Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 warzark Dec 12, 2010 20:51:12	I'm wanting to run a dark fantasy campaign for some friends of mine and am needing some help fleshing it out. In particular I want to draw a great deal from horror stories and fractured fearie tales. I have a good sense of what sort of themes and motifs that I want to put into my setting, but the actual process of setting that up has proven easier said than done. Here is what I want to have in my campaign: *A strong, but corrupt theocratic nation helmed by pro-human extremists who worship the corpse of an angle as their savior. Their champions, think templars and paladins, drink its' blood as part of their initiation into service. *A shadowy organisation that supplies warriors to fight the darkness that threatens humanity, but may be as much a part of the problem as the solution. *Evil gods of War, Pleasure, Entropy, and Change view humanity as their new faviorite plaything, constantly tempting the best of humanity in ever evolving scheems and plots. All with the aim of bringing humanity to knees as well as making them into their thralls. *The only 'Good' diety has either long since turned his back on the world or doesn't care about its fate. *Magic is a rare phenomenon and viewed with a high amount of suspicion and hatred amongst humanity. This is mainly due to the reason that magic usuers run the risk of becoming possessed by the minons of the evil gods. As a result all magic users are kept on a tight leash by the church. *The world is in decline; mankind is being pushed to the edge of annihilation; elves are going extinct and dwarves haven't been seen above ground in over 200 years. *An ancient and great betrayl by some of the best heroes of their era has left the world a shattered and malicous place. Things that I look at for inspiration have been the gothic sci-fi game 'Warhammer 40k', the japanese manga 'Berserk' and 'Claymore', and the recent video game 'Castlevania: Lords of Shadow'.
#2 ordrus Dec 12, 2010 22:19:43	A lot of this is reminiscent of Dragon Age: Origins. If you haven't played that game I suggest that you do. I also see the Warhammer vibe you're going for. I have to ask though: what exactly are you asking for? Help designing the campaign or help building a world setting? If you're looking at building a world then I'd suggest designing a small region with a few smaller towns and villages, a handful of adventure locations, and a major city. Starting small like this will give you a solid area to quickly begin your first few sessions. With a start like this, you can work on developing it more. Building a campaign is entirely different. You have a number of themes and ideas that could all be used for a long campaign. There are issues with the church, with magic-users, with demons, and with this shadowy organization. Personally, I'd do an entire campaign based inside a city (or mostly based inside a city). You would have quite a number of factions to deal with (pretty much every group mentioned above would work well as a city faction), demonic cults could try to gain political power to weaken the city defenses so an all out army of corrupted people and demons could over take it. The church would have spies and assassins everywhere. The shadow group would be ruthlessly slaughtering any cult they find. Secret orders of Magi are trying to gain personal and political power as well as trying to develop leverage on the church so they can get out from under their thumb. You have a lot of options. One major thing I would add is: use loss as a major theme. When someone becomes posessed they can only be cured through death. The church demands nothing less than complete obedience from mages or they die. In this kind of setting, there is no damsel in distress that gets rescued. Nothing returns to exactly as it used to be. When your players stumble upon a town of corrupted, or better yet soon to be corrupted people, give them no choice but to purify the entire populace. The idea that nothing escapes the taint of corruption (be it demonic corruption or moral corruption), will reinforce how terrible of a place this world is. These are just a few ideas. I hope it helps.
#3 warzark Dec 12, 2010 23:03:14	I have to ask though: what exactly are you asking for? Help designing the campaign or help building a world setting? I'm mostly looking for some help with building a world setting. Like is said in the first post I have broad ideas of what I want along with a distinctive 'feel' of what I want the players to experience, but putting it down into actual words has proven more difficult than I had planned. I've already written some descriptions about a few areas but the larger world remains notably barren. I have a vauge idea for a campaign, your standard 'save the world' quest, but your idea sounds very interesting. I'd like for you to elaborate a bit more if you wouldn't mind. I do like your recemmendation though for the theme of loss, I had thought of similar scenarios to the ones you mentioned, but making it a major theme seems all the more intriguing.
#4 ordrus Dec 13, 2010 1:24:41	I'm glad you like some of the ideas. You could still do a 'save the world quest' by doing it through my idea for a city campaign. Instead of doing an entire campaign inside a city, you could base a large amount of the heroic tier inside a major population center. The twist you could pull on saving the world is through gaining political and military support within the city. The party can ally themselves with some of the city factions, assassinate members of evil factions, and hold negotiations with others. A city in this kind of world will be extremely important because it will be on a defensible position and have access to resources. If any demon or cult is looking at some kind of world conquest they'll want a large region to roam in and have a 'safe' area to build and develop an army. This would require crushing the local center of power. Obviously, demonic cults will operate within the shadows of the city, pushing forth their members into positions of power. The noblemen, the church, the city guard, the military, the trade and craft guilds will all be targets. The heroic tier could be spent by the players carving out a base of power for themselves. They deal with merchants and shopkeepers, maybe they end up going out to nearby villages or patrol trade routes to clean up problems with bandits, or possible demons destroying precious resources. Moving on, the players may end up investing in businesses or start a mercenary guild based in the city. This would plunge them into minor politics within a ward of the city. As they hit mid tier, they find that they are being hindered by more powerful city members, such as the church or guilds or noblemen. Obviously these are backed by the demonic cult. By this point the party has been offered a hand of friendship by numerous groups, but choosing which one to ally themselves with could cause problems. The church is fanatical and uncompromising. The shadow organization has questionable morals. Noblemen of the city have military and political might but are power-hungry. Allying with one particular group will bring it's own set of quests like: hunting down renegade magic users for the church, investigating cult activities for the shadow organization, or crippling the rival house of the noble family you work with. Near the end of the heroic tier the cultists assassinate key figures of power in the city while a demonic horde is gathering in the region. The players soon hit paragon and can use their newfound political might to gain positions of power in the city. From there they could lead an army against the horde. As for other aspects of the world you could try twisting the standard fantasy staples. Maybe the eladrin are all but wiped out because their society practised magic en masse and lost control. Maybe the eladrin are actually corrupted and are in fact dangerous enemies of the other races. The dwarves may have been all but wiped out because they uncovered ancient planar portals while digging in their mines (cheesy and overused I know!). Flip side, the dwarves maybe stockpiling weapons, armor, and powerful magic to protect their mountain kingdoms. The dwarves may be perfect military allies for your players, but they'd have to hold negotiations. Sometimes other evils slip into the world while it's inhabitants focus on one enemy. An entire kingdom could have been ravaged by a necrotic plague and is now ruled by necromancers. I would highly suggest reading the Solomon Kane stories by Robert E. Howard. Pretty much every witch/evil hunter story done in the Warhammer fantasy setting is based off of Solomon Kane. And as for the loss theme, I would recommend going with it but you'd have to be careful. If you take too much away from the players they will get discouraged. Try to make it an emotional loss and not a monetary one. They may become friends with a shopkeeper who gives them a great discount early on for helping him out. Later on in heroic tier they may discover that he has become possessed and has been secretly sacrificing citizens of the city. While his family would continue giving the players the discount, they would inevitably have to kill this dear friend. Best of luck!
#5 Drecon84 Dec 13, 2010 5:10:16	As I read this in the past there was a great war (war between gods?) a long time ago, probably at least a thousand years. The war was in some way concluded when the evil Gods won the war in some way. You say the heroes betrayed the world. Perhaps they were the ones fighting for the good gods and at the quintessential moment they betrayed the good gods. So, what happened to these heroes? Were they rewarded for their actions or punished? Maybe both? How about them being made into powerful demons as a reward. Forever serving their Evil Godly masters. They might still hold a sway over the world. The ultimate goal of the campaign would then probably be to vanquish the evil gods and their demonic servants and maybe become gods themselves? (or help some other good beings become gods) It might be useful to look at the big picture first and see how these gods and demons influenced the world at large. Then gradually try to work your way down to the organizations and the people themselves. By the time you are done most of the organizations will fill themselves in easily. Oh and I love the idea of that dead angel being used as a blood vassal for the paladins. Try to weave the history of the angel in with the bigger story. Campaigns become more fun if averything connects to some larger whole.
#6 warzark Dec 13, 2010 9:49:32	You say the heroes betrayed the world. Perhaps they were the ones fighting for the good gods and at the quintessential moment they betrayed the good gods. So, what happened to these heroes? Were they rewarded for their actions or punished? Maybe both? Oh and I love the idea of that dead angel being used as a blood vassal for the paladins. Try to weave the history of the angel in with the bigger story. Campaigns become more fun if averything connects to some larger whole. The great betrayl of the ancient heroes and the angel corpse are closely related actually. When the good diety turned his back on the world, one archangel decided that the world was still worth saving and came down to lead it against the evils of the Ruinous Powers. So rallying up the various races, he lead a great crusade against the demonic hordes and monster that threatened the land. However the forces of darkness were not stupid and saw the threat this angel posed to them. So using their corrupting influence, they whispered to the darkness that lay in the hearts of these heroes and converted them to their cause. In total four warriors fell to the corrupting whispers of evil, and with them the armies they commanded follwed suite. These fallen heroes were exalted by the gods, becoming their champions and transformed into twisted and warped versions of their former glory. Now bolstered with new might, the evil gods lead a renewed assault on the land. All seemed lost until the archangel lead a gambit to kill the leader of the invasion. Locked in combat, the two warriors engaged in battle for hours, until the angel landed the killing blow. However this didn't come without cost, as the angel was mortally wounded and quickly dying. With their leader gone the forces of darkness retreated, though the damage was done. Many of the human kingdoms were either decimated or destroyed, the elves had lost many of their numbers, and the dwarves likewise had lost many a home and kin. Stepping in to fill the power gap, the Church retrieved the failing body of the angel proclaimed its sacrifice in the battle as proof that it was their savior, and that in time it would return to them and lead them to victory. As a result the Church has become the de facto political and religious authority for humanity, viewing the other races as suspicous and possibly tainted. The body of the angel is still used by the Church in the creation of their templars. These elite units of theocratic military might take in a small does of the angel's blood as part of their initiation into the ranks of the Church. The blood of the angel gives the user an enhanced perception and the ability to channel the divine in order to ferret out the taint of evil.
#7 warzark Dec 16, 2010 13:33:30	I'm wanting some feedback from the community on a few tidbits that I've been working on for my campaign setting. Here I'm presenting the 5 known major cities of men left in the world. There were originally 3 great empires of men that ruled much of the world, however when the evil gods enacted their incursions into the mortal realm, these 'Old Kingdoms', as they are refered to now, fell to the various monsters and corrupted heores that follow the evil gods. These 'Great Cities' are all that is left of just one of the Old Kingdoms that man fell back to. What stands now are 5 city-states that have loosley allied themselves together in a bickering confederation, all lead by an oppressive theocracy that protects them from the ever present threat of invasion. These 5 Great Cities are: Cabal: The Guardian City. Cabal is the furthest city in the southern part of the Lands of Men and serves as the bulwark of the Empire against the incursions of the forces of darkness. As a result of this role, Cabal has developed the most highly trained military out of any of the 5 cities. The culture of this city has been highly influenced by its military background and it comes as no suprise that the people of Cabal possess a very spartan attitude, with very little of their resources being devoted to luxury or asethetics. Cabal's very conservative and authoritarian outlook has lead to a rivalry with the more culturally affluent, and intellectual city of Renoir. Renoir: The City of Bridges. Seemingly in contrast to the hardline and gritty nature of Cabal stands the city of Renrior. Built ontop of the Cassatt River, Renoir's buildings are connected by a series of water filled channels and bridges. Renoir functions as the cultural heart of the Lands of Men, with many librarys, academys and universities being built here allowing for many new, and sometimes radical, ideas to grow and develop here. Of important note is that due to it's position along the Cassatt, many trading families have estabished a foothold here, and competition among them is a deadly game. More than once have the deep channels of Renoir's waterways been used to hide a body. Lacroix: The City of Angels. Home to the Emperial Church and the final resting place of Tabris, the savior of Mankind. Lacroix is the seat of power amongst the Lands of Men, and while each of the other 4 city states is ruled by its own governing body, all swear alligence and serve under the Church. It's skyline is dominated by the towering Grand Cathedral, signifying the absolute power the Church holds here in Lacroix. The laws of Lacroix are directly taken from the holy doctrine of the Church, which are policed by the holy guard that patrols the city. The city is a vast and towering structure, who's walls and building rise high above, seemingly bearing down on the populous withing. Culture within the City of Angels is not suprisingly focused around its religion, with its people regularly attending the weekly mass at the Cathedral. Whilst during the day there is an everpresent background noise of the chior singing praise from the Cathedral. Telorouse: The City of Fire. Telorouse is the industrial center of the Lands of Men. Located along the edge of the Iron Mountains, Telorouse has an extensive mining and smelting operation within its borders. In recent years the miners of Telorouse have begun to discover old dwarven settlements in the roots of the mountains, though these have long since been abandoned. Outside the walls of Telorouse lays the great and mysterious Elder Wood, an ancient forest that is now being used for lumber and construction materials. Its culture is similar to that of Cabal's, in that the society is geared heavily towards its role: industry. The people of Telorouse are divided into strictly stratified castes with miners and slave labor forming the base followed by servants and mechanics, then the smiths and craftsmen and lastly the high nobles who administer and rule Telorouse. Seurat: The Golden City. Named after the rolling and fertile feilds of grain that make up the province around Seurat, this city is renowned for the remarkably quality of its farmland. Seurat serves the vital roll of supplying most of the food for the rest of the Lands of Men, a task it is remarkably good at. The city's closest ally is Renoir, as the two share a similar relaxed atmospher, though with the exception that Seurat's politics are not the same cut-throat buisness that plagues Renoir's. Seurat's politcal landscape is perhaps the most stable out of the Great Cities, after Lacroix's perhaps, and this is due in no small part to the leadership of its king, who goes to great lengths to ensure that fairness and stability are well established within his land.
#8 Drecon84 Dec 20, 2010 6:16:05	Looks very well-thought out. At least a lot more than I ever dreamed of before starting a campaign... Maybe you could think about non-human civilizations? Monster civilizations and such. Who are the minor bad guys that are pushing the humans towards the edge of annihilation? Hobgoblins? Drow? Dragons? Anything is possible.
#9 warzark Dec 20, 2010 16:25:44	Who are the minor bad guys that are pushing the humans towards the edge of annihilation? Hobgoblins? Drow? Dragons? Anything is possible. The minor bad guys are the forces of the evil gods of War, Entropy, Pleasure, and Change. Within their own realm each contains a vast army of various demons; each reflecting the individual god's domain. However due to the chaotic realm the gods dwell in, crossing over into the world of mortals is diffcult. Instead the Ruinous Powers prefer to twist and warp existing creatures into tools for their own ends. For example the curse of lycanthropy is a product of the chaos god of war Khorne. A burning rage that consumes all in its path; victim begets victim begets victim in a horrid cycle of blood and violence. Likewise vampirism is a curse spawned through Slannesh, whoes domain is pleasure and excess. In this a person is afflicted with life undying, all of which is spent in pursuit of an unquenchable thrist that dominates all aspects of their being. The Lycans hunt and prowl many of the southern lowlands, residing in the ruins of one of the Old Kingdoms. These cursed servants of Khorne travel together in tight knit packs following the commands of a greater lycan who's mind is not broken by their emmense rage. The being who commands the greater lycans is the same fallen heroe from the Great Crusade centuries before, only now all semblence of the once couragous warrior has been twisted and broken into an unbridled, animalistic rage. Up in the frozen north lay the lands of the Vampires, a dark and frigid realm. Using powerful magics the vampires have locked their lands in a perpetual and unatural winter so as to minimize the day to as little as possible. As a result of their nocturnal lifestyle the vampires have become adapt at using the art of terror, attacking weaker targets and leaving their remains in public places in order to demoralize their foes is a common practice for them. Being minions of Slannesh has lead many vampires to develop an unparalleled beauty allowing them to be master manipulaters using both looks and force of personality to dominate their prey. Cheif amongst the vampires is terrible entity Known as the Night Queen, first of her kind and the final remnants of the graceful hero who fell to chaos so long ago. The far eastern lands now serve as the dead lands, home of the necromancers who serve the dread father Nurgle, Lord of Entropy. Here the land is barren and dry, the foul taint of the defiled having long since stripped it of any life. Gifted with the powers of decay and pestilence these few remaining sorcerers command vast legions of mindless corpses. This group has been the least active in the past few decades, though this fact is about as comferting as it is haunting. For the fact is to be seen if this is the result of infighting amongst the forces of darkness or the possibility that the necromancers are simply building up their forces for a renewed assault upon the land. Commanding the necromancers is the Lord of the Necromancers, the Lich King, who like his brother and sister in arms, was a former hero from the crusades that was corrupted by the chaos gods. To answer your other questions, the drow are former elves who have been corrupted into serving Slannesh and as a result have been warped by his dark influence, becoming deviant, hedonistic sadists. When their corruption became known to the other elves, they were cast out and retreated deep undergrown into the abandoned mines of the dwarves. After spending years hiding in the dark depths of underdark, coupled with the effects of chaos, the elves have found themselves changed. I have decided that dragons are now an extinct race, having long since died out due the forces of Chaos deeming them a potential threat to their plans. Though they still exist in myths and legend. As a result dragon bones are a highly sought after treasure that many scholars, nobles, mages, and others will trade highly for. In addition a highly talented and skill sorcerer might be able to resurrect a dragon into a dracolich if he knew how. Such a creature would be a fearsome adversary if an adventuring party were to ever come across one.
#10 warzark Dec 24, 2010 21:57:05	I'm thinking of allowing my players to select 'backgrounds' at the start of the campaign in order to help further customize their characters. These backgrounds would provide both mechanical and role play benefits depending on what they choose. Currently I'm trying to decide on whether or not to have a 'buy' system in place, such as giving the players a total of 'X' points in order to purchase these backgrounds with and off set that with the ability to take or suggest 'Flaws'. Selecting a flaw will grant them additional points at the cost of being a constant mild hinderence to their character. :Backgrounds: Home town *Cabal: You were raised in the military city state of Cabal, the Bulwark of the Empire. As a result your body has been kept in remarkable health from the constant drills and train its undergone. You get +2 to athletics and endurance. *Renoir: The port city of Renoir was your birth place. Amongst the towering academy towers, and trader prince mansions you grew up in a swirl of knowledge and trade. You add +2 to Arcana and diplomacy. *Lacroix: You grew up in the home of the Imperial Church, final resting place of humanity's savior. For better or for worse you saw the power of the Imperial Churches officers, monitoring all for your safety. You gain a +2 to Religon and History. *Telorouse: The forge city of Telorouse served as your home. The dark corridors and shady back alley's were to you as the fields of the countryside. You gain +2 to streetwise and stealth. *Seurat: Peacful farming in the feilds of Seurat defined your early days. Constantly having to rely on yourself has left you knowledgable in things many would take for granted. You gain +2 in both heal and perception Personal History *Fame/Infamy: For better or worse you have played a part in an event that has alerted the public at large to your existence. You may be a beloved war hero, a renowned scholar, an up and coming assassin, or a local theif, either way people know you. Be sure to work out the specifics of what exactly has made you (in)famous with the dm. *Poor: You grew up in the lower rungs or your hometown's society, you had to get yourself involved with gangs inorder to make ends meet, something you may or maynot be proud of. Regardless the experiences have made you into a stronger person. *Wealthy: Money was never an issue for your family. Being part of a successful trading family has allowed for you to recieve only the best education. Though this was not without its own perials. Rival trade families have always viewed your family's fourtune with a contemtpable envy and it is no secret that they move to remove your family from its top position. *Noble: You've grown up in the lap of luxury; money, power, connections you have it all. Though the life of nobility if also a burden. The danger of courtly politics is cut throat to say the lease. Along with that the burden of running an entire fiefdom can be maddening. Power can be as much liberation as it is a cage. Flaws Indebted: You owe something to someone. This may be actual money or something more abstract, such as a period of servitude, a favor, etc... Short Tempered: Controlling your ire is not something you do well. Anti Social: You care very little for the rights and bounderies of others. Wanted: People are out to get you. Cursed: You have been afflicted by some magical malady. Hard Sleeper: You sleep like the dead, waking you from sleep proves difficult. Night Terrors: Your dreams are plagued with horrible nightmares, making rest difficult. Blind: You can not see. Lame Limb: One of your limbs dosen't function properly. Mute: You can not speak. deaf: You can not hear.