Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Optimized_Commoner 07-28-07, 11:03 AM	A Quick Overview. The goal of this project is making a world I can use for my next campaign. I've discussed with the likely group of players what people want in terms of the game and the world. Our consensus is that the next game will be focused on the everyday life of a group of heroes, not just their adventures. We settled on the TV show Rome (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rome_(TV_series)) as a good example of what we were all after in terms of the game experience. This means that the details of everyday life are going to be very important to this project. Since the other ongoing campaign is a steampunk d20 game I'm going to be avoiding including advanced technology in this setting. The height of technology will be early medieval technology, with most of the world sitting around the bronze age. As a bit of speculative fiction work, this world will attempt to realistically present a world where the D&D magic system functions while avoiding the technological feel of Eberron. Finally our gaming group enjoys travelling, so the world will need to be large and detailed with plenty of strange exotic places. So... Design Priorities 1. Details of everyday life. 2. Low technology (Bronze-age ---> Early medieval) 3. Realistic implimentation of D&D magic. 4. Big, detailed map. Plenty of exotic locations.
Optimized_Commoner 07-28-07, 11:06 AM	My current plans for the map I'm starting work with the top right quarter of the map which will be the starting point of the campaign, the other three quarters will only get a rough treatment and be fleshed out later on if the players decide to travel beyond the north-eastern lands. http://aycu20.webshots.com/image/24219/2001270890930226567_rs.jpg
Optimized_Commoner 07-28-07, 11:48 AM	Medyani This continent is approximately the size of Europe (excluding asia). To give an idea of scale, the northern coastline is 7,200 miles long. Nations of Medyani Darthacan Empire Centered around the inland sea is the Darthacan Empire. The Darthacan Empire is a mostly human nation, whose original claim to fame comes from being the inventors of Wizardry though now they are more infamous for their military conquest of the surrounding regions and as the nation most heavily involved in the slave trade. Before the invention of wizardry, magic consisted of many hundreds of minor tricks and different forms of incompatible magic such as psions, incarnates, true-namers, binders, shadow-mages and blade magic. The Darthacan wizards refined each of the many forms of magic into the component schools of wizardry and developed spell-books as an easy way of communicating magical knowledge between the generations. Hereditary families of wizards ruled Darthaca for many years as a magocracy, disinheriting those children incapable of mastering magic and inbreeding exclusively amongst the noble houses. Over the years the talent of sorcery developed within the families and it time the sorcerers became a higher caste, with their less gifted children studying wizardry and assuming the role of civil servants. Under the rule of the sorcerers and wizards, Darthaca invaded many of the surrounding lands. These lands had a more primitive understanding of magic and smaller military forces so fell easily to Darthaca, forming the beginnings of the empire. The people of these lands were enslaved and placed under the rule of the 'superior' Darthacans. Eventually the line between foreign slave and Darthacan citizen blurred, but rather the slaves gaining freedoms, the citizens were slowly losing their rights and becoming the slaves of the now sprawling houses of mageborn nobility. For some time the magical families ruled Darthaca and the people, though unhappy, lacked any ability to oppose the high level mages that dominated their life. Then an event occurred which broke the hold of mages over the mundane citizens. A virulent plague of Mindfire swept through the land. While the plague affected many citizens its effect was most violent upon the mages, whose ability to cast spells was blocked by the illness. Special Note: The Darthacan Mindfire plague was a slightly different strain from the normal version of Mindfire in the DMG. It affects the highest attribute of intelligence, wisdom or charisma, has a fortitude save of 25 and a spell resistance of 25 against magical attempts to cure it. If the caster fails to succeed on the caster level check they are automatically infected by the virus, taking the first ammount of ability damage immediately. The strain is believed to have burned itself out over a thousand years ago, but perhaps somewhere there is still a sample of this extremely potent plague. A riot, (ironically enough against the nobility doing nothing to cure the plague in the citizenry), turned quickly into a revolution when the people saw how powerless the mages had become. Over the following months a revolutionary government struck deals with some of the lower caste wizards, sparing their lives in exchange for their assistance in neutralizing the threat of sorcerors and wizards from ever taking power over mundane citizens again. Now sorcerers are kept enslaved by Shackles of Silence (see M.I.C.) and the ability to use Still Spell or Silent Spell is a capital offence. Specialist Spell-thieves are trained from amongst trusted slaves who use the sorcerers as sources of power, tapping their spell slots to cast effects on behalf of the government. The Darthacan Empire continues to expand, considering itself at war with all other countries where mages hold sway. Krenn Forests The Krenn are a race of humanoids with the reptillian subtype, based heavily from the Skarn in Magic of Incarnum. Their society is tribal and nomadic, leading a hunter-gatherer existance within these large forests in the East of Medyani. They are talented with all forms of Incarnum manipulation, though they particularly favour the Totemist class. Recently their way of life has come under attack as the Darthacan empire has begun invading their land on the west and the Aegiran empire from the east. Caught in-between these two avowed enemies, the Krenn are being steadily wiped out. The knowledgable amongst the Krenn realise that their home is most likely going to be the first battlesite of a great war between the two most powerful nations in the East. The tribes are desperately searching for a way out of their dilemna, but none is apparent. Until a bunch of PCs visit... (come on, I'm sure you recognize an adventure hook when you read one ;)). The Krenn are mostly human in appearance, though they tend to be solidly built with thick layers of muscle. The primary difference though is the six to twelve inch spines which grow along their spine, forearms and lower calves. Regardless of gender Krenn do not have any body or facial hair, though some have thin ridges of bone or scales where human eyebrows normally are. Krenn grow hair on the top and back of their head, though not the sides making their hair styles tend to naturally center around mohawks. Land of the Giants This land in the northern semi-tundra, though mostly populated by humans, is ruled by one of the giant races (yet to be decided). Using the assistance of magic the farmers grow enough food to feed themselves and the giants. One of the Giant leaders is a mighty wizard and a member of the Arcane Guild (Q.V.).
Optimized_Commoner 07-28-07, 11:55 AM	Nations of Medyani (Continued) Mining City of Aardra One of the nine gate cities and a mining capital in the middle of the desert, sustained by the magic of the arcane guild in order to profit from the rich mineral reserves (mostly gold) of the region. The golden deserts are famed as the most mineral rich area in the entire continent, yet the inhospitable environment of endless sunparched sands and burning winds kept most from venturing in to exploit this wealth. A thousand years ago though, the Arcane Guild declared as their most ambitious project the building, not only of a mining city but of a veritable desert paradise. The result of decades of spellcraft was Aardra, known as the City of Sails. Aardra is built into then mountains in the very middle of the golden deserts, shaped from the stone of the mountains through magical arts. It gains its pseudonym from the white canvas strung above the city walls that shield the city from dust and sandstorms while providing shade for those beneath, also trapping in the city’s heat and light after nightfall. The city is one of the nine Gate cities, with eight magical portals built equally spaced around the outer walls connecting it to the other gate cities. These other cities trade food, wood and liquors for the refined ore mined in the town and the exquisite art of Aardra’s goldsmiths and jewelers. Although food is sold at high prices to the cityfolk of Aardra, competition between merchants keeps the prices from becoming excessive and thus with its seemingly endless gold mines it is a rich city indeed. Living up to the promises of luxury and paradise made by the Arcane guild that built it. The city streets are narrow and often crowded with merchants heading to and from the mage-gates, so pedestrians travel across the rooftops. Most homeowners and shopkeepers build rooftop access to their homes, skybridges to nearby buildings and ladders or stairways coming up from the street. Some people even go to excess, building fountains, exotic gardens or benches upon the rooftop. This is a good way of becoming popular and seen as civic minded since all rooftops are considered public property. Even the roof of the administrator’s palace is no different, open to any and all who wish to walk amongst the lush garden that grows there. Clothing tends to keep to a minimum here with the ever-present desert warmth and even full nudity is considered a viable option for dealing with the heat, also popular are loose-fitting desert robes. Even the soldiers here do not wear armour, though they are often protected by more expensive enchanted items. Where the city joins with the mountainside a massive set of stone doors which have never been closed (some believe that they can not be) opens into the extensive underground catacombs. From the large initial network of chambers filled with refining tools passageways meander many miles into the mountain to the veins of minerals that are currently being tapped. The current mines are now so distant from the city itself that many miners will temporarily live on site at the area they are working, taking shifts in cycles 2 weeks working, 2 weeks off. Though craftsmen are considered the most prestigious of occupations within the town, none are quite so well paid as miners. Many people within the town will take on a months work at the mine every few years to boost their wealth a little. The town is ruled by the Administrator, a position gained by public election. To qualify to run for the position of Administrator the candidate must have worked in the mines for at least ten years (not necessarily consecutively). The position is held for a period of 25 years, or until the death of the candidate. After those 25 years, if the ex-administrator is still alive they are provided a pension for the rest of their lives. Phaen and Anti-phaen (Names are to be changed) Two rival lands built on sea-trade. Losely based on the Phoenician empire. Often inflict piracy upon eachother's ships. For years the Darthacan's have been raiding their ships as well, knowing that the two cultures will blame eachother. Needs more work....
Optimized_Commoner 07-28-07, 11:57 AM	Nations of Medyani (Part Three) (To be Completed)
Kelmourne 07-29-07, 02:36 AM	So what culture is this going to be focused on (If you are using lots of everyday stuff then a base-culture is a good idea), are you following the T.V. show Rome or is it oriental or medieval. Also, a more effective way of formatting your posts is rather than reserving the first couple of posts for other info, put it all in the first post so that its easier to access. Other than that, neat idea focusing on everyday life. Also great map. Then again ive been known to be easily impressed by maps (I suck at mapping :weep: )
Optimized_Commoner 07-29-07, 03:42 AM	So what culture is this going to be focused on Many and varied. There are two cultures based on the Roman empire, with differing views on magic and slavery. The Darthacan Empire and the Aegiran Empire. There is an ancient greek culture (the dwarves) who live on the Argesh continent. The High Elves live in an imperial chinese culture on Zirala, with the Dark Elves having a culture based on Mongols and Wild Elves living in the forest being based more on myths and legends of jungle dwelling savages than any real culture. The Karis islands are losely based on christendom with darker overtones focusing on things like the inquisition and crusades. On the West coast of Medyani there are a group of people based losely on pre-roman britain with a druidic culture, currently being invaded in a crusade by the people of the Karis Islands. The Krenn are losely based on the Gauls and the Celts during roman conquest of their lands. Also, a more effective way of formatting your posts is rather than reserving the first couple of posts for other info, put it all in the first post so that its easier to access. I'm worried about reaching the word limit for a post. Also great map. Then again ive been known to be easily impressed by maps (I suck at mapping :weep: ) Thankyou. That's one of many, there are plenty of artistic maps of the different continents and one of the world overlayed on the Earth. I chose that one which is the spatial relationship between the continents. I randomly generated the continents in photoshop (a lot of work with filters in a set process) and then pasted them together in a nice looking arangement. Then I copied the entire thing out by hand. Scanned in my hand-drawn copy and brought it to monochrome (as you can see there above). My final maps are all going to be hand-drawn, with the computer generated maps as a basis.
queenfange 07-29-07, 09:46 AM	I thoroughly read through your history of Medyani (I usually get bored with histories and so just skim), and I was highly impressed. It's complex and well-thought out. I also applaud your stated emphasis on everyday life in the campaign; culture is my favorite part of settings. :D Now, for all my questions. Are dark elves essentially drow or are they pale-skinned, dark-haired evil elves as dark elves are portrayed in some other fantasy settings? Are you using the standard language system? What are the world's deities, and are they actively involved in the world's events? I can't wait to see more!
unundindur 07-29-07, 03:14 PM	I lvoe the part about the plague and especially how the government uses spellthieves :) the map also looks splendid, and I am looking for more! I applaud your unique use of that class!
Optimized_Commoner 07-29-07, 04:10 PM	I thoroughly read through your history of Medyani (I usually get bored with histories and so just skim), and I was highly impressed. It's complex and well-thought out. I also applaud your stated emphasis on everyday life in the campaign; culture is my favorite part of settings. :D Thankyou. I get bored reading histories as well, so I tried to keep it moving quickly and staying relevant to understanding modern-day Darthaca. Are dark elves essentially drow or are they pale-skinned, dark-haired evil elves as dark elves are portrayed in some other fantasy settings? I get bored with the standard subraces and fiddle around with them a little picking new colours and features. The "dark elves" (Kyre) have skin that varies between an ash grey and a metallic silver. The "plains elves", who dwell outside the well defended cities of the high elf empire and are the general prey of the dark elves, often look somewhere between high elves and dark elves (living in the middle) with the added difference that their ears have cartilige ridges along the side of their ear that makes it look a little like a sea-shell. Culture-wise, aside from the kyre being nomadic, their main cause of seperation with the high elves is religious. The High Elves perform a practise of ancestor worship where they believe that the purpose of the living is for the family that have already died to live on through you. Thus they dedicate their entire lives to trying to live out the values of their family before them. The Kyre reject this form of ancestor worship and believe in "destroying their souls" by emulating a totem animal until their elvish nature is subsumed. In doing so they believe they can find a form of Nirvana and not be bound to the world again after their death. And honestly I haven't put much thought into the wild elves yet. Are you using the standard language system? Not quite. There's no official common language. However Darthacan is the state language of both the Darthacan and the Aegiran empire (I haven't covered them yet since they're capital city is in Argesh not Medyani... effectively it's an empire built of refugee wizard-nobles from the mindfire revolution and escaped darthacan slaves mixed with the local culture of where they landed.) Darthacan is also the official language of the Arcane Guild, an organisation of wizards founded in the Aegiran empire but with no official link to the government. The Arcane Guild's mandate is to provide magical workings which improve the world around them and to aim for world peace. The Arcane Guild's largest ever project was a series of teleportation portals linking the 9 largest cities of the Eastern continents (Excluding Darthaca because the Arcane Guild is hardly welcome there). As such the Darthacan language has spread far and wide. If you speak this, you're probably set wherever you go (much like english in the modern day). What are the world's deities Each of the cultures have their own religious practises and set of deities. My concept being that planar travel means that the gods tend to find their worship scattered across many worlds, often next to other gods they've never even heard of. The world has several areas where natural rifts to other planes occur and this tends to dominate local religion. For example the Enfari tribes of the Golden Desert live near open planar rifts to the elemental plane of fire and thus worship the "Lord of Fire" an elemental god. The Karis islands contain natural rifts to the abyss and so the locals are torn between worshipping the angels who have "set up shop" there to fight the demons or worshipping the demons that come through the rifts. The corruption of the abyssal gates is the main reason the culture here is so screwed up and even the angel-worshippers are pretty twisted and evil. and are they actively involved in the world's events? The gods are basically pretty lazy/busy doing important stuff and consider granting spells to the people of the world to be "their fair share" of involvement. They are the gods of not only this world, but many others and so split their attention as well. Still, as the Karis islands demonstrates they will send their minions to handle any problems that are occurring on a multiplanar level. I can't wait to see more! It'll get there, unfortunately I'm starting back at work this week so my free-time is getting more limited.
Optimized_Commoner 07-29-07, 04:16 PM	http://aycu38.webshots.com/image/22797/2003826368288540115_rs.jpg Hopefully things will get a bit more detailed than this. I've also added a few more things in the Nations of Medyani section above.