Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 drrockso20 May 06, 2009 18:05:50	this is a campaign setting I've been working on for a while though I'll admit I didn't create it I did get permission from the original owner to use and I was a contributer for this setting when it was first developed Basic Setting Info Same number of planes as in the DM Guide and the Manual Of The Planes as well as the Underdark though their could be more... A large variety of races though most nations are Human and Elf dominated though the few nations that are non-human dominated are some of the most powerful nations in Apia Apia is more civilized than most DnD settings with most of the surface world contained within a sovereign nation's borders though while there is still plenty of wilderness left rather than civilization being a rather feeble concept like it is elsewhere it's been a long time since there was a dark age on Apia and Apia has a population larger than earth even Magic is much more common in Apia with even the most primeval and pathetically tiny and primitive savage village having at least one shaman or druid and magic being an important component in warfare for millennia and most large cities' having hundreds if not thousands or even millions of magic users Tech in Apia is quite advanced compared to most DnD settings with most nations having a military technology that's at least late medieval-early renaissance level and several nations have tech that's near WW2 era in capability and one nation has technology that's even more advanced than our worlds technology though there are still plenty of poor and or rural regions that have a bronze or even stone age tech level Monsters are still common throughout Apia but instead of mindlessly exterminating them Apia's civilizations take advantage of their abilities and utilize many breeds of domesticated monsters for war and labor purposes P.S. I would like people to help contribute to this setting with ideas for just about anything
#2 gregt_314 May 06, 2009 22:38:28	I'm curious as to how one can be a "Fascist Monarchy". Is it a constitutional monarchy only, with real power being wielded by some other official?
#3 philipmui May 06, 2009 23:10:28	this is a campaign setting I've been working on for a while though I'll admit I didn't create it I did get permission from the original owner to use and I was a contributer for this setting when it was first developed Basic Setting Info Same number of planes as in the DM Guide and the Manual Of The Planes as well as the Underdark though their could be more... A large variety of races though most nations are Human and Elf dominated though the few nations that are non-human dominated are some of the most powerful nations in Apia Apia is more civilized than most DnD settings with most of the surface world contained within a sovereign nation's borders though while there is still plenty of wilderness left rather than civilization being a rather feeble concept like it is elsewhere it's been a long time since there was a dark age on Apia and Apia has a population larger than earth even Magic is much more common in Apia with even the most primeval and pathetically tiny and primitive savage village having at least one shaman or druid and magic being an important component in warfare for millennia and most large cities' having hundreds if not thousands or even millions of magic users Tech in Apia is quite advanced compared to most DnD settings with most nations having a military technology that's at least late medieval-early renaissance level and several nations have tech that's near WW2 era in capability and one nation has technology that's even more advanced than our worlds technology though there are still plenty of poor and or rural regions that have a bronze or even stone age tech level Monsters are still common throughout Apia but instead of mindlessly exterminating them Apia's civilizations take advantage of their abilities and utilize many breeds of domesticated monsters for war and labor purposes Good luck making rules up for automatic firearms, tanks, deviation for artillery, original equipment and aesthetics to make everything flow. With the look of things, it seems as if you don't even have detailed information about the geography, cities, places and people that interconnect a world together.
#4 drrockso20 May 07, 2009 1:34:08	Good luck making rules up for automatic firearms, tanks, deviation for artillery, original equipment and aesthetics to make everything flow. With the look of things, it seems as if you don't even have detailed information about the geography, cities, places and people that interconnect a world together. well most of the high tech stuff is military only or doesn't have combat applications and thus I probably won't have to do rules for that stuff yet and also for the most part most military tech in the more advanced nations is closer to Napoleonic through Spanish-American war tech and as for details on nations and background as I said in the OP I didn't create this setting I was originally just a contributer who created one of the nations The Draconian Empire and because of that I don't have all of the information on me and thus need to retrieve it from the forum where Apia was made and now heres some info for one of the nations of Apia The Yamato Empire Population: Approx. 136 million. Geography: Volcanic island chain Status: Semi-Closed borders, some trade towns are open to foreigners. Diplomatic relations: decently friendly with the Draconian Empire, The Kingdom Of Albion, and The Kendra'an Republic Industry: Mass-production of consumer items, as well as ammunition and other military goods. Production of high-grade steel at a rate impossible for most other nations. Traditional crafts produce a large amount of high-quality, usually magically enchanted, tools and weapons. Communications: Ferry services exist between most ports, and a network of highly advanced steam trains traverse the two main islands. Airships are common but mostly serves as luxury cruisers and military vessels. Trade: Trades industrial produce, silk, rice, tea, silver, copper and handmade products, for fruits, wheat, iron, and coal. unfortunately I don't have much info on Yamato's history except for a couple of minor tidbits though to help with visualization Yamato is quite obviously heavily Japan influenced
#5 gregt_314 May 07, 2009 2:26:37	I have to say my response to this is pretty much the same as if you said, "I am playing Monopoly but changing it so it's a game about intrigue and seduction at the court of the Russian Tsars." Which is to say... so you're not playing Monopoly, then. What you've got here is that you're wanting to play D&D, but you'd like to throw out the weapon tables, the equipment lists, and the fundamental idea that players will regularly battle monsters. It's not as bad as that torrid "Super Mario Campaign" thread or the one about 4E Power Rangers, but what you're contemplating is pretty far from the sort of game that D&D is designed to deliver. You'd actually get further taking Shadowrun and reflavouring it than you will trying to tech up D&D, and Shadowrun's better geared towards the kind of politics-with-elves stuff that you seem to be contemplating anyway.
#6 descrii May 07, 2009 2:41:04	GregT, what's going on with you? I really enjoyed your 11-foot pole blog (btw, I notice the link is missing from your sig now...). It's changed the way I'm approaching KoSF, especially the Checkov's Gun post. And I totally agree with your PCs-as-rockstars approach to things, and your philosophy of letting the players choose what's interesting to them and developing those things further. But you've had a couple threads now where you're telling world-builders they're doing it wrong. Did something sour you in Perth? Dr. Rockso here doesn't seem to be doing anything that world-shattering to me. Okay, he's got trains and airships, that's hardly anything new to D&D. He's got guns, but who cares? As long as they're ranged weapons doing something between d4 and 2d6 damage per round they're not really going to muck anything up. D&D is so abstract that it readily absorbs the "Final Fantasy" thing he's doing here. There's artillery, but there's artillery in the modern world and I don't have to give my d20 modern players howitzers or hit them with cruise missiles if I don't want to. Political intrigue, even with elves, is also old hat to D&D, and characters could gleefully battle monsters, even though those monsters are harnessed as living weapons by an enemy state or scheming monarcho-fascist. The only reason I find this thread unlikely to get too far is its scope. Dr. Rockso, you're presenting a world larger and more heavily populated than Earth and shouting "go!" I'd be more interested in a much finer level of detail with NPCs, cities, and locations I could lift for my own games. Other DMs might feel the same.
#7 gregt_314 May 07, 2009 3:25:39	GregT, what's going on with you? drrockso20, your post really isn't so objectionable, you're to be commended on attempting something ambitious, I like your colourful map. What you need to think about, though, is what the story of your game is going to be, why your players will care, and what will make it personal and relevant to them. Stories about kingdoms and international relations should start out small - possibly as small as a lost puppy or a delivery to the local baker. Focus in on your players' home town, the NPCs there, and what makes your players excited about playing. Descrii - had several versions of a rant here, since deleted. Short version; long hours at work, people shouldn't think 4E is an all-purpose RPG delivery platform, Twilight is one of the worst-plotted movies imaginable and deserves to be booed until my throat is hoarse. I need, like, a picture of a big child-drawn map with the word "Adventure!" printed on it in red crayon, and the caption, "Worldbuilding: Ur Doin It Rong". Also, it's cool to just straight out attack me when I'm wrong. I like a good argument and I write better when there's someone right in my face.
#8 drrockso20 May 07, 2009 13:25:29	drrockso20, your post really isn't so objectionable, you're to be commended on attempting something ambitious, I like your colourful map. What you need to think about, though, is what the story of your game is going to be, why your players will care, and what will make it personal and relevant to them. Stories about kingdoms and international relations should start out small - possibly as small as a lost puppy or a delivery to the local baker. Focus in on your players' home town, the NPCs there, and what makes your players excited about playing. Descrii - had several versions of a rant here, since deleted. Short version; long hours at work, people shouldn't think 4E is an all-purpose RPG delivery platform, Twilight is one of the worst-plotted movies imaginable and deserves to be booed until my throat is hoarse. I need, like, a picture of a big child-drawn map with the word "Adventure!" printed on it in red crayon, and the caption, "Worldbuilding: Ur Doin It Rong". Also, it's cool to just straight out attack me when I'm wrong. I like a good argument and I write better when there's someone right in my face. well that's why I came here for help this is my first DnD Campaign Setting and I wanted the aid of more experienced world builders and also this Setting originated on AlternateHistory.com whose people are more known for making concepts on a larger scale first and then working on a more personal level as a secondary objective:P and instead I get bashed for trying something diffierent which is the point for Apia because while the current official Settings for DnD are covered in pointsof light AKA civilization, Apia is a world that has been able to make most of the world one great torch of civilization in other words Apia isn't as much a world of Black and White as it is a world of White and Grey(with the occaisonal Black splotch) where most peoples actions have to judged on a higher scale than normal because a morally reprehensible action could prevent a global war that could kill millions
#9 philipmui May 07, 2009 14:30:21	"well most of the high tech stuff is military only or doesn't have combat applications and thus I probably won't have to do rules for that stuff yet and also for the most part most military tech in the more advanced nations is closer to Napoleonic through Spanish-American war tech and as for details on nations and background as I said in the OP I didn't create this setting I was originally just a contributer who created one of the nations The Draconian Empire and because of that I don't have all of the information on me and thus need to retrieve it from the forum where Apia was made and now heres some info for one of the nations of Apia" Please do your research on the time periods, it's still not aesthetically pleasing even though you're pulling two periods of time in history which are both interesting, yes, but if I could compare all this into a novel: Terrible syntax, grammar issues and just a single serving plot line that has no deeper meaning.
#10 descrii May 07, 2009 18:49:54	Rockso, give us a village, or at most a town, with some adventure hooks. Also, maybe, use some periods in your sentences. I read out loud and I'm asphyxiating trying to read your descriptions. We'd love to help, but your scope gives us a feeling of futility. Probably 99% of what you'd develop at the global level the players would never see or care about.
#11 gregt_314 May 07, 2009 22:35:38	Apia is a world that has been able to make most of the world one great torch of civilization in other words Apia isn't as much a world of Black and White as it is a world of White and Grey(with the occaisonal Black splotch) where most peoples actions have to judged on a higher scale than normal because a morally reprehensible action could prevent a global war that could kill millions Okay, yes, but that's not a story or a game or even a world. That's a design goal. How are your players actually going to interact with your world? What are they going to be doing? Why are they important to your world? What kinds of stories are they going to get involved in and how are those stories going to make your players feel good about themselves and the game? A well-designed world map can be a great aid to a game but in the end you need to remember that the spotlight is on your players, and all of your game aids are just props to let them shine under that light. Also remember that D&D normally tends to be a game about black-and-white decisions for a reason. Choosing between two evils still involves choosing evil, and the person who makes that choice is going to end up feeling crap about it no matter which way it goes. That's an entertaining choice in literature and film because we're not the active participant - we're neither making the choice nor responsible for it. But if you hit players with too many of these over too long a period it's really demoralising - they'll just end up feeling like everything they do results in failure. A single choice like this every now and again can make a game memorable but a whole game built around them will be an exercise in misery. I'm still eager to find out how one can have a "fascist monarchy".
#12 elf_jedi May 07, 2009 22:55:12	Ahh...The memories this thread brings back. Reminds me of me of my old campaign setting Algoria.....And it had all the races, firearms, tanks, artilery and eveything rolled on just fine. Especially when you can borrow a fair bit of the rules from D20 Modern or Call of Cthulu. You have a direction, you seem to have at least some general idae for some of your nations. The problem is you lack a "Why does this matter to the Player". Make some senarios where some PC's could have some role to play. Examples: Brutland, is highly distrustful of Ablion recent military build-up. Several nations are fighting over New Zelethon. Kendra'an communists are trying to overthrow the elected government. You make a setting for flavor, backstory and most importantly campaign hooks.
#13 philipmui May 07, 2009 23:13:21	Ahh...The memories this thread brings back. Reminds me of me of my old campaign setting Algoria.....And it had all the races, firearms, tanks, artilery and eveything rolled on just fine. Especially when you can borrow a fair bit of the rules from D20 Modern or Call of Cthulu. You have a direction, you seem to have at least some general idae for some of your nations. The problem is you lack a "Why does this matter to the Player". Make some senarios where some PC's could have some role to play. Examples: Brutland, is highly distrustful of Ablion recent military build-up. Several nations are fighting over New Zelethon. Kendra'an communists are trying to overthrow the elected government. You make a setting for flavor, backstory and most importantly campaign hooks. You're forgetting an over powering theme that makes players think.