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| #1garyamortFeb 03, 2015 14:19:39 | I was playing around with the idea of an all halfling party.... and just couldn't think of it as a "serious" game. So then I got to thinking, what if the entire campaign world was halflings and other small races? Then you bypass all the "little folk in a big folk world". That led to how would the world come about, which was fairly easily answered - take the standard "world being destroyed" meme, with the big magic portals leading all the refugees to safety....and just have the portals close early. Who got left begind? The smaller, less pushy race - halflings. Their most powerfull casters aren't able to reopen the portals, but they do manage to send out a message through the realms of the gods...kinda useless though since most gods won't bother with halflings. Instead, the message ended up reaching a relatively new demigod. A former hero who always stood up for the little guy. A hero who was raised to demi god status[barely] thanks to the many shrines in his honor.. Yes, I'm talking about Tasselhoff Burrfoot.
Naturally Tass doesn't have the power to save them, but he is persistent and bugs Reorx enough to be given a recommendation on where to go for help....a small little quasi plane where one Raistlin Majere was trapped after his failed bid to become a god. So with the help of Flint, Tass manages to free Raistlin - who takes advantage of the situation to help Tass, and the Halflings as well as achieve a life long dream.
Raist knows that by saving the halflings, the three of them will be venerated by them for generations - instant demi godhood. Moreover, by carefully ensuring that the Material Plane they escape to lacks any gods - this power can be easily manipulated into true godhood.
The long and the short of it being that the halflings escape to Middle Oerd, and Tass, Raistlin, and Flint become the first, and most major gods of the world. Over the generations, the 3 demi gods will help save some other races - along with help from some former companions. Some heroes of the world will also rise to demi godhood.
What Raistlin did not count on was the fact that Deities are influenced and changed by the beliefs of their followers. As the main motivator of saving the halflings, Tass has become Chief of the Gods, a powerful Warrior God, not a god of rogues. Raistlin himself is the major deity of magic, but the strong Lawful and Good tendencies of the halflings have influenced him to become Lawful Neutral.
This campaign world is based on what I'm calling "serious parody" - by that it means I am creating parodies of charectors that are generally classed as the "comic relief sidekick" where the parodies are more serious charectors. By the same token, the races of the world tend to be "comic relief" races turned into serious ones. Halflings are the predominant race - but there will also be parodies of Kender, Gully Dwarves, Goblins and Pixie Fairies. By the same token, the "Gods" are mostly drawn from the world of Dragonlance - but they are drawn mainly from non central charectors.
In this thread, I will post further details on the races, classes, and Deities of Middle Oerd. Comments and advice are most welcome. |
| #2BRJNFeb 03, 2015 16:46:16 | Yondalla (halfling deity from v3) also had a dark side - you can't lead people to "a safe place" unless you first send somebody to make sure it IS safe, and clear it if necessary. She could be a non-comic halfling deity.
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| #3garyamortFeb 07, 2015 16:03:51 | Goblins: Note: For a more in depth background on Goblins, see the sage J. Hines biographies of Jig the Goblin: Goblin Quest, Goblin Hero, and Goblin War.
Goblin society is very different from halfling society. Goblins live in what could most charitably be called a commune. They find the concept of parents raising their children to be horribly ineffecient - instead from birth, goblin babies are raised in a community nursery by a few poor goblins stuck with the responsiblity of caring for all the children. They never know their parents, and their parents have no idea which children are theirs.
Goblin babies can most charitably be described as rabid animals. Their main instinct being to tunnel and create small hiding places, from which their caretakers will have to pry them out of, assuming the tunnel doesn't collapse. Somewhere between age 4 and 6, goblin children learn to speak Goblin and are allowed out of the nursery - at least those that survive. Generally only a third of the goblins born make it out of the nursery.
Young goblins will then be raised by the community. Goblins make strict, some might say harsh, instructors - but it obviously works as by the time goblins are 9 years old, they are considered adults and may take their place in the community - that place being warrior, kitchen drudge, or miner.
Most goblins are exceedingly stupid, average intelligence is 5-6, however there is a small percentage that actually have brains, with an average intelligence between 8 and 10. And an even smaller percentage of freaks with intelligence over 15. These goblins are the leaders of the community. The chiefs, the shamans, the traders. Even though the percentage of intelligent goblins is low, it is still too high for most goblin communities. Depending on location, this will either lead to a split in the tribe, with the new tribe migrating someplace new - or civil war which generally results in the entire tribe being wiped out. To avoid this, most chiefs will manufacture some reason to banish the smarter goblins from the community - which leads to many goblins becoming adventurers.
Goblins are primarily carnivores, meat makes a high percentage of their diet, and they will eat almost anything. Nevertheless Goblins have a very refined sense of taste and make excellent cooks. In fact, some of their chief exports are Klak Beer, Goblin Rations, and Cheese.
Goblin rations have such a high protein content, and are so condensed, that a weeks worth of goblin rations weighs no more then a days worth of normal rations. Goblin rations are an extremely dense and tough form of dried and preserved....meat(?) A common joke being that the rations last for a week because that is how long it takes to chew them.
Goblins are prodigous miners, but they generally lack the skills to do anything with what they mine, so while they are the chief suppliers of ores, coal, and raw gemstones - they fail to profit much from it.
Goblins tend towards Lawful Evil as an alignment. This would normally make one think they would have problems adapting to halfling society, however Goblins have a very strong tendency towards Lawful over Evil, so once they learn the rules of halfling society, they tend to follow them - even if they make no sense. For example, in Goblin society, promotion generally comes about through killing one's superior. The halfling concept of electing leaders makes no sense to them - but while living amongst halflings, they will follow that rule.
Goblin Mythology: Goblins revere the god Raistlin for aiding them in migrating to middle oerd. They also revere their own deities: Veka god of goblin magic; Relka god of runts and goblin adventurers; Golaka god of cooking. Of the three, Golaka is the most important goblin deity, feared and honored by all goblins.
Ability score Increases: Strength +2, Constitution +1, Dexterity+1
Runts: Size: Runts tend to be between 2 and 2.5 feet tall, and weight no more then 30 pounds. They are size small.
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| #4garyamortFeb 08, 2015 14:46:07 | Mythology:
These are the myths of creation of the plane of Middle Oerd, mostly only known to the sages and those steeped in the lore of the Krynnish Pantheon.
At a beginning, there was the powerful deity Eru Iluvatar. He alone created the plane called Middle Oerd and caused the formation of all on the surface, as well as above and below. It was formed according to his Great Plan. He set in place the guardians, to guide in the growth of his world - all according to the Great Plan. A short while after the great work of creation was started, Eru disappeared, seemingly forever.
Of these guardians, the most powerful were of the race of Ộnodrim. There are a number of creatures of the race of Ộnodrim - some female, some male, and some other. The most powerful of the Ộnodrim are the mothers, called as a group the Ộnt and the fathers, called the Enyd.
The Ộnt are the keepers of the fields and valleys. The Ộnt are responsible for all flying creatures and all those that burrow near the surface of the earth. From the great Eagles to the humble hummingbird. The smallest ant is subject to their will. In shape, Ộnt's resemble huge, thick brambles. They produce many different flowers, fruits, and nuts, which form the sustenance of many of their charges. Ộnt's delight in chatting with all the creatures of the world and can ramble for hours in a fast paced chatter. The Ộnt's control the blooming and spread of the flowers and the field grasses. Through their charges, they are aware of all that goes on upon the oerth and often are they called upon to act as mediators between the other shepherds.
As if a joke of the god, the mates of the Ộnt's are quite different. Their mates, called the Enyd, are solitary and prone to long periods of quiet contemplation. The Enyd are charged with the care and growth of the forests. The tree herders can be gone from home for centuries at a time.
It was this that led to what the followers of Eru call the great betrayal. In their lonelyness, the Ộnt's caused some the passages between worlds to be opened, in search of their creator Eru. It was the opening of these passages which led to the Ộnt's hearing the call of despair of the first halflings - trapped upon a dying world after all others, including the gods, had fled. It was they, in conjunction with the great Deities Tasselhoff, Flint, and Raistlin that created the great gates which allowed those trapped halflings to flee to middle oerd, along with their newfound deities.
In the centuries to come, many faltering and abused races would find their way to Middle Oerd - bringing their own newly formed deities. Amongst them were the so called gully dwarves, or as they are called now, simply dwarves. Brought over by the cooperation of Tasselhoff aided by the gods of Magic and Light - Raistlin and his wife Crysania. This transfer also aided by their daughter, the Goddes of Dwarves, Bupu.
Also brought over where the so called afflicted kender. It is said that Tasselhoff reached out to his companions, and managed with the aid of Fizban; god of magic, and Goldmoon ; goddes of healing,. It is also said that Raistlin opposed this transfer and vowed to have his revenge. The kender were to settle on the plains, and their primary deity is Riverwind, husband to Goldmoon, and god of Rangers and Monks.
Goblins, it is believed, were bright to middle oerd by Raistlin in retaliation for the kender. Brought from a different plane entirely, along with their mountain home, they swiftly became a dominant race. Also brought with them through chance, rather then design, were the Kobolds and Hobgoblins - as well as a few Pixie Fairies which were hidden away in the mountain and managed to adapt to middle oerd.
It cannot be said that all these races lived in harmony originally - there was much fighting between them as they settled in. About the only universal law they all respected was a respect of the forests - due to the close ties between the Ộnt's and the tree herders. Most races find the idea of cutting down trees to be abhorrent - and thus make do with alternatives to wood for many things, though there is enough deadfall and pruning to allow reasonable development of tools and weapons - with the exception of bows which are considered wasteful of wood[due to the tendency of arrows to break upon impact]. Crossbow bolts are typically made of light metals.
Long after these races had settled and expanded, Eru the creator was to return. Along with Eru came a great host of lesser deities called the Valar. Chief amongs the Valar were the leaders Melkhor and Manwë. Great was his anger when he discovered his plan was in disarray - the world he had planned to make a home to the races of the Minnónar and the Apanónar.
In his anger, there was a great war between the two pantheons. Because many of the new gods had come from the plane of Krynn, they became known as the Krynnish Gods. While opposing them were the forces of the Ilúvatar.
This war was to bond together Krynish Gods into a strong, unified pantheon of deities. To this day, it is rare indeed to find a cleric dedicated to a specific god under level 5. In fact, all clerical spells from 1st to 3rd level can be cast by a cleric of the Krynish Gods as a whole - it is only to access spells of level 4 or above that a cleric must choose a specific deity to pray to. In general, the Krynnish gods are all Lawful in nature and include gods of good and evil who work side by side. In contrast, the forces Ilúvatar pantheon is primarily filled with gods of with a strong bend towards evil and chaos.
Throughout this war, many desperate pacts with forces best left alone have been made. On Oerd, creatures which are followers of Krynish deities tend to be small sized or smaller. While the Ilúvatar favor creatures that are at least large - ettins and dragons - giants and great fell beasts.
At present it is a time of relative peace. Most of the major powers of the Ilúvatar, including Iruv himself, have been banished from all contact with Middle Oerd - retreating to the new land. Such banishment was not easy, and many halflings fell not only in the great battles, but through the portals of banishment and into whatever realm the Ilúvatar went to. Only a few of the great Ilúvatar powers remain - the most dangerous of which being Melkhor the destroyer. It has been centuries since the war was fought in earnest, and most believe that it is over.
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