Post/Author/DateTime	Post
thinkhard 03-12-05, 05:35 PM	This is a barebone campaign setting i'm working on. Just wondering what your thoughts are. Compitum http://ddepenning.photosite.com/~photos/tn/17_1024.ts1111209386000.jpg A confusing universe where the answers lead to more questions. Compitum had a precarious balance since the beginning of time, each change in its state delicately absorbed and assimilated. But suddenly, a new alteration came to pass that threatened all Compitum has ever been. Table of Contents: 1. Brief History (this thread) 2. Deus Arbitrium (http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?p=5701731#post5701731) (link) 3. Aliovores (http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?p=5708116#post5708116) (link) 4. Cosmology (http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?p=5713216#post5713216) (link) 5. Pectverum (a religion of Compitum) (http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?p=5721482#post5721482) (link) 6. Godless Clerics, Friendly Fiends, and Evil Celestials (http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?p=5744806#post5744806) (link) 7. Compitum Geography (http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?p=5751080#post5751080) (link) 8. Half-Fiend Celestials and Proditor: When Opposites Attract (http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?p=5783825#post5783825) (link) 9. Scribe of the Pectoraculum: A new Prestige Class (http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?p=5801805#post5801805) (link) 10. Core Classes in Compitum (this thread, bottom of this post) 11. Channeling: The Lost Art (http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?p=5851554#post5851554) (link) 12. Expanded Elemental Explanation (http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?p=5879405#post5879405) (link) 13. New Feats and Skill Uses (http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?p=5897962#post5897962) (link) 14. New Spell list: will be updated when new spells are made (http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?p=5978320#post5978320) (link) 15. Divine Touched (New Race) (http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?p=5984566#post5984566) (link) 16. New Transportation Method (http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?p=6004011#post6004011) (link) 17. Compitum's Afterlife (http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?p=6250142#post6250142) A Brief History Every assortment of creature is seen in Compitum. The social order spawning from this diversity is opposite of the known universes explored before this one. The laws of alignment are not reliable. Fiends can be benevolent, and Solars can be tyrranical. Every race has a foggy memory of its beginnings in Compitum, usually based upon an original small group of its kind ending up in the dimension by happenstance. Isolated from their pasts and home planes, every creature race has gone through changes making them distinctly unpredictable compared to their ancestors. Basic physical abilities, visages, and magical tendencies remain the same. For millenia there had been no new additions to the population of Compitum. The conflicts between the different races faded as they have found themselves lest distinct in behavior. This environment, however, could not remain as such. Humans made their fist appearance in Compitum in about 2876 R.E. (Recorded Era). Their diversity and likewise unpredictability made them natural inhabitants of the realm. What separated them, though, from all other races in Compitum was why they arrived, and the fact that they had a complete lack of knowledge about a native plane they may have come from. These humans had only known interdimensional travel for generations, by means of leaders called "Channelers," who could open dimensional gateways outside of known cosmologies. The lore passed down from their ancestors was foggy, but it was generally known that they were fleeing a divine wrath. Why and from what deity was unkown. The concept of a deity to Compitum's inhabitants was hard to grasp in the first place, the roots of divinity tangled in their confused history. While divine magic still existed, its source was not entirely understood, nor questioned, just as arcane magic. While some lower creatures held on to ideas of gods, most of those with some religious background believed in a general Plane of Energy, with a focus in the middle, causing all divine events in Compitum. Because of this lack of an active pantheon, the bit of information about the humans' cursed past was soon forgotten by the other races. For several hundred years, the Humans found peace in Compitum. The Channelers died off, no longer having a purpose and therefore unable to seek apprentices. But in 3201, the peace ended. From across the cosmos, the Deus Arbitrium arrived. Astoundingly strong and resiliant humanoid creatures made entirely of metal, covered in unreadable runes and carrying foreign weapons, they were insantly questioned. These beings immediately began capturing humans in shows of aggressive force, and began placing them in encampments. No outward violence was shown to the other races, but the conflict caused collateral damage enough to disrupt the existing balance. As this conflict reached its peak in 3248, a new factor was entered into the mix. The Aliovores arrived. The creatures were insectoid in nature, with a shimmering light to them making them to appear to only exist half in Compitum and half some other plane. In stange spurts of magic, the Aliovores could ignore the rules of space and teleport, change their natural form, or even attack opponents completely out of their reach. These monsters were completely unmentioned in the texts carried with the humans, unlike the Deus Arbitrium. Strangely, though, humans could immediately look upon an Aliovore, know what it was, and know that death was emminent. The Aliovores began hunting and feasting on the humans, seeming to absorb some aspect from their prey and growing stronger. The creatures showed the most active violence toward humans, but were known to attack other creatures at times without provocation. What was the most strange was how the Deus Arbitrium fought vehemently with the Aliovores. Immune to absorption like the other inhabitants of Compitum, these normally stoic persons showed strange verocity in their conflicts with Aliovores, especially when these conflicts took place at human encampments. The damage to Compitum became greater and greater, and the presence of free and safe humans became more and more rare. Then the conflict lent itself to the fiends, celestials, monsters, apparitions, and all other sentient beings in Compitum. The conflict was over what to do about the humans, and the ravaging war that enveloped them. ------------ Core Classes in Compitum The unique society in Compitum requires a different look at the basic classes out of the Player's Handbook. These following sections will highlight the trends classes move toward, but will not define their role entirely. Barbarian: Barbarians are not as commmon in Compitum as they may be in other worlds because of Compitum's tendency toward civility. Many of the Barbarians live in the plains areas, in either small rural towns or travelling with nomadic peoples of little importance. The travelling Barbarians are decreasing because of the Deus Arbitrium and Aliovore conflict, which disrupted free travel. PC's in a campaign are most likely to encounter the new breed of Barbarian, which is the Martial Barbarian. Since the ability to rage in battle is often a strong ally, many people of martial status have purposefully cultivated "battle-mind," which is an active switching from one's civil and controlled beliefs to total carnality for the sake of fighting. Martial Barbarians can be of any alignment, but always count as chaotic while raging. If they ever take a class or ability with Lawful as a prerequisite, they lose their Barbarian abilities as they would normally. This is because the delicate balance of the duality of their mind is easily disrupted, and any extended focus on the lawful can cause them to lose the ability to rage. Also, if a character gains Martial Barbarian levels after taking a class with the lawful prerequisite, they are treated as becoming chaotic. They automatically sacrifice 1 skill point to gain literacy, but they gain it for all languages they know how to speak. Bards: Bards work pretty much as they always have; performers, social and political activists, and the like. The only change lies in that Bard is a class more commonly taken by Merfolk. The Merfolk, still a militant people in their competition for control of the Fontatis, managed to keep their musical talents alive by channeling them into their combat and command systems. Bard Merfolk are almost always leaders, commanders, and ministers. They do not simply take the role of "drummer boy" in battle. Clerics: Clerics are almost exclusively civil servants. As explained in chapter 6, they do not necessarily worship a deity. But they always commit themselves to an ideology and spend the rest of their lives trying to bring that ideology to bear on Compitum. Clerics also find occumpation buildng and enchanting the Pylons that are used in the larger cities of Compitum. Clerics are predominantly Lawful Neutral. Druids: Druids are hard to find in Compitum. They tend to stay within their deep, dark forests communing with the creatures of the wood. The only major differance is Druids usually have Earth Affinity, and thus were attracted to such a lifestyle. Fighters: Fighters are almost always of high society. Because Compitum has been relatively non-militant, extremely talented soldiers usually become so through a lack of other things to focus on. When one is wealthy, one must find a hobby. The militant are almost always warriors, not fighters. Monks: Monks are far more common in Compitum than any other physical combat-based class. This is because many value intense discipline and study, and the spreading of Pectverum has caused many people to turn on to a path of "enlightment." The combat prowess is more or less a side-effect of the intense discipline. Paladins: Paladins are extremely rare. Most people with divine tendencies commit themselves further to its study, rather than sidetracking into physical-combat abilities. Rangers: Rangers are increasing in number with the Deus Arbitrium and Aliovore conflict. Scouting missions to better understand the situation have come into effect from many major cities. They are slightly more common that Fighters and slightly less common than Monks. Rogues: Because of the large urbanity in Compitum, Rogues find themselves in both high numbers and high demand. Many people find that slickness and guile are needed to survive in the deceivingly peaceful cities of Compitum. Underground crime is a scourge that hits every major center, and corruption runs fairly deep in most city governments. Many people theorize that the onslaught of organized crime is the outlet that evil-aligned creatures use in the face of their civility. Sorcerers: Sorcerers are less strong in Compitum than they would be in other worlds. Rather than relying on innate talent, the societal focus on discipline and study causes most people to veer toward being a wizard. Those Sorcerers that do exist are usually shamans for nomadic peoples in the plains, and are more comman among the lower races than anything else. Wizards: Wizards, like clerics, tend to be civil servants. They usually got their education in magic through public funding, which requires at least 10 years of public service to pay off. Wizards handle communications, the Elemental Gateways, and though they cannot embue Pylons with magical power, they often are left to fix any of the artificed parts that may break.
Dwimorberg 03-13-05, 06:39 PM	I think it sounds like a great setting so far. I especially like the idea of the Deus Arbitrium and the Aliovores . Keep going with the idea I'd like to see howit develops. Can the Deus Arbitrium and the Aliovores be used as PCs in any way?
thinkhard 03-13-05, 07:46 PM	I think for now the Deus Arbitrium and Aliovores would distinctly be NPC races. The main point of the campaign setting is to be either one of the third party deciding what to do with the humans or be a human in the middle of the conflict. If I ever made the Deus Arbitrium or Aliovores playable, they would have massive level adjustments, and very strict rules of character action. Is there anything wrong with what i have so far?
thinkhard 03-14-05, 07:18 AM	Seriously, before i move on and expand the universe i want some more feedback.
Darien_CR 03-14-05, 11:22 AM	Poor Humans... :weep: It's cool, I like the idea that maybe the PCs are a strange race and struggle to save humans. Though, I think you need more background regarding these two races that came to destroy humans, it just seems like an inexplicable catastrophe.
thinkhard 03-14-05, 01:32 PM	Good point. I do have a history in mind, its just i if were to perfectly explain it here for all to see there wouldnt be something to "find out" for players. This is kind of like a background to play by. I think the DM would fill in gaps. If a DM is interested in running a campaign on this, he should message me so I could message him some of my ideas for the "secrets" of Compitum. As of yet i have no geography or detailed social history for Compitum, i'm probably gonna make that stuff this summer when i have more free time. Thanks for the input tho. any more questions/suggestions?
thinkhard 03-18-05, 07:27 AM	UPDATE: Deus Arbitrium Stats. COMING SOON: Aliovore Stats
thinkhard 03-18-05, 06:20 PM	UPDATE: Aliovore stats. COMING SOON: Compitum Cosmology? Maybe?
thinkhard 03-19-05, 12:48 PM	UPDATE: Cosmology COMING IN QUITE A LONG TIME: Social History
Lord Dracos 03-19-05, 05:20 PM	Darien CR: Not many people have used your great idea. It would seem. On the campaign setting, it looks great! I like the idea of having humans be lowered down to the position usually saved for kobalds. I don't have much time to read it, but is there a major race.?
thinkhard 03-19-05, 09:35 PM	I haven't decided on a major race yet. I might choose one when i develop the social history for Compitum, which will be quite an undertaking. Thanks for the comment :) Oh and if any of you can drop by the cosmology thread and leave comments? That needs some development.
thinkhard 03-20-05, 03:11 PM	UPDATE: Pectverum, a religion of Compitum. Check it out! Its in the table of contents.
weasel fierce 03-21-05, 01:34 AM	Very interesting. The idea of an alien invader is quite fresh for a D&D game. It has a certain superhero element to it as well, something that 3.x should handle quite well.
Sulaco 03-21-05, 10:52 AM	My thoughts are that you posted this to the wrong board. This belongs in the CAMPAIGN WORKSHOP (http://boards1.wizards.com/forumdisplay.php?f=295).
thinkhard 03-21-05, 05:03 PM	i had it posted on campaign workshop (i had posted on there when i first realized my initial mistake) but this one was getting far more attention than the one on CW so i kept this one running. And the moderators havent moved/deleted it, so ya kno. Hopefully they'll move this one rather than delete it cuz this is where all the links to my other supplements for the setting are.
thinkhard 03-23-05, 06:48 PM	UPDATE: Compitum Geography
thinkhard 03-31-05, 03:37 PM	UPDATE: Core Classes in Compitum (this thread, bottom of first post)
thinkhard 04-06-05, 04:24 PM	UPDATE: Channeling and Expanded Elemental Explanation (check table of contents for links to the threads)
thinkhard 06-27-05, 03:25 PM	Can someone explain why the wizos locked the first thread so i can't edit it anymore?????
ripvanwormer 12-03-05, 03:35 AM	I have no idea, but I like threads with illustrations!
thinkhard 01-26-06, 11:34 PM	hah thanks
The Grig Fiddler 01-27-06, 01:48 AM	I havent read everything yet but so far seems really awesome.
thinkhard 01-28-06, 02:16 PM	thanks man. I did a campaign in this setting last year. It was about 11 sessions long, but then i ran out of time to do it, and i haven't picked it back up yet. It was a pretty big hit, but these people are my friends so they're a little more open minded to my ideas. Has anyone else tried using this setting yet?
The Grig Fiddler 01-28-06, 05:10 PM	Ive created my first shatterskin character. Hes a LG wizard trying to find a cure be it through science, arcane, or divine magic. Cant wait to play him. I believe my current character might come down with a case of the "I run at the dragon." syndrome.
thinkhard 01-28-06, 10:34 PM	sweet! so you used the updated LA +1 rules? I hope they work out better than the old ones.
Ishmayl 02-02-06, 07:29 AM	Hey thinkhard, I decided to go ahead and bump this up, because it's got some really neat stuff here that others should see. Hope you don't mind. When I get off work today, I'll give a more detailed and appropriate response. Cheers! -B
Adrez Nesnsid 12-01-06, 03:38 PM	This is interesting :bump: