Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 hanzo187 Feb 05, 2010 22:21:17	This is more of a idea/brainstorming thread. My campaign is largely set, but it'll need some fine-tuning, and I'll need some feedback with that. So far, here's what I've come up with: - There was a long war 200 years ago between nine clans. Four people came and united the clans, ending the war, then disappeared. No one saw them again after this. - A year ago, the leader of one of the clans died under mysterious circumstances (kept under wraps because I'm leaving the circumstances to the DM), so war may be looming. - The nine clans control most everything: Mercenaries, shipping, religion (more or less), healing, etc. - The main land the campaign is set in is a single nation, with nine regions, instead of one continent with many different countries. - The government is a republic. That's right. No kings, queens, dictatorships, or any of that. People vote and decide who's in the senate. One of the clans runs the government, but they still answer to the people, even if they don't like it (sort of inspired by the U.S. govt. and the Roman Senate). - There's some steampunk here, too, and because of this, there's a little more emphasis on science and the martial power source. There's plenty of magic, make no mistake (the artificer is actually quite prominent), but martial skill takes a little more precdence in this setting. - Some items are steampunk, also, such as a gear-operated grapple gun for a wondrous item. - D&D should never be confined to European fantasy (where's it written it has to be, anyway?), so I have some non-European material, as well. The ninja is one, there's an organization of assassins, a vigilante, fascists, a monastic society living in seclusion (probably for the upcoming psionic classes, particularly the monk), and so on. - I also drew a little inspiration from comics (if you find the character in particular that I'm talking about, good for you) and some ancient history. - For some reason (I already know why), the letter "K" has some significant meaning. In fact, all the "mainstream" gods of the setting (except one, whose real name is unknown) have names beginning with "K". The people don't know why, but having a first name beginning with "K" presents a different role-playing experience. People might think you're a divine omen, while others might think you're some a-hole defaming the gods. DM's have to think up how that'll work out. - As to the world's origin and the gods, still a bit blank. I'm thinking the world started from a comet or somesuch, and ancient spirits, given physical form by the comet's energy, were the first "people". If you played Assassin's Creed 2, it's a little like the end of the game (I had actually thought of something along this line before, but this was the catalyst that made me commit). I already am set on who the four are, but I'm keeping that to myself. Right now, I'm making a Player's Guide, which is now at 95 pages. I have a little more information on this setting at this link here: www.scribd.com/doc/25308145/Korrik-Previ... I intentionally didn't give out much, but if anyone has some extra ideas, I'll definitely consider them. Like I said, my ideas are pretty much set, but I might have to do a tweak. That's where this thread comes in. Oh, yeah, there were guns during the war I mentioned, but they were destroyed after...so they say. So, if anyone has ideas on how to incorporate guns, I'm all ears.
#2 hanzo187 Mar 03, 2010 18:20:41	Really? No one? *Sigh* Figured I'd get some good ideas. Maybe a bump will help.
#3 vman3force Mar 03, 2010 21:42:53	First off, a 95 page player primer is WAY too long. Dont worry about aquainting your players with every last detail - it is actually more immersive to keep extraneous information out of play, until you can introduce it during play. A player guide should be from two to five pages at most at the beginning of a campaign; if necessary you can add more later. other than that, it sounds as if you have your general outline, your next step should be looking at a specific region/town/dungeon, and build from there. alternatively, you could look at  the overarching story arc.
#4 urpriest Mar 03, 2010 23:08:18	One thing you might want to consider: the importance of the letter K, while reasonable, needs to be dealt with in a manner that doesn't feel silly, or you'll have players making jokes about it and playing around with it. For example, you should consider what would motivate a parent to name a child with a 'K' name: are they typically ignorant/irreverent, or is it a sign of high hopes? Is it like red hair in some socieities, uncommon and important but simply happens, or is  it usually a calculated move?
#5 hanzo187 Mar 05, 2010 18:03:50	First off, a 95 page player primer is WAY too long. Dont worry about aquainting your players with every last detail - it is actually more immersive to keep extraneous information out of play, until you can introduce it during play. A player guide should be from two to five pages at most at the beginning of a campaign; if necessary you can add more later. other than that, it sounds as if you have your general outline, your next step should be looking at a specific region/town/dungeon, and build from there. alternatively, you could look at  the overarching story arc. What I'm doing is I'm making a full-blown campaign, not an adventure (that's not my area of strength), and I'm making a Player's Guide as if it were any other setting, such as Eberron or Forgotten Realms. Since Player's Guides are around 150-160 pages, that's what I'm shooting for. Yes, I am that ambitious, and yes, I am that much of a nut. As for cities, the first I have in mind is something akin to Gotham City. One thing you might want to consider: the importance of the letter K, while reasonable, needs to be dealt with in a manner that doesn't feel silly, or you'll have players making jokes about it and playing around with it. For example, you should consider what would motivate a parent to name a child with a 'K' name: are they typically ignorant/irreverent, or is it a sign of high hopes? Is it like red hair in some socieities, uncommon and important but simply happens, or is  it usually a calculated move? That's why I'm leaving that part up to the DM (and when I say DM, I don't mean my DM, just any DM who would use this material). One DM might create NPC's that call for a lynch mob, or another might hail such a PC as a potential hero or an avatar of the gods. The name with a "K" is meant to be viewed purely from a flavor/role-play perspective, with no mechanical basis. It's meant to be very polarizing, but how it's done is the DM's decision. How players might deal with it is their decision, but I'd be careful touting my "K" name around when I find out the people in the town I'm in castrated the last "K" to come along.
#6 vman3force Mar 09, 2010 21:53:55	call it an island nation, but it doesent look like youve spent too much time elaborating on that yet. maybe you should consider how the fact that the regions are geographically isolated will effect the campaign world. what are relationships like between islands? are there internal factions? do some islands hold economic monopolies on a certain good or materials?
#7 hanzo187 Mar 11, 2010 21:23:18	call it an island nation, but it doesent look like youve spent too much time elaborating on that yet. maybe you should consider how the fact that the regions are geographically isolated will effect the campaign world. what are relationships like between islands? are there internal factions? do some islands hold economic monopolies on a certain good or materials? Those are fair questions. Right now, the regions are not isolated, and people can travel freely between them. It's all one country, so each region has the same core government, with only a few notable deviations between regions (One prohibits gambling, another forbids the making of guns, and so on). Yes, there are factions. About two or three in each clan. One of the clans had members that formed the original ninja clans, for example. The other islands are not heavily explored. In fact, two are not explored at all. Not in centuries at the very least. I haven't figured out the details on why yet, but I have a rough idea. Even so, they belong in a Campaign Guide, anyway. The southern island has only been explored in the northern end, which is where the shadar-kai were once from. The interior is a mystery because of all the monsters in the area. Certain areas are controlled by certain clans, yes. - The Blue Rose controls business (mercantile, finance, banking). Ironic, since it WAS a crime syndicate way back when. - The Herodotans record history (but can't interfere in it). They do this via scrying orbs, but they can't see everything. - The League of Gullen oversees the federal government. Citizens from each region are elected into the Gullen Senate, where they serve as legilators. The head of the Gullen Senate has the title "Presider". - The Light of Kallen are healers. They carry out marriages and both mundane and magical healing. - The Raven Blade does stealth and discretion. They hire out mercenaries, investigators, bodyguards, etc., but assassins and ninja are illegal. - The Syndicate of Dragons (or Dragonus) oversee the official religion of Korrik, but can't suppress other religions. Their religion is just the biggest. - The Tides of Aquilian oversee all seafaring routes and shipping. Oh, and piracy is illegal. - The Union of Gears are the machine-makers and architects. They can't make siege weapons or guns anymore, but are experimenting with prosthetics (an RPG option I'm thinking of exploring). - The White Lance is the law enforcement outfit. They are the police and the judges, but not both at once. - There was once a tenth clan, but it's since lost.