Post/Author/DateTime	Post
darkmooninc 03-27-07, 10:22 PM	I am putting together some of my homebrew rules into a giant gameworld that places itself as a Middle world between portals to all worlds. The attempt is to make a world and 5 outlaying zones that encompass just about anything someone could play. The purpose to this world is to give a middle ground that ties all D20 games together, allowing a balanced way to mingle them. I am looking for someone who is experienced with D20 to help me iron out some of the (eventual and apparent) problems with tying this all together. A couple of cohorts, if you will. Read through the into below, this is the tip of the iceberg. So far I have about 10,000 words written. I have 41 classes, 47 races, and a load of world and maps built. If anybody's up to it, lemme know. Take this with a grain of salt and bit of light heartedness. I don't need negativity, I need people willing to look over it and help with advice. Thanks, Shawn ----------- Here is an intro - The balance factor of this realm is that all things are powered by their world's source. When something leaves it's world, the power from it's source slowly lessens and soon becomes powerless (a elf magician in a science realm is justa guy with pointy ears, a cyborg in a magical world is just a hunk of metal). Through spent effort and time, or rare Artifacts, conversion can allow powers to be replicated through the new source of power. If something is too strong, or too attached to it's power source, it faces either an inability to leave it's world or finds that it starts to unravel/unexist as it leaves. There are layers of power and existence, like depths from high atmosphere down into deep ocean water. One end of it is magic, pure thought and energy, called the Ethereal. The other end is digital, pure technology and energy, called the Physical. Layers: Cyberspace, Sub Physical, Midworld, Sub Ethereal, Afterlife, Dreamspace The portals and zones are not on a linear plane. There are five main layers, stack upon one another. Imagine if the top layer was an atmosphere, the second layer a sky, the third layer water level, the fourth layer underwater, and the fifth layer deep water. These are not really five seperate places, but five judgable depths of reality. With the proper transportation, you can move upwards and downwards through layers without trouble. However, if you travel too high or too deep you need supplemental abilities to survive. The top layer Dreamspace, though we use top to bottom here the layers are not in any direction - up or down, is the Ethereal. It is the realm of dreams and pure magic. At it's futhestmost top is worlds of chaotic dream energy, and worlds of pure thought. The layer below it is the Sub Realms of the Ethereal. Pocket dimensions and new worlds that are more magical and less tangible exist in this layer. It is in this layer that some permanent, important layers exist in most realms - the shadow realms. It is in this sub ethereal that a lot of normal magic realms overlap reality, and is where spirits exist. The middle layer is reality, a stable existence between the Etheral and the Physical. The layer beneath this is the Sub Physical realm, a realm where machines and mundane realities thrive. Banality exists here. At the bottom, like deep water to wade in, exists worlds entirely of machines or minerals, where the physical of reality is so potent things are nearly organicless. At the very bottom depths is Cyberspace, there exists several realities of pure energy in physical form, and digital realms where computer data is the only form of matter. Each zone exists in one of these five layers. As stated, the layers are not seperate items, but a way to judge how far a zone deviates into the Ethereal or the Physical. Middlegate sits right at the middle layer. A few pockets exists in the sub layers both physical and ethereal, but rarely deviate far from it. Lowland is relatively equal with Midworld, and is known for it's lack of both magical influence and technological innovation. Grind Hollows exists entirely in the Sub Physical realm, with some sections lowering into the middle or even up into the pure Physical. Utropolis is relatively new, and although it exists in the Sub Physical Zone, it seems to have no effect on anything Ethereal. In fact, a few scholars believe it exists in the Sub Ethereal and the Sub Physical simultaneously. This zone is new and very unusual, as well as largely unexplored. Shadow Falls starts in the Middle layer but many parts of it also exist in the Sub Ethereal. It is from this Zone that a special section of the Dreamspace is accesible, zones of nightmares, evil, and darkness. Sage Peak is entirely in the Sub Ethereal, though rarely does it ever reach into the Dreamspace. There are a few zones connected here made of pure magic and filled with mythical beings in mythical places, and there are several zones of pure dream worlds. --- As well as having races and classes for Middlegate and each of the five Zones, characters also get abilities called Uniques dependent upon their starting world. For most of the Uniques, they are a special unlimited ability that doesn't change or go up in level (think of the gifts in the series Xanth or super powers). Sample Uniques are: Middlegate - Freeform magic, Summoning, Precise Aim, Divine Patronage, Shapeshifting, Training, Twin, Regeneration, Duplication, Flight, Insubstantial form, Immunity, Elemental control, Following, Forcefield, Healing, Sixth Sense, Camouflage Bound Relic, Jumping, Mimic, Mind Control, Natural Weapons Wormhole Affinity, Pocket Dimension, Illusion, Speed, Teleport Shadow Falls - Psychic, Undead, Vampirism, Lycanthropy, Shroud Traveller Sage Peak -Spontaneous casting, Miniatures, Elemental form Grind Hollows - Mechanical Affinity, Cybernetics, Mechanical replication Lowlands - Lady Luck, Luck of the Draw, Winner's Hand --- Sage Peak is an expansive fantasy world with the traditional classes and races. Characters who get caught up into politics can go to the sides of the Civilized or the Barberians through choices and actions. Any humanoid sentient race is a playable race. Further from this zone is the realm of the Dragon Lords, and further from that worlds of pure dreams and magic. Shadow Falls is a world of dark swamps and horrible monsters. Filled with werewolves, demons, zombies, vampires, and twisted dark versions of other monsters, this is a realm of evil. Players can pick from a range of horror classes, abilities, and races. Spells here drain your sanity and lead to madness. Further from this zone lies the land of the Vampire Lords, and Miskatonic - a world like our own where dark elder gods control humanity like pawns. Lowland is a world of desert and gunslingers, where both magic and technology are scarce. The only power that exists here is luck (or fate). Players get a decent range of wild west classes. Further from this zone leads to a Medival realm, a Viking realm, the Country Calla, and the Modern world. Grind Hollows is a large continent covered nearly completely by a massive steampunk city with layers. The very center is a higher tech area for the rich run by the Clock Marquis, and an underground revolution has started to fight his madness. Players get to be humans, orcs, goblins, dwarves, constructs, and they get to be Engineers, Tinkerers, Bodyguards, Accountants, and Pilots. Steam and clockwork machines populate a Victorian style society, where magic fails to exist. Further from this zone exists ties to the Modern world, and from this path goes to a Future world of spaceships and lazerguns, and lastly to a world of pure digital cyberspace. Utropolis is a world very similar to our own, but magic and science mingle together heavily. Aliens have invaded and super powered individuals have appeared to save the world. Superheroes patrol this realm, keeping it safe from numerous dangers. Players get powers, and declare themselves Heroes, Vigilantes, and Villains depending on actions. This world was only accessible very recently and it was thought it led to no other worlds, but some explorers have stumbled on a path to a set of worlds that mirror all the others and can only be described as Anime. Middlegate is a large island which is connected to all other worlds. It is here that all the other Zones mix, so a town could have robots, magicians, zombies, gunslingers, and super heroes. The beaches (except the Stable Bay marine) are changing grounds, places where portals constantly open to the other five Zones. Large amounts inland from the changing grounds will change as well, the land sort of moving and shifting slowly over the course of months. Settlers here cannot build permanent structures, but find crops grow exceptionally fast. A large amount of the center of the island, touching Stable Bay, is a stable land where towns and farmlands exist. The very center of the island is a Null zone where no power source works, and the leaders of the realm control the chaos.
TheHarrow 03-31-07, 01:50 AM	now that right there is a bucket full of awesome
darkmooninc 04-01-07, 04:35 AM	Mostly I've been working on getting the whole skeleton for it worked out. I'm still waiting for a few of my books to arrive in the mail, but so far here's the inspiration for sources: D&D Player's Guide D&D Dungeon Master's Guide D&D Monster Manual World of Warcraft Roleplaying Game Conan D20 Ptolus Call of Cthulhu D20 Darkness & Dread Heroes of Horror OGL Horror OGL Wild West Sidewinder: Recoiled Spellslinger: Shootouts and Sorcery on the Wild Frontier D20 Modern D20 Modern - Past D20 Modern - Future Iron Kingdoms Character Guide Iron Kingdoms World Guide OGL Steampunk Sorcery & Steam Steam & Steel GURPS Steampunk (Great setting info and background) Mutants & Masterminds Silver Age Sentinels D20 BESM D20 (Edit) LOL Book of Erotic Fantasy LOL Basically it's a way to tie these together and create a balancing act so they don't overpower each other. By using this book, a gamer can easily import a character from virtually any of the above listed books. Or so my goal is. LOL. I'll post when I get a reasonable reading copy complete. My goal is to publish two versions of this information. A slimmer 200+ page campaign guide under D20 rules available to introduce those to the setting and worlds themselves, and a full thick 600+ page OGL compendium with character creation rules, a 1st through 5th level campaign adventure, in depth background and items for each of the six worlds, and more information. ... Anybody an artist or a editor? LOL Thanks, Shawn
Oron_Rubic 04-05-07, 09:36 AM	Well, quite an interesting project. Fact is that if you manage to pull this through, you will never have to built a campaign setting again. Anything new will just be added. The difficult part is the place where all the gendries meet. I am willing to lend a hand or two, though i don't have access to such a large number of books.
darkmooninc 04-08-07, 03:34 PM	It would be awesome to have some helpers, at least to look over the project and help with advice and opinions. One of the keys in the book will be that it mentions in several places "Middlegate is a world you can use, but mainly is a way to combine other games. Even though we have character creation rules here, we suggest you go out and buy other D20 games that you are interested in and import them into this." Aside from that, I am a storyteller and a novelist (ametuer) so I intend to tell a good story and build a complex, intriguing world while at the same time providing a good middleground for other games.
WanderingGod 04-09-07, 10:14 PM	It's sort of like a Planescape concept except with perhaps more potential. The problem with Planescape was that they never really knew what to do with it. Hopefully this nightmare won't happen to you. Anyway, my first suggestion would be to do away with each world having it's own power source. There should be one source that binds all worlds, just some worlds have headed in different paths. It would be cool to have a sorceror stumble into a steampunk world and start wreaking havoc or for a space traveller to introduce his starship into a low tech world. If these things degrade and, after a time, no longer work in the other worlds, then you're kind of killing one of the coolest concepts there could be.
darkmooninc 04-10-07, 02:44 AM	Part of the design was similiar to Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura. They had a system where characters who were heavily magical made technology malfunction, and characters who were heavily technological had spell failure and were immune to spells (to a degree). A reason that powers degrade if they get out of their world is for many First, the middle world Middlegate doesn't degrade power too much. In Middlegate, all of the things work at a decent percentage of original. Something about munchkin characters with cybernetic parts and high level spell casters bugs me LOL. The degrade exists dependant on their power level and how far they stray into that world. A powerful magician in a technology world gets powerless as he travels into that realm. If he returns to his realm, his power returns. However, if he spends enough time in that technology realm, his powers return through natural conversion but through technology. So he can achieve the same effects, but slightly different. If he finds an artifact of artificial conversion, he retains his own power supply but fuels it from the different world's supply - thereby using magic in a technological world. The reason I originally set it up as such is because some worlds and systems are extremely overpowered. A mutants and masterminds character, for instance, going into a wild west game would be devastating. Game balance is that the more a person is tied to a world's power, the less room they have to roam. Imagine, if you will, this scenario. Call of Cthulhu has some dark horrible Elder Gods. Star Wars has galactic cruise ships. If either one of those escaped into one of the lower powered worlds, there would be a clear disadvantage. Also, it's a balance of power so gamers don't make ubermensch munchkins and travel from world to world draining of resources. But also, the rules are not completely set in stone. One, there are ways of power conversion so characters can use their powers in different worlds, and there is a flipside version of Middlegate (Outergate?) where there is no power loss and everything mixes without loss. This world would be insane, I can only imagine, with all the sources I have. Also one of the things with worlds having their own sources of power is that the laws of reality change. In the Wild West and realistic worlds, damage is quick and severe. Read OGL Wild West, they have this awesome setup for making gunfights quick and deadly. In Mutants and Masterminds, damage is comic book style and characters rarely die, they just get knocked out or disabled. It's like the movie Last Action Hero. Arnold can do these insane things in his movie and be fine, he breaks a car window in the Real World and he says "Ow, that never hurt before!". By allowing the different worlds their own power source, we can allow changes in reality and also we allow balance. In the end, though, this will be a big toolbox where players can And also, this is only in development. I DO want something fun for players, yet fair for gaming groups. As I said, I'm still ways away from a readable product. Thanks, Shawn
Prime32 04-11-07, 02:21 PM	Interesting... so would a warforged travelling to a technological realm turn into a robot and vice versa?
darkmooninc 04-13-07, 12:53 PM	In my ruling, the warforged would loose it's magical essence by going to a machine world. Not loose, but suppress. It will come back to being a Warforged when it returns to it's own realm. While it's in the machine world, the rules are fuzzy. If it's a basic low level warforged, it could just be a sentient robot in a machine world. If it it's higher level, like a 15 level or epic character, it could become an inert lump of metal (unconscious), and stay that way until it leaves the machine world. An in-between setting, or an optional feature, is that the warforged stays the same but gets easily dazed or confused due to the suppressed power source. This state would last until the warforged gains a level or so, becoming use to the new realm and naturally converting to this realm's power source. As I said, the issue is not limiting coolness. In the center realm Middlegate I plan to have bizarre mixing. But for the outside worlds, they go on a specific power source. In between the five hub worlds will be dozens of other worlds. In between the steampunk and fantasy realms will be tunnels into a combination realm, one of magical fantasy steampunk. So if you're in Middlegate, you have to travel through the fantasy or steampunk world, and then travel into the hidden magical fantasy steampunk. Sort of like doorway worlds. Each of the five hub worlds runs off a center principle (magic, machines, horror, reality, and super heroes). These hub worlds lead to the dozens of outer realms. And from these outer realms, you can go into other published materials. Going through a magical fantasy steampunk world could lead you to Eberron, Shadowrun, or to Iron Kingdoms. Going through Utropolis can lead to Mutants and Masterminds. Grindhollows leads to HoL...? Through the back door of Lowland leads to Modern, Spycraft, OGL Ancients. Through Sage Peak you can get into Greyhawk, Forgotten Realms, Warcraft (World of ?), Kalamar, Ravenloft etc. Through Shadow Falls you get into Call of Cthulhu, any World of Darkness, Beyond Supernatural. Through Middlegate, some worlds open up into Rifts or GURPS. Basically, you can see what the course is here. For those of us with awesome sourcebooks and gaming materials no one will play, we can make a cheap and dirty conversion system. Thanks, Shawn