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meabolex 08-23-04, 05:51 PM

Hello everyone, it's time for me to develop a new campaign. I'm preparing this guy far in advance of actual play, so please feel free to attack/defend/rejoice/whatever about the campaign elements I've been working on. I decided to start by defining the relationships between religion, race, and class in order to make a synthesis between what I want in rule-based terms and story-based terms. As I implied earlier, this is FAR from done -- it only gives an overview into some ideas I'm thinking about. I'm heavily drawing from WotC's Unearthed Arcana (UA) to give a sense of geography and depth before I even draw a map. I'm also using that book to make more mechanical sense out of my religious system (which I'll map out a bit later). I also like UA because it is open gaming content -- which I can freely spread around my gaming group. So I won't be using any other source book other than UA and the core rules. Here's a rough outline of what I've been thinking about so far: 1. There are no gods, but instead numerous spirits that inhabit various planes -- including the material plane. Spirits, in mechanical terms, are defined as the following: all incorporeal undead, all fey, all elementals, creatures in astral form or with astral bodies. These spirits range in varying degrees of power -- from weak to near-infinitely powerful. The vast majority do not care about most of the deeds of mortals or even other spirits. In general, only the most powerful spirits grant domain spells and provide the general energies for divine spellcasting. 2. There is another axis of alignment in this world: the Kegare/Kiyome axis. Kegare means dirtiness -- one who's relationship with spirits is stormy and convoluted. Kiyome -- meaning purity -- is a quality of someone who is respected by the spirits (and typically leaves that person alone). In most social terms, being near the Kiyome axis is better than being near the Kegare level. Occasionally, certain cults and groups look at the opposite perspective -- a high Kegare factor can be an attribute of someone who champions one good spirit while offending many evil spirits. This kind of character often brings trouble from evil spirits -- so in general societies are wary of them. Most PCs start out at Heiko, which means a balance between Kegare and Kiyome. Even at Heiko, most people in society are wary of those who are not striving for Kiyome. 3. Druids call upon the powers of nature spirits -- perhaps a particular spirit that represents nature or several spirits that exist as a naturally as part of a place. Most druids are in a constant state of Kiyome. A druid that falls to the level of Kegare loses all powers as if he doesn't revere nature. 4. Cleric spellcasting focuses on a different spirit for each domain. Each spirit has its own portfolio -- but if a cleric violates the portfolio from any domain, he is considered to be disrespectful to the domain spirit and loses *all* powers until he atones to that spirit. A cleric must maintain a fairly good relationship with his primary spirits in order to maintain his powers. The Kiyome/Kegare axis typically doesn't matter to the cleric -- only the relationship with his primary spirits does. Clerics are usually in a state of Heiko. 5. Druids and clerics gain spontaneous divine casting as outlined in UA. Prepared divine spells are usually cast by a paladin or ranger. While paladins and rangers share a bond with spirits to gain their divine spells, they don't quite have the bond clerics and druids have. A ranger and paladin must carefully prepare each spell in order to channel the power from a spirit. Rangers get their powers from local nature spirits. Paladins get their powers from a champion spirit. 6. Human civilization has been destroyed by a particularly nasty disease simply called Omega. All creatures with human blood vanished from off the face of the plane. Creatures with non-human blood (including creatures that are half human, like half-elves or half-orcs) were not affected. Since a great amount of time has passed since the Omega plague, civilizations have almost totally forgotten about the human race -- except for a few scholars, some surviving written records, and ruins. 7. There was essentially anarchy with the sudden loss of humanity. The savage races, left unchecked, ripped the land apart. Education and cultural awareness descended substantially. Many civilizations boxed each other up -- with the exception of half-elves, who still managed to attempt trade and communication between the various non-savage groups. 8. Half-orcs joined together after the loss of humanity and developed a very distinct culture based on revering various spirits. While half-orcs maintain some physical and appearance-based connections to orcs, orcs and half-orcs almost always hate each other. Half-orcs are far more spiritual than in the standard D&D game -- their favored class becomes cleric (instead of barbarian). Otherwise, they maintain their same stats. Note that while half-orcs do have some writings about their religious beliefs, most of the half-orc religious tradition is passed through common rituals at various shrines. Understanding the religion is a lot less important than acknowledging and/or respecting it. Despite their fealty to religion, half-orcs are associated with orcs by the other races and thus shunned in general. 9. With the removal of humans, a primitive racial-based tribalism emerged. With a strict racial division between most races, large armies and empires became a thing of the past. Instead, tribes began to train champions for battle with other tribes and alien forces. Each tribe is represented by both a race and a totem (outlined in UA). Tribes occasionally band together to take on a major threat -- sometimes under the banner of a totem, sometimes under the banner of a race -- sometimes both. While communication between tribes is often made, they often distrust or fear each other. Tribes of half-elf merchants are among the most accepted tribes by all others. 10. The ancient tradition of fighting monks in the various monasteries dedicated to various spirits is still a powerful force in the land. The monks actively compete with each other for influence with the tribes. An alliance between the monasteries and tribes repulsed the savage hordes and drove them underground. In general, the tribes and monasteries respect each other with a calm neutrality. However, conflicts and situations can arise that put tribes and monasteries at odds with each other. Due to the spiritual purity that monks must have, a character must be in a state of Kiyome in order to advance a level in monk (in addition to any other requirements of a monk). Each monastery has its own specific fighting style associated with it -- those are in the UA. Each monk must select a particular fighting style at first level. 11. With a general lack of large civilizations and (at best) small city-states, rural-based characters are by far the most numerous. With education and study being on the backburner for many races, scholarly classes became fairly rare. Only elves, half-elves, and gnomes keep a scholarly tradition of any sort. Half-orcs are less interested in written word and more interested in being on good terms with the spirits. 12. Paladins are essentially wandering warriors with divine power granted from a fairly powerful champion spirit. The spirit charges the paladin to fight for the spirit's moralistic ideals. Paladins are always chosen -- no one picks to become a paladin. A person may be born a paladin or be granted a spirit's blessing by doing some deed to prove the candidate paladin's worth. Paladins typically achieve a state of Kegare -- but that doesn't have a negative mechanical effect on a paladin -- only a social one. They're quite polar in their ideals and step on the toes of various oppositely aligned spirits. While they bring many healing powers, most individuals in society are afraid of paladins due to the evil spirits they anger. 13. The following classes are available to each race: * * * Barbarian (must pick a totem from the UA) Monk (must pick a school from the UA) Paladin (including the paladins from the UA) Druid (spontaneous caster in UA) Ranger Sorcerer * * * All other classes are assigned racially. Each race gets its favored class as possible selection. Half-elves are the only race that can normally select any class. Characters may take a feat in order to gain access to a class that isn't in the list above: * * * Worldly General Benefit: You gain access to any one class that your race would normally prevent you from taking. In addition, for levels in that class, you add a skill from another class you have as a permanent class skill in the new class. This skill must be a skill that wasn't previously in the new class's class skill list. You gain a +1 bonus on that skill. Special: Half-elves instead select any skill and permanently make that skill a class skill (regardless of class) and gain a +2 bonus on checks with that skill. * * * The cleric is also a spontaneous caster (as in the UA). Only the wizard, ranger, and paladin normally prepare spells. 14. Prestige classes are open if you qualify for them and, in game terms, make sense for your character and the game world. There are no special racial limitations for prestige classes (unless the prestige classes themselves say otherwise).