The Search for a 4E Campaign Setting (Or the Creation of...) [Archive] - Wizards Community

The Search for a 4E Campaign Setting (Or the Creation of...) [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
VampyresThrenody
04-02-08, 05:27 PM Come May, the fourth edition books come out (I think?) Come sometime in May I will be beginning one, possibly two PbP games and come June will be beginning a face-to-face game when I return to my home country. I began to create a campaign setting using the PoL ideas spread throughout EN worlds, the 4E forum and other places, but came up with a more intriguing ideas.

I am searching for a 4E Campaign setting to situate these three games and several possible solo games in. As such I am appealing to the DMs/Gms on this board for aid. It is not due to laziness, as will be discussed in idea #2 but rather interest. So, come forth and post links to your settings websites here if you are willing to let another DM make use of them as long as the following below fits:

1) All Inclusive: I have a varied player base and like to appeal to what they like. As such I would need a setting that any race could find a niche in. For example, no settings that say No gnolls or no warforged.

2) Point of Light based: No massive kingdoms although small ones are quite fine. Alliances of various small towns are also good. A world that is filled with danger and plenty of far-gone ruins to explore.

3) Ability to use politicking: I like to include political intrigue as an integral part of a game. As such I need to either be able to create my own political sphere or allow players to subtly shape another's.

4) Allowing for detail: If your city already has every citizen detailed out, what they do, etc. Awesome. that works. If it doesn't, allow me to make it for small villages/towns/etc.

5) online: It's pretty impossible to use another's setting if it doesn't have an online source of some type for myself and my players to use. Also, if I could submit things to the site or the person who can update the site it would be ideal.

If there are questions about these feel free to PM me or ask on the thread. If you're interested in this post up a short summary and a link and I'll take a look! The benefits for this would be a boost to your own ego (more players enjoying your work) and aid in expanding/detailing the world.

So shoot me your ideas and let's see them. Now on to idea #2.

DM Collaboration: Ever been interested to build a campaign setting with other DM's? If so, look here.4e is coming out soon. *Gasp* I'm assuming you knew that ^^ Anyway, If you plan on running games in that system wouldn't it be fun to create a setting that is used by 2 or more gamemasters and multiple player groups? I think so.

It wouldn't have to be a huge setting, even say an incredibly detailed single city with four surrounding towns and perhaps eighteen supporting villages/farm-areas. Of course I made those numbers up, anything would be cool with me.

The Point: A PoL type setting where games could overlap (or not, it's not a requisite). The players in the games (for however many people are interested in this...probably none with my luck) would be the only (or near only) PC-classed characters in the world. The great leaders would be powerful, high leveled but an equal level PC would be a greater hero. Perhaps the PC's become the leaders eventually, perhaps not.

Current Ideas: Currently I have several ideas for such a collaborative campaign.
1) Small focus, but with enough room to have a fairly large range of players. I was thinking an area around 3,000 square miles large mostly in length with mountains, forests, hills and a coastline.

2) Unique Concepts: A wandering caravan that is in itself a small town, areas where nightfall breaches the way into the Shadowfell allowing undead to wander about, a former cataclysm causing devils and demons to wander the land, immortals and immortal spirits walking the land and being those that the people pray too (and yet they rarely directly interfere with the world, allowing towns to be ravaged by bloodthirsty demons or swayed to a cult by a demon).

I hope to garner interest about this by posting in various areas. I would love for this to work out! So if you're interested post here or PM me. I hope to hear from at least a few people. Thanks!
Naderion
04-04-08, 07:32 AM You could ask in the 4th Ed. forum. Though most people are probably the same as here, you could find some useful advice there.
Orloff
04-27-08, 11:24 PM This reminds me of a campaign setting sketch I whipped up one afternoon. Though I wrote this some time before 4.0 was announced, it seems to fit your requirements for the most part...

Once, the Empire of Dawn stretched from sea to sea, spanning great mountain ranges and forests, deserts and swamps. It was the height of civilization, uniting the known world under one glorious banner. The beasts and monsters of the world had been pushed back to the very corners of the world after centuries of successful military campaigns. The study of the arcane and divine arts flourished as new spells were developed by the day in well-equipped academies. Culture flourished as each generation produced new composers, playwrights, artists, and authors who captured the very essence of life in their works. The civilized races lived together in harmony, erecting great monuments and trading in their abundant resources.
At least, that's what the legends say. It all ended over 1000 years ago, when the Great Ice Age began. Hundreds of thousands died in the icy winds, and even more from the wars that broke out when communications between the cities failed. The empire fell. Magical and cultural achievements were lost, as libraries were burned for warmth. Monstrous creatures came out of hiding and harassed undefended villages. Great cities and palaces were left for ruin as their few remaining residents sought protection in numbers at the more centrally located settlements. The old gods were forgotten as priests and clergymen vainly prayed for a reversal of this dire weather. Before long, society had broken down to a few remaining city-states, desperately clinging to their survival.
And then, eight months ago, a moment long prophesied occurred. In the city of Eoske, your home city, a single violet bloomed from the frozen soil. This was the sign, prophesied by the sages of old even before the terrible ice descended, that marked the coming of the end of the ice age. Celebrations lasted for weeks, but soon people began to wonder: what was left of the world? Had the ravages of weather and beast left anything worthy of such celebration? What was left of the roads remained unsafe for travel, so the fate of the land remained uncertain. The city was alone.
But then, Crail Fritason rose to power. An ambitious man, Crail seeks to restore the Dawn Empire to all of its former glory. This is no small undertaking, but backed by the entire population of the town, he has the resources to make the attempt. After securing the city-state's borders and improving internal conditions as best he could, Crail has finally turned his vision beyond Eoske's walls. And that's where you come in.
You have answered the call for brave adventurers willing to risk life and limb to restore the Empire. You are the front line; your duties will include finding and gaining the support of other cities, hunting through ruins for ancient treasures, fending off monstrous attacks. The danger will be great, as very little lore remains of the time before the ice. Yet the rewards will be great as well. Besides the artifacts from times past and the payments from the would-be emperor, you have the glory of being part of the remaking of the world.

....the benefit of such a setting is that it creates a logical reason why nobody knows what the rest of the world looks like. As such, the world can be created as the players explore (and as the DM gets new ideas). Want to put in a new race? The players stumble upon one of their last surviving settlements, Wizards publishes a new source of magical power? The players find out about it in an ancient tome. It also works very well in the Points of Light vein, and diplomacy/politics/intrigue could easily be included when the players 'discover' new cities.
Idabrius
04-28-08, 01:47 PM I'm working on just such a setting, designed to be shared by multiple DMs and released periodically as free online pdfs modeled after WotC's printing format. Though there is no official canon for warforged (and the Creator's Council is unlikely to OK any such outside races as official), you can certainly alter the setting as you see fit.

If you're interested, check out the gleemax link in my signature or head over to the 4e forums and, under "other settings" take a look at the Shattered Lands.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
VampyresThrenody 04-02-08, 05:27 PM	Come May, the fourth edition books come out (I think?) Come sometime in May I will be beginning one, possibly two PbP games and come June will be beginning a face-to-face game when I return to my home country. I began to create a campaign setting using the PoL ideas spread throughout EN worlds, the 4E forum and other places, but came up with a more intriguing ideas. I am searching for a 4E Campaign setting to situate these three games and several possible solo games in. As such I am appealing to the DMs/Gms on this board for aid. It is not due to laziness, as will be discussed in idea #2 but rather interest. So, come forth and post links to your settings websites here if you are willing to let another DM make use of them as long as the following below fits: 1) All Inclusive: I have a varied player base and like to appeal to what they like. As such I would need a setting that any race could find a niche in. For example, no settings that say No gnolls or no warforged. 2) Point of Light based: No massive kingdoms although small ones are quite fine. Alliances of various small towns are also good. A world that is filled with danger and plenty of far-gone ruins to explore. 3) Ability to use politicking: I like to include political intrigue as an integral part of a game. As such I need to either be able to create my own political sphere or allow players to subtly shape another's. 4) Allowing for detail: If your city already has every citizen detailed out, what they do, etc. Awesome. that works. If it doesn't, allow me to make it for small villages/towns/etc. 5) online: It's pretty impossible to use another's setting if it doesn't have an online source of some type for myself and my players to use. Also, if I could submit things to the site or the person who can update the site it would be ideal. If there are questions about these feel free to PM me or ask on the thread. If you're interested in this post up a short summary and a link and I'll take a look! The benefits for this would be a boost to your own ego (more players enjoying your work) and aid in expanding/detailing the world. So shoot me your ideas and let's see them. Now on to idea #2. DM Collaboration: Ever been interested to build a campaign setting with other DM's? If so, look here.4e is coming out soon. Gasp I'm assuming you knew that ^^ Anyway, If you plan on running games in that system wouldn't it be fun to create a setting that is used by 2 or more gamemasters and multiple player groups? I think so. It wouldn't have to be a huge setting, even say an incredibly detailed single city with four surrounding towns and perhaps eighteen supporting villages/farm-areas. Of course I made those numbers up, anything would be cool with me. The Point: A PoL type setting where games could overlap (or not, it's not a requisite). The players in the games (for however many people are interested in this...probably none with my luck) would be the only (or near only) PC-classed characters in the world. The great leaders would be powerful, high leveled but an equal level PC would be a greater hero. Perhaps the PC's become the leaders eventually, perhaps not. Current Ideas: Currently I have several ideas for such a collaborative campaign. 1) Small focus, but with enough room to have a fairly large range of players. I was thinking an area around 3,000 square miles large mostly in length with mountains, forests, hills and a coastline. 2) Unique Concepts: A wandering caravan that is in itself a small town, areas where nightfall breaches the way into the Shadowfell allowing undead to wander about, a former cataclysm causing devils and demons to wander the land, immortals and immortal spirits walking the land and being those that the people pray too (and yet they rarely directly interfere with the world, allowing towns to be ravaged by bloodthirsty demons or swayed to a cult by a demon). I hope to garner interest about this by posting in various areas. I would love for this to work out! So if you're interested post here or PM me. I hope to hear from at least a few people. Thanks!
Naderion 04-04-08, 07:32 AM	You could ask in the 4th Ed. forum. Though most people are probably the same as here, you could find some useful advice there.
Orloff 04-27-08, 11:24 PM	This reminds me of a campaign setting sketch I whipped up one afternoon. Though I wrote this some time before 4.0 was announced, it seems to fit your requirements for the most part... Once, the Empire of Dawn stretched from sea to sea, spanning great mountain ranges and forests, deserts and swamps. It was the height of civilization, uniting the known world under one glorious banner. The beasts and monsters of the world had been pushed back to the very corners of the world after centuries of successful military campaigns. The study of the arcane and divine arts flourished as new spells were developed by the day in well-equipped academies. Culture flourished as each generation produced new composers, playwrights, artists, and authors who captured the very essence of life in their works. The civilized races lived together in harmony, erecting great monuments and trading in their abundant resources. At least, that's what the legends say. It all ended over 1000 years ago, when the Great Ice Age began. Hundreds of thousands died in the icy winds, and even more from the wars that broke out when communications between the cities failed. The empire fell. Magical and cultural achievements were lost, as libraries were burned for warmth. Monstrous creatures came out of hiding and harassed undefended villages. Great cities and palaces were left for ruin as their few remaining residents sought protection in numbers at the more centrally located settlements. The old gods were forgotten as priests and clergymen vainly prayed for a reversal of this dire weather. Before long, society had broken down to a few remaining city-states, desperately clinging to their survival. And then, eight months ago, a moment long prophesied occurred. In the city of Eoske, your home city, a single violet bloomed from the frozen soil. This was the sign, prophesied by the sages of old even before the terrible ice descended, that marked the coming of the end of the ice age. Celebrations lasted for weeks, but soon people began to wonder: what was left of the world? Had the ravages of weather and beast left anything worthy of such celebration? What was left of the roads remained unsafe for travel, so the fate of the land remained uncertain. The city was alone. But then, Crail Fritason rose to power. An ambitious man, Crail seeks to restore the Dawn Empire to all of its former glory. This is no small undertaking, but backed by the entire population of the town, he has the resources to make the attempt. After securing the city-state's borders and improving internal conditions as best he could, Crail has finally turned his vision beyond Eoske's walls. And that's where you come in. You have answered the call for brave adventurers willing to risk life and limb to restore the Empire. You are the front line; your duties will include finding and gaining the support of other cities, hunting through ruins for ancient treasures, fending off monstrous attacks. The danger will be great, as very little lore remains of the time before the ice. Yet the rewards will be great as well. Besides the artifacts from times past and the payments from the would-be emperor, you have the glory of being part of the remaking of the world. ....the benefit of such a setting is that it creates a logical reason why nobody knows what the rest of the world looks like. As such, the world can be created as the players explore (and as the DM gets new ideas). Want to put in a new race? The players stumble upon one of their last surviving settlements, Wizards publishes a new source of magical power? The players find out about it in an ancient tome. It also works very well in the Points of Light vein, and diplomacy/politics/intrigue could easily be included when the players 'discover' new cities.
Idabrius 04-28-08, 01:47 PM	I'm working on just such a setting, designed to be shared by multiple DMs and released periodically as free online pdfs modeled after WotC's printing format. Though there is no official canon for warforged (and the Creator's Council is unlikely to OK any such outside races as official), you can certainly alter the setting as you see fit. If you're interested, check out the gleemax link in my signature or head over to the 4e forums and, under "other settings" take a look at the Shattered Lands.