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| #1The_DodgerApr 27, 2014 4:04:28 | I'm working on developing a new world setting. My idea is for something with a post-apocalyptic feel, without useing the real world or modern technology. the world would feature a wasteland-like environment complete with the ruins of the old world, but fantasy races like orcs, goblins and elves. There would be two forms of magic, one called Wildfire, which is a type of magic that needs no incantations or ingediants, only force of will to manifest. And one called Weaving, which is more ritual based, requireing study, ingerdiants, incantations and prepration to work.
While I have a good idea of what I want for the setting, I'm having a hard time starting on it. I don't know where to begin, and I'm not sure how to achive the asthetic feel I want without setting it in a post-apocalyptic real world. I want modern clothing to be around rather than the typical fantasy garb, but no guns or technology. I want the remains of asphalt roads and big cities, but not skyscrapers and cars. I want races like orcs, goblins and elves, but I'm not sure I want them to BE orcs, goblins and elves.
So, I'm haveing serious writer's block with this. I was hoping I could get some brainstorming help here. |
| #2MikeJynxusMay 06, 2014 18:53:35 | How about starting with maps. Although you said that you didn't want to set it in real world it may get the juices flowing; Google image some pictures of late cretaceous images of Earth. Boom, premade world map that looks like something catastrophic happened. Refine the search to Africa, America, or Asia and flip the map around to keep it from looking too much like Earth.
The Orcs and goblins could be "lower casts" of individuals that were not able to protect themselves adequitely from radation or the hard conditions of the new world after the cataclysm. While the Elves are the descendants of those who were able to keep themselves protected. They used the "Smart" of the ancients to survive and thrive, thus dividing themselves from those who couldn't. |
| #3Rhineglade_May 20, 2014 14:07:28 | "In the Year 1989 A runaway comet hurtles between the earth and the moon unleashing cosmic destruction.
2000 years later, the earth is reborn. A strange new world rises from the old. A world of savagry, super-science and sorcery..."
These epic words are the intro to the great animated series from the 80s known as "Thundarr the Barbarian." This alone with give you a TON of ideas. The cartoon took place on a far in the future earth but one that had undergone major ecological changes. For example, the midwest of the US was now a barren wasteland. The Dakotas region was a great inland sea. There was no major civilization any more. Most humans lived a VERY poor and hazardous life. Most power was held by the Wizards, former humans driven insane through the power of their magic. The more powerful ones carved out a "kingdom" under their iron rule. The weaker ones tried to hold onto whatever region they could while constantly trying to gain the uppper hand in order to prove themselves to the other wizards and advance their standing. In this show, Wizards = evil. Sorcerers = good. Mutants and barbarians were also common.
The main protagonists were Thundarr, the barbarian, Ookla (a mok) and the Princess Ariel. Thundarr and Ookla were once prisoners in one of the oppressive wizard slave-cities but they managed to break free and escape. They vowed to fight the wizards until the day when their tyranny was over. Princess Ariel, the adopted daughter of a powerful wizard, was a sorceress in her own right. She joins up with Thundarr on his quest.
Some of the main antagonists included: Gemini, a wizard with two faces. He was one of the most powerful of all the wizards controlled the region formerly known as New York City. His power was eventually undone by the mysterious "black pearl" which made the holder immune to Gemini's magic and ultimately destroyed most of his power.
Circe, a witch who lived on the island of Britain. She was cursed to live forever on its shores for if she ever tried to leave, she'd be turned into stone.
Mindock, the mind-menace. He was an oddity in the wizard world as he was actually a surviver from the pre-apocalyptic world. During that time, before the cataclysm, he was a brilliant scientist. His body died but through science he was able to keep his brain alive. In the post-apolcalyptic world, he developed wizardry too posing a double threat. He controlled the region around Cape Canavrel.
Sholo, an ambitious wizard who controlled a small region around Las Vegas. He and three other local wizards undertook a contest to find the Helmet of Power. The wizard who controlled the helmet gained unlimited magical power. Scorpos, Bazum and Chom were the other wizards. Chom was confined to a wheelchair augmented by magical and scientific advances. His team in the contest for the helmet consisted of a great spiked wheel with two side cars. His minions sat in the side cars controlling the machine. Bazum was a wizardess who's team in the contest for the Helmet was represented by robots in a manta ray ship.Scorpos was an elderly wizard who, not surprising, used a scorpian-shaped ship. Sholo, of course, forced Thundarr, Ookla and Ariel to represent him in the contest. The only weakness of the helmet was that its magic would not affect silver.
Other cool ideas were: grizzly snake fire whales groundlings (ratfolk) amphibians cyclops equart
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| #4759magesJun 20, 2014 16:27:14 | I think the most obvious place to start is with what is known about the cataclysm that left the world an apocalyptic mess. Did it start because of the Weave or the Wildfire? Was it a war between civilizations, or factions within a single great civilization, or some sort of magical (or even divine if gods are part of the setting) natural disaster?
As to the problems you have with the world before, you can have modern clothes and roads without modern weaponry through magic. Ritualistic or formulaic magic can be used to manufacture roads or textiles, but with evocation magic around who needs to invent the gun? With magical rituals that can be used to build stone castles and fortresses, why would you develop sky scrapers? Even better, the apocalyptic setting means that the numbers (and possibly knowledge) to create or maintain such an infrastructure would be lost, without so much as a rusted mechanical remnant.
What I would do with the races, particularly since you aren't sure want orcs to be orcs, goblins goblins, and so on, is have them be the remnants of a pre-cataclysm caste system. Orcs were the warrior caste, goblins perhaps peasants and unskilled workers, and elves were a ruling caste with magical manipulation and/or breeding programs creating what seem to have become separate races.
Those are just some of the ideasoff the top of my head. Hope they help get your creative juices going. |
| #5DreamstryderJun 21, 2014 19:14:32 | I’d look at what kind of effect you want the post-apocalypse to have on how the game is played, first. If you have a really clear aesthetic, it might help you, but if you’re not sure about aspects of it, leave the aesthetics for later.
Post-apocalypse settings generally feature primitive social settings, but throw in some technology that would not have been developed under such circumstances. There are often large ecological or environmental hurdles to the current civilizations.
Looking at some different kinds of post-apocalypses might help you settle what ingredients give what effect in your game setting:
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