Homebrew idea: world that's been literally blown up, advice please. [Archive] - Wizards Community

Homebrew idea: world that's been literally blown up, advice please. [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Taolil
12-04-07, 03:41 AM Hi all,

I'm presently working on building a world for myself that is going to be somewhat separate from the traditional D&D cosmology. Specifically, I'm wanting to tinker around with a world that has suffered from some sort of global catastrophe that has rendered the whole planet apart, giving a feel like that of the Astral Plane & githyanki fortresses they use or, for those of you who are familiar with World of Warcraft, something along the lines of the Burning Crusade expansion.

Basically, I want to incorporate a kind of island-hopping feel, but on a larger scale. Now, for that end, I am looking for similar resources that might deal with this concept, as I'm currently plum out of ideas. I'm not trying to borrow, but I'm trying to see what other people have done with this, and if I'm stumbling onto something new here.

As to WHY I want to be doing it? Well, my players have become quite attached to the game world I've created for them, but have also exhausted quite a bit of the world. I want to upend their world and get them back to that sense of exploration they had when they first started out, while removing some things in terms of player power, while introducing new possibilities and enemies for them.

Some of the things I'm wanting to play around with are former cities that are now submerged, finding out what caused this, dungeon crawls inside of a citadel that's been tossed on it's side, so all the rooms are suitably modified. I'm not looking to cripple the players, mind, just have some fun and instill that fear of the DM back into them. ;p

Oh, as for getting around, planes hopping and teleportation spells (and any other type of magic that works like that) is non-existent in my campaign world. Characters will primarily be navigating around in skyships, as there is a very thin atmosphere that exists between the 'islands' I've created. :D

Anyway, thoughts would be appreciated!
Calium
12-04-07, 04:22 AM Well you could always take a page from one of my favorite authors. Robert Jordan's "The Wheel of Time" actually presents a small broken magical world used only for travel called "The Ways". Not suggesting you put exactly that in but to make bridges between the different plat forms. Or to have another option for travel threw a dangerous plane that is composed of small islands and bridges that are crumbling and decayed with a few dangerous enemies threw out it.
Keeping out of the Robert Jordan scheme and more to the air ships. You could do the Tailspin thing and have air pirates. To give a more in depth account of things I would need more story line if I gave anymore I would be writing your campaign for you and I hate when people try to do that for me. Primarily what forces pulled your world asunder? Is their primary motivation exploration, or a higher cause?
Space_Dragon
12-04-07, 08:15 AM Funny coincidence. The next Lords of Creation project is going to be geared toward making a sundered world. Want to play?
Anuvrix
12-04-07, 09:22 AM Easy solution, blow up the world they are on. separate the map into islands and throw in some more ruins.
Artifact
12-04-07, 10:03 AM Here's a homebrew setting, a Shattered World (http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=869812) named Oramis. Its by a buddy of mine, known around these parts as WizardofOwls :). It might be a source of inspiration. I really like it, and have even ran my own campaign with it (our games reminded us a bit of the classic Spelljammer setting). The way he presents info on the setting kinda puts me in mind of Dune (the novel(s), not so much the movie(s) ;)).
Taolil
12-05-07, 02:42 AM Well you could always take a page from one of my favorite authors. Robert Jordan's "The Wheel of Time" actually presents a small broken magical world used only for travel called "The Ways". Not suggesting you put exactly that in but to make bridges between the different plat forms. Or to have another option for travel threw a dangerous plane that is composed of small islands and bridges that are crumbling and decayed with a few dangerous enemies threw out it.

Interesting, I'll have to do some reading up on this. Is there any explanation as to how this place came about?

Keeping out of the Robert Jordan scheme and more to the air ships. You could do the Tailspin thing and have air pirates. To give a more in depth account of things I would need more story line if I gave anymore I would be writing your campaign for you and I hate when people try to do that for me. Primarily what forces pulled your world asunder? Is their primary motivation exploration, or a higher cause?

I'm still figuring out what prompted the world to be torn apart, but right now I have a preliminary idea of a rather expensive attempt at crafting an item with divine properties going horribly, horribly awry. One of the reasons for this exploration is to try and find out what exactly happened and whether or not the process could be reversed. This is still in the planning stages, though.

My campaign is rather steampunk in nature, and I'm trying to capture an authentic steampunk 'feel', as a lot of the literature written at the time tended to be about concepts like exploration and discovery, so I want to get that 'being on the frontier' kind of a feel while trying to get my players to think a little outside the box and throwing some curveballs at them.
Taolil
12-05-07, 02:43 AM Funny coincidence. The next Lords of Creation project is going to be geared toward making a sundered world. Want to play?

I'm not familiar with that, what is it, if you don't mind me asking? I tried Google, but I got a bunch of Mayan stuff, which I don't think is what you were referring to.

...

Unless you're a museum curator and like to do re-enactments of Night At The Museum. :P
Taolil
12-05-07, 02:44 AM Here's a homebrew setting, a Shattered World (http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=869812) named Oramis. Its by a buddy of mine, known around these parts as WizardofOwls :). It might be a source of inspiration. I really like it, and have even ran my own campaign with it (our games reminded us a bit of the classic Spelljammer setting). The way he presents info on the setting kinda puts me in mind of Dune (the novel(s), not so much the movie(s) ;)).

I really like the flavor for this! The terminology and the way some things were set out was very nicely done. I only skimmed it, but I will make it a point to come back later. Thanks!
Anuvrix
12-05-07, 11:55 AM Lords of Creation is an active full contact :duel: thread which uses Role Play to create a world. The posters act as gods, and develop the world as such.

For full information see the Lords of Creation Thread (http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=808032).

:D
Calium
12-05-07, 11:51 PM Interesting, I'll have to do some reading up on this. Is there any explanation as to how this place came about?

I'm still figuring out what prompted the world to be torn apart, but right now I have a preliminary idea of a rather expensive attempt at crafting an item with divine properties going horribly, horribly awry. One of the reasons for this exploration is to try and find out what exactly happened and whether or not the process could be reversed. This is still in the planning stages, though.

My campaign is rather steampunk in nature, and I'm trying to capture an authentic steampunk 'feel', as a lot of the literature written at the time tended to be about concepts like exploration and discovery, so I want to get that 'being on the frontier' kind of a feel while trying to get my players to think a little outside the box and throwing some curveballs at them.

Well "The ways were magically grown. They were used by the Ogier for travel to the Steddings as a gift from the last male Aise-Sedai (not sure if I spelled that right) as compensation for damn near breaking the world apart in the psychotic state they had all been thrown into.
Keldar
12-07-07, 07:24 AM Sounds alot like the Astromundi Cluster (http://www.spelljammer.org/worlds/Clusterspace/) from 2nd Ed Spelljammer to me. You can download it from Drivethrough (http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product_info.php?products_id=17243&it=1&filters=500_0_1300) for 5 bucks if your really interested in it.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Taolil 12-04-07, 03:41 AM	Hi all, I'm presently working on building a world for myself that is going to be somewhat separate from the traditional D&D cosmology. Specifically, I'm wanting to tinker around with a world that has suffered from some sort of global catastrophe that has rendered the whole planet apart, giving a feel like that of the Astral Plane & githyanki fortresses they use or, for those of you who are familiar with World of Warcraft, something along the lines of the Burning Crusade expansion. Basically, I want to incorporate a kind of island-hopping feel, but on a larger scale. Now, for that end, I am looking for similar resources that might deal with this concept, as I'm currently plum out of ideas. I'm not trying to borrow, but I'm trying to see what other people have done with this, and if I'm stumbling onto something new here. As to WHY I want to be doing it? Well, my players have become quite attached to the game world I've created for them, but have also exhausted quite a bit of the world. I want to upend their world and get them back to that sense of exploration they had when they first started out, while removing some things in terms of player power, while introducing new possibilities and enemies for them. Some of the things I'm wanting to play around with are former cities that are now submerged, finding out what caused this, dungeon crawls inside of a citadel that's been tossed on it's side, so all the rooms are suitably modified. I'm not looking to cripple the players, mind, just have some fun and instill that fear of the DM back into them. ;p Oh, as for getting around, planes hopping and teleportation spells (and any other type of magic that works like that) is non-existent in my campaign world. Characters will primarily be navigating around in skyships, as there is a very thin atmosphere that exists between the 'islands' I've created. :D Anyway, thoughts would be appreciated!
Calium 12-04-07, 04:22 AM	Well you could always take a page from one of my favorite authors. Robert Jordan's "The Wheel of Time" actually presents a small broken magical world used only for travel called "The Ways". Not suggesting you put exactly that in but to make bridges between the different plat forms. Or to have another option for travel threw a dangerous plane that is composed of small islands and bridges that are crumbling and decayed with a few dangerous enemies threw out it. Keeping out of the Robert Jordan scheme and more to the air ships. You could do the Tailspin thing and have air pirates. To give a more in depth account of things I would need more story line if I gave anymore I would be writing your campaign for you and I hate when people try to do that for me. Primarily what forces pulled your world asunder? Is their primary motivation exploration, or a higher cause?
Space_Dragon 12-04-07, 08:15 AM	Funny coincidence. The next Lords of Creation project is going to be geared toward making a sundered world. Want to play?
Anuvrix 12-04-07, 09:22 AM	Easy solution, blow up the world they are on. separate the map into islands and throw in some more ruins.
Artifact 12-04-07, 10:03 AM	Here's a homebrew setting, a Shattered World (http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=869812) named Oramis. Its by a buddy of mine, known around these parts as WizardofOwls :). It might be a source of inspiration. I really like it, and have even ran my own campaign with it (our games reminded us a bit of the classic Spelljammer setting). The way he presents info on the setting kinda puts me in mind of Dune (the novel(s), not so much the movie(s) ;)).
Taolil 12-05-07, 02:42 AM	Well you could always take a page from one of my favorite authors. Robert Jordan's "The Wheel of Time" actually presents a small broken magical world used only for travel called "The Ways". Not suggesting you put exactly that in but to make bridges between the different plat forms. Or to have another option for travel threw a dangerous plane that is composed of small islands and bridges that are crumbling and decayed with a few dangerous enemies threw out it. Interesting, I'll have to do some reading up on this. Is there any explanation as to how this place came about? Keeping out of the Robert Jordan scheme and more to the air ships. You could do the Tailspin thing and have air pirates. To give a more in depth account of things I would need more story line if I gave anymore I would be writing your campaign for you and I hate when people try to do that for me. Primarily what forces pulled your world asunder? Is their primary motivation exploration, or a higher cause? I'm still figuring out what prompted the world to be torn apart, but right now I have a preliminary idea of a rather expensive attempt at crafting an item with divine properties going horribly, horribly awry. One of the reasons for this exploration is to try and find out what exactly happened and whether or not the process could be reversed. This is still in the planning stages, though. My campaign is rather steampunk in nature, and I'm trying to capture an authentic steampunk 'feel', as a lot of the literature written at the time tended to be about concepts like exploration and discovery, so I want to get that 'being on the frontier' kind of a feel while trying to get my players to think a little outside the box and throwing some curveballs at them.
Taolil 12-05-07, 02:43 AM	Funny coincidence. The next Lords of Creation project is going to be geared toward making a sundered world. Want to play? I'm not familiar with that, what is it, if you don't mind me asking? I tried Google, but I got a bunch of Mayan stuff, which I don't think is what you were referring to. ... Unless you're a museum curator and like to do re-enactments of Night At The Museum. :P
Taolil 12-05-07, 02:44 AM	Here's a homebrew setting, a Shattered World (http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=869812) named Oramis. Its by a buddy of mine, known around these parts as WizardofOwls :). It might be a source of inspiration. I really like it, and have even ran my own campaign with it (our games reminded us a bit of the classic Spelljammer setting). The way he presents info on the setting kinda puts me in mind of Dune (the novel(s), not so much the movie(s) ;)). I really like the flavor for this! The terminology and the way some things were set out was very nicely done. I only skimmed it, but I will make it a point to come back later. Thanks!
Anuvrix 12-05-07, 11:55 AM	Lords of Creation is an active full contact :duel: thread which uses Role Play to create a world. The posters act as gods, and develop the world as such. For full information see the Lords of Creation Thread (http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=808032). :D
Calium 12-05-07, 11:51 PM	Interesting, I'll have to do some reading up on this. Is there any explanation as to how this place came about? I'm still figuring out what prompted the world to be torn apart, but right now I have a preliminary idea of a rather expensive attempt at crafting an item with divine properties going horribly, horribly awry. One of the reasons for this exploration is to try and find out what exactly happened and whether or not the process could be reversed. This is still in the planning stages, though. My campaign is rather steampunk in nature, and I'm trying to capture an authentic steampunk 'feel', as a lot of the literature written at the time tended to be about concepts like exploration and discovery, so I want to get that 'being on the frontier' kind of a feel while trying to get my players to think a little outside the box and throwing some curveballs at them. Well "The ways were magically grown. They were used by the Ogier for travel to the Steddings as a gift from the last male Aise-Sedai (not sure if I spelled that right) as compensation for damn near breaking the world apart in the psychotic state they had all been thrown into.
Keldar 12-07-07, 07:24 AM	Sounds alot like the Astromundi Cluster (http://www.spelljammer.org/worlds/Clusterspace/) from 2nd Ed Spelljammer to me. You can download it from Drivethrough (http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product_info.php?products_id=17243&it=1&filters=500_0_1300) for 5 bucks if your really interested in it.