Beginning of the Universe [Archive] - Wizards Community

Beginning of the Universe [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
AkodoKoji
05-29-07, 06:11 PM My GM is doing a campaign that is starting about a couple hundred years after the material plane has been created. I'm trying to create a good personality for him. He's an lvl 10 aasimir Cleric/ranger (we're playing with gestalt rules) with Leadership.

The back story that I have so far is that he/she leads an elite squad of warriors that task themselves with hunting down any unnatural creature (evil outsiders, abberations, elementals.) They are probably very tribal. Humans in this setting are the new race and much rarer than the others.

I would appreciate any help fleshing this out.

Edit: He considers himself the Defender of the material plane.
Westbound
05-30-07, 05:49 PM Interesting.

If the material plane has only been around a couple hundred years, that means it's not very well explored by mortal beings.

Your approach, then, probably shouldn't be to eradicate things that aren't "natural," but to protect the small but prospering society which you and your people have created. Clearly, there are forces that seek to harm or destroy that society for a whole myriad of reasons, and your character shouldn't necessarily be committed to taking out demons, aberrations and whatever else.

Otherwise, you'd have to explain just why it is that you believe that devils, demons, aberrations and others are such threats that they need someone like you to direct their extermination. Who told you they're not natural? True, they're pretty monstrous-looking, but what evil have they done to warrant such a response? Is what you are doing pre-emptive? Are you ahead of the game in such a way that it is better to be proactive and destroy evil before it becomes a threat too great to handle? And what about you, aasimar? Why shouldn't others who see you as a half-outsider not ostracize you? In such a young world, why aren't you considered unnatural?
AkodoKoji
05-30-07, 05:55 PM Interesting.

If the material plane has only been around a couple hundred years, that means it's not very well explored by mortal beings.

Your approach, then, probably shouldn't be to eradicate things that aren't "natural," but to protect the small but prospering society which you and your people have created. Clearly, there are forces that seek to harm or destroy that society for a whole myriad of reasons, and your character shouldn't necessarily be committed to taking out demons, aberrations and whatever else.

Otherwise, you'd have to explain just why it is that you believe that devils, demons, aberrations and others are such threats that they need someone like you to direct their extermination. Who told you they're not natural? True, they're pretty monstrous-looking, but what evil have they done to warrant such a response? Is what you are doing pre-emptive? Are you ahead of the game in such a way that it is better to be proactive and destroy evil before it becomes a threat too great to handle? And what about you, aasimar? Why shouldn't others who see you as a half-outsider not ostracize you? In such a young world, why aren't you considered unnatural?

Wow that is awesome. Most of that never occurred to me. The aasimar part did and thats something thats eventually going to come up.
Westbound
05-31-07, 12:14 AM A young prime material plane is very intriguing. The nature of its creation needs to be addressed by your DM. If it's only a couple of hundred years old, that means very very few, if any, magic items have been created. It may not be known to mortal beings, but why did the gods create this world? What do they hope to achieve?

Technological development also may not be very advanced. It's highly doubtful, for instance, that your people haven't even developed the wheel yet, much less metal, clothing, pottery, writing, or half a dozen other things.

In my Greco/Roman style campaign world, the Olympian gods effectively transported their worshippers from Earth to their new world (I kinda stole the idea from the Star Trek episode Who Mourns for Adonis?). That way, these people still possessed knowledge that made the Greek and Roman civilizations what they were. Concepts such as metal-working, philosophy, engineering, law, commerce, etc. could be available even though their new world is relatively young, only seven hundred years old.
Terjon of the Blue Rose
05-31-07, 01:56 AM I've considered the possibilty of a new world as well. I think what stood out to me most was the fact that a new world has no ancient legends. Your character is already unique in that he has a strong bond to the gods who are still mysterious beings to much of the world. What's more in a world only a few hundred years old there are many creatures who personally remember the moment of creation. Dragons, Fey, Outsiders, etc. will all be able to provide you with insight as to the rules of this new world and how to break them since they are hardly set in stone yet (drying in the concrete more likely).

Even if we assume that man and the other races were created with a certain degree of technological knowledge there are liable to be huge gaps. Elves will likely know far more magic than dwarves who will in turn be the only species with the ability to make alloys. This of course assumes the gods granted each species knowledge they would want their followers to have.

Better yet your character may be unique from his bond with the gods but know from experience that many of the beliefs the gods gave their new creations were false. If all dwarves know that it is impossable to create fire without prayer but elves do so on a regular basis it creates a moral qualm for your character. Tell them they are wrong or not? Will they believe you? Should you convince them?

A brand new world has many points that can be exploited. There may exist places of power which have not yet been found by mortal races. Artifacts remaining from the moment of creation will likely be more common than standard magic items (tools of the gods not ancient devices for fighting them as in so many other realms). It will be interesting to see what your campaign developes into. See if you can get your DM to post what he's working on here.
Westbound
05-31-07, 06:47 PM This idea of a very young universe is so interesting to me that I'm thinking seriously of making one, where mortals have to discover technologies and magic. They start out in fur loincloths and bone clubs, with the ability to make fire, and that's it. No reading or writing, but they can utter a common, if unsophisticated language. Wizards/Sorcerors and other spell-casters are very rudimentary, limited to only a few spells in the beginning. Neolithic technology against dragons and undead. Now that's cool.

Anyone else have any ideas along these lines?
CrimsonDeath
05-31-07, 09:54 PM If you go with that idea, Frostburn has a few ideas for serviceable "primitive" weapons, largely made of bone, stone, and wood rather than metal. You might have to rework the list of martial weapons, though...

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
AkodoKoji 05-29-07, 06:11 PM	My GM is doing a campaign that is starting about a couple hundred years after the material plane has been created. I'm trying to create a good personality for him. He's an lvl 10 aasimir Cleric/ranger (we're playing with gestalt rules) with Leadership. The back story that I have so far is that he/she leads an elite squad of warriors that task themselves with hunting down any unnatural creature (evil outsiders, abberations, elementals.) They are probably very tribal. Humans in this setting are the new race and much rarer than the others. I would appreciate any help fleshing this out. Edit: He considers himself the Defender of the material plane.
Westbound 05-30-07, 05:49 PM	Interesting. If the material plane has only been around a couple hundred years, that means it's not very well explored by mortal beings. Your approach, then, probably shouldn't be to eradicate things that aren't "natural," but to protect the small but prospering society which you and your people have created. Clearly, there are forces that seek to harm or destroy that society for a whole myriad of reasons, and your character shouldn't necessarily be committed to taking out demons, aberrations and whatever else. Otherwise, you'd have to explain just why it is that you believe that devils, demons, aberrations and others are such threats that they need someone like you to direct their extermination. Who told you they're not natural? True, they're pretty monstrous-looking, but what evil have they done to warrant such a response? Is what you are doing pre-emptive? Are you ahead of the game in such a way that it is better to be proactive and destroy evil before it becomes a threat too great to handle? And what about you, aasimar? Why shouldn't others who see you as a half-outsider not ostracize you? In such a young world, why aren't you considered unnatural?
AkodoKoji 05-30-07, 05:55 PM	Interesting. If the material plane has only been around a couple hundred years, that means it's not very well explored by mortal beings. Your approach, then, probably shouldn't be to eradicate things that aren't "natural," but to protect the small but prospering society which you and your people have created. Clearly, there are forces that seek to harm or destroy that society for a whole myriad of reasons, and your character shouldn't necessarily be committed to taking out demons, aberrations and whatever else. Otherwise, you'd have to explain just why it is that you believe that devils, demons, aberrations and others are such threats that they need someone like you to direct their extermination. Who told you they're not natural? True, they're pretty monstrous-looking, but what evil have they done to warrant such a response? Is what you are doing pre-emptive? Are you ahead of the game in such a way that it is better to be proactive and destroy evil before it becomes a threat too great to handle? And what about you, aasimar? Why shouldn't others who see you as a half-outsider not ostracize you? In such a young world, why aren't you considered unnatural? Wow that is awesome. Most of that never occurred to me. The aasimar part did and thats something thats eventually going to come up.
Westbound 05-31-07, 12:14 AM	A young prime material plane is very intriguing. The nature of its creation needs to be addressed by your DM. If it's only a couple of hundred years old, that means very very few, if any, magic items have been created. It may not be known to mortal beings, but why did the gods create this world? What do they hope to achieve? Technological development also may not be very advanced. It's highly doubtful, for instance, that your people haven't even developed the wheel yet, much less metal, clothing, pottery, writing, or half a dozen other things. In my Greco/Roman style campaign world, the Olympian gods effectively transported their worshippers from Earth to their new world (I kinda stole the idea from the Star Trek episode Who Mourns for Adonis?). That way, these people still possessed knowledge that made the Greek and Roman civilizations what they were. Concepts such as metal-working, philosophy, engineering, law, commerce, etc. could be available even though their new world is relatively young, only seven hundred years old.
Terjon of the Blue Rose 05-31-07, 01:56 AM	I've considered the possibilty of a new world as well. I think what stood out to me most was the fact that a new world has no ancient legends. Your character is already unique in that he has a strong bond to the gods who are still mysterious beings to much of the world. What's more in a world only a few hundred years old there are many creatures who personally remember the moment of creation. Dragons, Fey, Outsiders, etc. will all be able to provide you with insight as to the rules of this new world and how to break them since they are hardly set in stone yet (drying in the concrete more likely). Even if we assume that man and the other races were created with a certain degree of technological knowledge there are liable to be huge gaps. Elves will likely know far more magic than dwarves who will in turn be the only species with the ability to make alloys. This of course assumes the gods granted each species knowledge they would want their followers to have. Better yet your character may be unique from his bond with the gods but know from experience that many of the beliefs the gods gave their new creations were false. If all dwarves know that it is impossable to create fire without prayer but elves do so on a regular basis it creates a moral qualm for your character. Tell them they are wrong or not? Will they believe you? Should you convince them? A brand new world has many points that can be exploited. There may exist places of power which have not yet been found by mortal races. Artifacts remaining from the moment of creation will likely be more common than standard magic items (tools of the gods not ancient devices for fighting them as in so many other realms). It will be interesting to see what your campaign developes into. See if you can get your DM to post what he's working on here.
Westbound 05-31-07, 06:47 PM	This idea of a very young universe is so interesting to me that I'm thinking seriously of making one, where mortals have to discover technologies and magic. They start out in fur loincloths and bone clubs, with the ability to make fire, and that's it. No reading or writing, but they can utter a common, if unsophisticated language. Wizards/Sorcerors and other spell-casters are very rudimentary, limited to only a few spells in the beginning. Neolithic technology against dragons and undead. Now that's cool. Anyone else have any ideas along these lines?
CrimsonDeath 05-31-07, 09:54 PM	If you go with that idea, Frostburn has a few ideas for serviceable "primitive" weapons, largely made of bone, stone, and wood rather than metal. You might have to rework the list of martial weapons, though...