have been created yet. Please no comments on how terrible my map making skils are.

http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj202/Ace_Eagle/Newcountry.jpg
Darth Syntax
01-04-08, 06:21 PM It sounds to me like what you really are describing is more of a region than a distinct polity. You have lots of little independent states separated by tracts of wilderness with no higher order organization. Now it is true that these small states may share a similar cultural background (although the unexplored wilderness would seem to contradict this) but they are by no means united.

As such, it might help to divide the region into its constituent states and develop them on a case by case basis.

As regards your map, a scale would be a very helpful addition as would a key explaining the various symbols. I know many of them are iconic and thus are rather self-evident, but a key is still helpful, especially as a map grows in detail. Also, if the mountains are any indication of scale you might want to have more rivers and streams present.
Mynwarra
01-05-08, 08:54 AM I’ve found that adding additional areas to my own world come into view as my players expand into those areas. I try hard to make sure that the areas they encounter flow evenly for the groups. Doing so will not create conflicting story lines that then again conflict with the areas they are in.

How ever, I do keep a note book filled with ideas from animal, villages, NPCs, cities, towns, villages, religious orders, schools of all kinds. I also keep a listing of government types I’d like to introduce eventually. These are mostly derived from modern to historical that are real twisted and molded into things of my choosing.

Look at the word today and you could easily adapt internal conflicts existing today into any campaign. I also add creatures from domesticated livestock (real and imagined) to creatures that can challenge an individual or party. I’ve a large home library but one could also use the internet to introduce new geographic locations as the party moves into new ranges. A good example are the ruins of Machu Pitchu or the mountain temples of China. Again, twisting these real locations to fit your home made environment can be done easily. Keep in mind that just because a real location is in one type of temperate zone does not mean you cant mold it to fit another. I have a series of pyramid structures located in an arctic region of my world

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Lord Obsidian 01-03-08, 03:59 PM	Alright, so I'm planning to create a country influenced by Conan the Barbarian, Darksun, and a little bit of Ravenloft. The idea for the setting is a savage, gothic country that is largly unsettled land with a few large, independant cities scattered about, ruled by warlords who are constantly at war with one another, as well as with the barbarian tribes that roam the wild lands. I also had an idea for the country to have its own small pantheon of gods. The way I see it, the people of this country worshipped their own gods until priests from other lands came and forced their religion on the country. the old gods were mostly forgotten (except maybe by the barbarians) and the new gods were embraced. I'm not sure what impact this might have on a game, but right now I'm more concerned with getting the setting created. So I'm looking for ideas, advice, thoughts, comments, and anything else you can come up with. Basically this is a discussion thread for this setting. I'd love to get help creating it if anyone is interested in contributing NPCs, cities, barbarian tribes, or anything else. I have nothing planned or created for this setting other than what you have just read through, so any help at all is welcome. Also so far this ne country has no name, so any suggestions for that would be great. :cool:
Etarnon 01-03-08, 04:24 PM	Seems like a good plan so far. Now get some paper, and a pen and map it.
bravo052492 01-03-08, 08:04 PM	What's the story behind the campaign? The driving theme and style? Is it a dark, hopeless tale, like most of LotR, or a hopeful tale that's more childish, like Stardust? Are there any major changes to D&D mechanics?
thebax2k 01-03-08, 09:07 PM	Here are some tidbits you might put to use Lord Obsidian: Look up everything you can find on the Celts. If this is a savage land and the old gods have been replaced by new ones, there are likely to be megaliths, ruined temples, ceremonial sites, etc. The druids or some other class you designate could be the keepers of the old ways, being able to tap into special powers at those sites (not sure which 3.5 hardback it was, but one had suggestions/rules for designing "power sites" with special abilities) but suffering persecution at the hands of the followers of the "new" gods. Check out the Monsternomicon's 1 and 2 from Privateer Press. Although the Iron Kingdoms is entering the gunpowder era, both monster compendiums feature fey and druidic guardians/constructs that hint at a much older world. Speaking of fey, why have the people of your fictional land not advanced from savagery? Are they the degenerate remnants of some elder civilization that tampered with things man was not meant to know or is there something in the land that causes civilizing efforts to come to grief? I'd also put some thought into designing the "new" gods. Why are the numbers of their followers expanding and their territory growing? Are they part of some kind of Roman style culture that brings its divinities with it as it expands, are the followers engaged in some type of crusade/holy war, or are the missionaries and followers part of a mercantile empire that brings its religion with it as it establishes trading posts. For better versimilitude, the followers of the new gods need some type of reason for being in the land in the first place. The works of Robert E. Howard, Clark Ashton Smith, H.P. Lovecraft, Lord Dunsany, Edgar Rice Burroughs, and others in and around the pulp era are useful for mining for background, tone, and inspiration. If you can find it, check out Wilderlands of High Fantasy from Necromancer Games. The setting has a relatively low population density while having oodles and oodles of encounter areas that hint at older, previous civilizations. Also, while large sections of it are to civilized for what you want to create, take a look at Tekumel.com and its background info on Empire of the Petal Throne. EPT is highly unusual for its lack of western influences on the cultures that make up its world--if you're looking for an interesting mix of savagery and high sorcery, EPT has it. Home some of the above helps Lord Obsidian, good luck with your world.
Lord Obsidian 01-03-08, 10:17 PM	Hm...there seems to be a misunderstanding. this is not going to be a world unto itself. this is simply one new country that I'm adding to my already existing homebrew world. I also have no current plans to run a storyline through this country. I'm just trying to create the country so its there when I feel the need for it. When I call it a savage land I don't mean everyone is a barbarian. The cities are just as advanced and civilized as any other kingdom, but here are vast stretches of unexplored, untamed land between them. Thats how I envision this country.
Lord Obsidian 01-04-08, 04:49 PM	Okay, this is a map of the new country. It only shows the landscape, no cities or anything have been created yet. Please no comments on how terrible my map making skils are. http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj202/Ace_Eagle/Newcountry.jpg
Darth Syntax 01-04-08, 06:21 PM	It sounds to me like what you really are describing is more of a region than a distinct polity. You have lots of little independent states separated by tracts of wilderness with no higher order organization. Now it is true that these small states may share a similar cultural background (although the unexplored wilderness would seem to contradict this) but they are by no means united. As such, it might help to divide the region into its constituent states and develop them on a case by case basis. As regards your map, a scale would be a very helpful addition as would a key explaining the various symbols. I know many of them are iconic and thus are rather self-evident, but a key is still helpful, especially as a map grows in detail. Also, if the mountains are any indication of scale you might want to have more rivers and streams present.
Mynwarra 01-05-08, 08:54 AM	I’ve found that adding additional areas to my own world come into view as my players expand into those areas. I try hard to make sure that the areas they encounter flow evenly for the groups. Doing so will not create conflicting story lines that then again conflict with the areas they are in. How ever, I do keep a note book filled with ideas from animal, villages, NPCs, cities, towns, villages, religious orders, schools of all kinds. I also keep a listing of government types I’d like to introduce eventually. These are mostly derived from modern to historical that are real twisted and molded into things of my choosing. Look at the word today and you could easily adapt internal conflicts existing today into any campaign. I also add creatures from domesticated livestock (real and imagined) to creatures that can challenge an individual or party. I’ve a large home library but one could also use the internet to introduce new geographic locations as the party moves into new ranges. A good example are the ruins of Machu Pitchu or the mountain temples of China. Again, twisting these real locations to fit your home made environment can be done easily. Keep in mind that just because a real location is in one type of temperate zone does not mean you cant mold it to fit another. I have a series of pyramid structures located in an arctic region of my world