Post/Author/DateTime	Post
ewancummins 05-30-07, 01:35 AM	I'm in the early stages of creating a new campaign world. The setting will be eclectic, making use of adapted material from various D&D products I own. It will not be a kitchen sink style world, however. Some things many players expect will be altered or tossed out entirely[ no drow!]. I've decided to start this campaign design journal. This project is open to comments and suggestions, naturally. That's why I'm posting it. I'm still searching for my overall framework, but here are my initial ideas: cosmology I love the Great Wheel, but I'm not going to use it. I won't be using the standard alignment system, so the Outer Planes will need to be different. Still working on the cosmology. gods Gods and mythology will play a major part in this world.I'm thinking of including small gods[ DR 0 deities , usually dwelling on the Prime Plane and being unable to grant spells to clerics]. More powerful deities usually remain somewhat detached, acting mainly through intermediaries. magic Powerful spellcasters are not too common. Adepts, gleaners, etc. are more common than PC class casters. No magic item shops, as a general rule. Relatively few schools teaching magic exist. Clerics are elite champions, not normal village priests. Permanent items are uncommon. Note that adventurers tend to have better access to magic than the general public, as do the very wealthy. Items will probably be more expensive than listed prices, but not cripplingly so[ 10-25% more expensive, perhaps]. material from ToM I like the binders and pact magic. May work these guys in somehow cold iron Cold iron has natural affinity for antimagic effects. Exploiting this power has allowed iron using races to somewhat counter the advantage held by magical races and spellcasters. psionics,incarnum,ToB Not using any of these. Not because I hate them, but just because I don't feel like including them in this particular world. taint Taint replaces the traditional alignment system. Paladins, druids, etc. must adhere to specific codes of conduct, rather than a particular alignment. races and subraces Each race has multiple cultures within it. I am choosing to limit or even eliminate most subraces. An elf that lives in the woods has the same stats as a desert nomad elf. Perhaps a few minor changes, like favored weapons being different, but otherwise they are both PHB elves. I am unsure which races will make the final cut. Humans are absolutely included. Drow are definitely out. No orcs or half orcs, either. I'm debating leaving out halflings. monsters I do not plan on using everything in the books. Certainly not all the core dragons, much less all the variants. Many monsters may have a geographic range, outside of which they are rarely seen. That being said, there will still be lots of monsters. technology Pre-industrial. The world might look medieval at first glance, but urban planning, sewers, aqueducts, etc are at a higher level in many places. Agriculture in the advanced nations is probably verging on the level of the early 19th century. The extra food production supports larger cities[the sort of big cities you see more often in fantasy than in RL medieval history] Gunpowder will not explode, but it makes a lot of smoke [different physical laws at work]. The printing press exists and is fairly widespread[ helping explain the relatively high literacy rates implied in the RAW]. Of course, there are technologically regressed nations.
Johnny_Angel 05-30-07, 02:16 AM	You said you were looking for some suggestions... I've started to create an alternate calendar for a campaign I'm working on; you might find it interesting; alternatively, you might find it to be total garbage. Either way, this is how it works: Each week consists of 10 Days Each month consists of 4 Weeks Each year consists of 10 Months 10 Days = 1 Week 40 Days = 1 Month 400 Days = 1 Year
Araes 05-30-07, 04:12 AM	Paladins, druids, etc. must adhere to specific codes of conduct, rather than a particular alignment. JulesCARV started an interesting thread (http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=692478) on the topic of alternate Paladin codes of conduct, which might be interesting to investigate if you're looking for an adaptable system that doesn't depend on alignment. I also summarized and condensed this (http://boards1.wizards.com/showpost.php?p=12263887&postcount=71)in a post on the Creating a Campaign World thread. Seems like it might be a good fit for your campaign, and has been relatively buried on the boards after 20 days of unuse.
ewancummins 05-30-07, 09:02 AM	Thanks for the input, guys. I'll add a substantial post to this when I get home from work tonight.
ewancummins 05-30-07, 11:24 PM	dungeons! Gotta have dungeons. Now, that doesn't mean I'll just be running dungeoncrawls[ for which I'd hardly need to design a campaign setting]. It does mean I will include plenty of lost cities, buried ruins, haunted manses, etc. Perhaps I'll take a page from Zork and include a past empire who built mainly underground. dragons! I want to include dragons as an integral part of the CS and its history. I won't be using all the many species, but will choose a certain number and leave it at that. More on this later...
ewancummins 05-30-07, 11:32 PM	common tongue This always bothered me. It doesn't make sense to me that the people of the world all speak the same language. Common is also a pretty boring name. What I'll do instead is assign two or three languages as regional, or supraregional, common tongues. Possibilities include: 1 A large empire united most of the human held lands at one time. One legacy of the now fallen empire is an imperial language. It's begun to really seperate into distinct dialects . Scholars and other educated folk may use the old version. 2 A lingua franca that developed in a border region whose locals work in close contact with merchants and sailors from someplace else. 3 Patois , pidgin,creole, or lingua franca
Johnny_Angel 05-31-07, 12:22 AM	This might sound odd, but a group of primitive (or perhaps not so primitive) humans could speak in something similar to Morse Code. Instead of long beeps and short beeps there could be clicks of the tongue and whistles.
meaux1 05-31-07, 04:20 AM	common tongue This always bothered me. It doesn't make sense to me that the people of the world all speak the same language. Common is also a pretty boring name. I've always had issues with "Common" as well. It kind of eliminates the need for languages in the first place. When I designed my last world, I came up with a list of languages for different regions. I also made some languages cost more than others. These costs would vary by region. Like a French person would have to spend 1 slot to learn Spanish where a German person would likely have to spend two. It seemed to work well in the game since all of the players automatically received the "base" language for their region. When they went to another region, they couldn't all communicate with everybody because they didn't all speak the other language. It also helps to eliminate another issue I've always had issues with. I don't know... Take it or leave it, after all, it is more bookkeeping for you and the players. Oh, and if you use this double check that none of the players wrote common on their sheet out of habit. I had that problem.
ewancummins 05-31-07, 08:25 PM	I like the Morse Code idea. I seem to recall reading that the natives of the Azores[ or perhaps the Canaries] used a whistling language that carried well over distances. The idea about languages being harder or easier to learn , dependiong on what you speak already, makes sense. I'm not really going that far with the skill system, though. I own[if I can find it!] the old Time of the Dragon boxed set. That was a good campaign setting. Very cool. It had a chart showing all the languages, with lines connecting them. The languages were layed out in family order, related languages placed near each other. Each language was listed in a box. Dots were on most of the connecting lines. To determine how well you comprhended a langauge you didn't actually know, you totalled all the dots and boxes in between you and the other language. Count each dot or box as a -10% chance to comprehend or speak the foreign tongue. A closely related language might have 80% interchangability, a distant or alien one might have 10% or else be totally unintelligible. Maybe I'll adopt something like this. It sounds complicated, but it really was quite simple in play.
ewancummins 05-31-07, 10:04 PM	cultures, nations, races I think I'll do a little brainstorming, and also recycle a few ideas from my previous campaigns as well as other sources. I'll list some ideas for various races,nations,countries. Nothing too detailed as yet, just some quick outlines. Forgive the sentence fragments. -A nation of cattle herding nomads, big nordic types who travel across prairie country in really big oxcarts[ maybe call them draywains?] . These guys have a heroic warrior culture. Even the women fight. Inspirations include Goths, Sarmatians, and maybe a bit of the Rohirrhim from LotR. They will have pretty advanced wagon technology, possibly including some kind of improved suspensions for their huge carts. Maybe the cattle should actually be aurochs? -A community of halflings[ or another race, if I decide against halflings] that has allied itself with a colony of giant beavers. These would be the sentient beavers from the AD&d 1E Monster Manual. The community is located near the base of a heavily forested mountain range, along a big river. Lumber is sent downriver, and other goods come back up. Giant beavers are very helpful in lumbering, construction, and dragging canoes during the return trip. For now, I'll refer to the place as Lumbertown[not the name I'll use in play, just a placeholder till I come up with the real name]. -An island chain with pirates. Sea witches are a local breed of adept that specialize in manipulating the winds and waves. The archipelago needs to be on a major sea lane, so the pirates have shipping upon which to prey. Maybe I'll make the pirates elves. Or multiple races might inhabit the chain. I realize a bunch of pirates hanging out on an island isn't exactly original, and I don't much care. Pirates freakin' rock! -A frontier country, between high mountains and a big forest. The people have allied with dwarves. The dwarves have given the once primitive nation a big economic boost by introducing superior smithing and mining technologies to exploit the mineral resources[ huge deposits of coal and iron ore] of the piedmont provinces of the kingdom. Nobles often have masterwork arms and armor. Even a peasant militiaman may own a good iron spear and a shirt of mail. The locals have learned to handle dire bears captured while still cubs. They aren't really tame, and remain quite dangerous to anyone but their usual handlers. The beasts are armored in high quailty coats of plate and mail, and used in battle. Normally, a bow armed warrior sits astride a special saddle and directs[ or attempts to direct] the bear. These elite troops are used in conjunction with a more ordinary feudal levy, and rangers , to produce a very dangerous army. The overall tech level is more or less medieval, but the dwarves are more advanced in certain areas. This dwarfcraft is beginning to change the realm. Log roads are being replaced with stone roads. Palisades are being reinforced with masonry. Rail carts [drawn by mules, not steam engines] are commonplace in the mines. Three dominant religions exist, a cult dedicated to an female hero-saint who was the first to ride a dire bear, a druidic faith, and the ancestral precepts of the dwarves. -Nation of hillmen. Bronze is the most common metal, as copper and tin are both found in the region. Iron is imported at some cost, so blacksmithing is uncommon, but prestigious. Iron arms are treasured possessions. Religion is a combination of ancestor worship and the worship of a sun deity and a moon deity. Priesthood is largely a hereditary affair. Elaborate wooden god-cabinets are used to store idols. The hillmen are pastorialists and small farmers, mostly. Wolves are hunted, and their skins are worn by sucessful hunters. The hillfolk are poor, so many young warriors hire out as mercenaries every year.
ewancummins 05-31-07, 11:21 PM	If anyone has some ideas they feel like lending, I'm open to suggestions for other cultures and nations. This is a brainstroming stage. More detailed and ordered work will be posted soon.
Johnny_Angel 06-01-07, 05:42 PM	One idea I had for a campaign I was working on once was a Nazi-like Elven empire. -an overall LE alignment for the nation as a whole The basic idea was that they believed they were a "superior race," and -as a result of that belief- they believed that they should basically hold dominion over all other races. To go into a little more detail - They were more like a cross between ancient Egyptian culture and Nazi facism. They also had a very religious culture which was based around snakes. I'm trying to write all this down from memory, so I apologize if it seems as though I'm jumping around. I had them placed in a cold (think northern Canada) area of the world. The way in which they were similar to ancient Egypt was that they built pyramids; however, their pyramids were used as both religious structures and as palaces/castles. They also relied on a lot of Egyptian-inspired combat tactics such as war chariots, but -since they were in a cold/snowy area- I had them use war sleds instead. Their King was a demi-god of sorts. I fit Drow into the equation in a new way. To become a priest of their religion you had to go through a trial which consisted of surviving a labrynth filled with danger which was located underground; underneath the main pyramid. If their God deemed you worthy you were transformed into a Drow to "better serve him." If you were deemed not worthy you were transformed into one of the beasts which reside in the labrynth. I should also mention that Orcs became Chaotic Good in this campaign; I used a twist on Tolkien's explanation for Orcs. Orcs were once elves; the king of the Orcs (Gruumsh) was the brother of the elven king/demi-god. Gruumsh spoke openly about his dislike of how his brother (the elven king) treated the human slaves of the kingdom; Gruumsh also organized a sort of underground railroad to help some of the human slaves escape. The elven king/demi-god punished Gruumsh by torturing him and using powerful evil magics to scar and disfigure Gruumsh - a fate that the elven king deemed worse than death. As a result, Gruumsh became an Orc - a twisted mockery of his former form, and all elves connected to Gruumsh's bloodline were also transformed. I also had a lot of detailed sports and rituals that the elves engaged in... I wish I could find the notebook that I have it written in... I remember that they played a sport which was a much more violent form of hockey; hitting hard was encouraged. They also took this game very seriously. Sometimes even royalty would participate; contrary to the encouragement to be violent and hit hard, it was sort of an unwritten rule or taboo to strike someone of royalty during the game. One of the other big events was sled racing that was similar to the chariot race from the movie Ben Hur; just replace the wheeled chariots with sleds. There was also a yearly event which was a long distance sled race similar to the Iditorod (spelling) in Alaska. Edit: I still did allow Elves as a PC race. What I did for that campaign was use 2 different types of elves. I used the PHB elves for the evil elves, but I could just as easily see Grey Elves being used. The elves I used for PC characters were Wood Elves.
ewancummins 06-02-07, 12:10 AM	Johhnyangel, I like evil sled driver elves! Cool. It's not as original as your idea, but I had an elf civilization that were not-so-nice, in an old campaign of mine. I may recycle them for this setting. Ouphame Ouphame is an elven kingdom situated in a demiplane that is coterminous with the Prime Material world. Basically, it's a difficult to find place , off the edges of the map, that has its own strange rules. Time flows more slowly there, and not always at a steady rate relative to the outside world. Frost and snow never touch Ouphame, where the summer lasts year round. The elves are the dominant race. There are two distinct cultures. The Noble caste live in palaces scattered across the sylvan woods and meadows. The Forester class live, naturally, in the woods and fields. Nobles live lives of luxury, their needs seen to by servants taken from the ''less favored races''[ humans, dwarves, etc]. These servants are often subjected to multiple charm person spells. Nobles have plenty of time to study arcane magic, and many are accomplished mages. The foresters live a more rustic existence. They are hunters, first and foremost. They hunt the dangerous monsters that inhabit the deep woods, taking care not to wipe out any species of monster. That's because the nobles like to hunt monsters on occasion. Some of the monsters also provide a defense for the realm by discouraging tresspassers. The foresters also craft weapons, patrol the borders, and track down runaway servants. Some serve as assasins and spies for the various noble factions. Most of the food grown in Ouphame is produced by farms worked by servants of the elves. The year round summer allows for a continous growing season. Multiple harvests are the norm. The clothing worn by the elves includes high collared jackets, linen shirts, frock coats, breeches, riding boots etc. It's perhaps a bit reminescent of English fashions from early 19th century. Elf women sometimes adorn their hair with flowers, but do not cover their hair with bonnets or other covers. Elf men likewise rarely wear hats. Detachable hoods or short cloaks provide head cover when needed. The nobles are more likely to wear jewels or other adornments than are the foresters, but both subcultures favor simple and elegant clothing. Politically, Ouphame is united under the nominal rule of the Court. The Court is headed by the King and Queen. Representatives from all the clans and gens of the elvish noble class sit in Court and advise the monarchs. The various familes have a great deal of independance and soveriegnty in their own lands, and the monarchs must often get support from the famialy representatives before undertaking any major project. Families in a serious dispute rely on political manuevering or else fall back on arranging duels, rather than go to open war with one another[ for one thing, elves replace their numbers but slowly, and most of Ouphame realizes a open war would be a disaster]. Currently there are two primary factions at Court: the dominant Traditionalists and the minority Reformers. The former party favors keeping the status quo in all things, especially the servile condition of non elves in Ouphame. The Reformers desire an end to the involuntary servitude of non elves in Ouphame. Ouphame's army consists of a mix of foresters and elite noble troops. The foresters are basically light infantry. The elite noble companies are mostly armored arcane spellcasters. Forester soldiers wear cloaks with distinctive insignia on the brooches. Nobles wear uniforms , usually with light armor[ including elven chain]. Often the armor has been glammered to look like clothing or a uniform. Religion in Ouphame is mostly absent, at least to the casual observer. The elves do not normally worship any gods. They acknowldege the existence of powerful spirits called gods, but do not actively worship them. Divine magic is correspondingly rare. The rarity of healing magic has spurred advances in medicine. The elves of Ouphame are well ahead of most of the world in medical matters. The rulers of Ouphame long ago made pacts with various sylvan and fey creatures, as well as darker pacts with infernal forces. The may sometimes call on aid from such. Gateways to both the realms of Deep Faerie[ a twilight country inhabited by fey] and the Hells may be found within Ouphame's borders. Various humanoids and demihumans live within Ouphame's borders, and almost all are allies or [more likely] servitors of the elves. Two hostile races do exist, however: giant black squirrels and ghouls. The ghouls live mostly underground or in the cold mountains found along the border. Some have theorized that the ghouls are the descendants of runaway servants, while others say they are the true natives of the land. The black squirrels are vicious creatures with a magical origin. The squirrels hate the elves, but lack the power to overthrow them. They live in the deepest, darkest parts of the wildwood. Both races are dangerous to travellers. notes, inspirations I drew on various sources when designing Ouphame. Old faery tales obviously provided a lot of the inspiration I took the ghouls and giant black squirrels from not just the D&D books, but also an old Choose Your Own Adventure book[ cannot recall the title]. I had alot more drawn up, but I have lost all those old notes. -I ran a campaign with Ouphame long before I read the Queen of Spiders module. Gygax's Caer Sidi and it's inhabitants seems to be drawn from similiar sources to my Ouphame. Nonetheless, I thought I'd mention it, as it's very cool indeed. If you haven't yet looked at the G-D-Q series, I recommend you check them out. [more to come on Ouphame]
taradusis 06-02-07, 04:04 PM	Was watching the movie BRAVEHEART and thought that the scots must of seemed like an orcish horde to the english.Imagine the orcs lifting their kilts and insulting the PCs.This nation of Highlander orcs could be chaotic rather than evil.RANDOM THOUGHTS
ewancummins 06-04-07, 03:02 PM	I have added more of my old notes to the description of Ouphame. I should add that Ouphame started as part of a Rules Cyclopedia D&D campaign. Under those rules, elves [ and other demihumans] were both a race and a class, all at once. Somewhat like the elf paragon class from UA, I suppose. They could cast spells in armor. Their magic was basically wizard magic, and there were no cleric elves.