[This thread is for me to be long-winded about the campaign world I am devision, but others are free to pop in and make comments. Just realize that I'm not on here every day (or week, for that matter) so it may be a while before I respond to you.]
Now that Wizards of the Coast has moved on to Fourth Edition D&D, it is time for me sit down with all of my D20 books and design the D20 fantasy game that I want to run. This exercise will result in the creation of a distinct D&D game world, but also a set of house rules and rules selections to represent the type of game I like to run; namely, low-powered fantasy in a relatively 'realistic' world setting. I'm one of those people that has real trouble developing ideas from whole cloth, but I have a lot of success riffing off of other people's ideas. Thus, I will be liberally stealing from books I have read, sourcebooks for other games (or other D&D editions), real history, 'what should have been' history, etc.
There will be a number of different posts discussing rules and aspects of the game world. The rules part is pretty well developed, though the game world itself is still (and maybe will always be) a work in progress.
One important thing to note up front is that I am building this game world explicitly to fit the E6 system. This is a D20 variant that caps player levels at 6 ('E6' stands for Epic 6). This keeps the game relatively low-powered, and powerful foes must be defeated through tactics and guile, rather than brute force. Luck helps, as well! You can find out more about E6 at http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?t=206323 (//hyperlinkurl)
Here are the rules as they currently stand, divided up by what chapter of the Player's Handbook they affect. I'm also including my rationale for rules changes, so you can understand why I'm doing what I'm doing.
Chapter One: Abilities
At first level, determine hit points by rolling the class' hit die and then adding the character's Constitution score. For example, a Fighter with a Constitution of 13 would roll 1d10 and add 13 to the score; so if a '˜7' was rolled on the 1d10, then the starting hit points would be 7+13 = 20.
Rationale: Trying to avoid the problem of "one hit kills" at first level, really. I call this is 'hero bonus,' because the intent is that player characters are metaphysically important to the game world, so fate helps protect them. This is the only protection they get, though, other than the player's skill and, hopefully, lack of stupidity.
Chapter Two: Races
Dwarves are as described in the Player's Handbook
There are five types of Elves: High Elves (as described in the Player's Handbook), Drow, Grey Elves, Wild Elves, and Wood Elves (as described in the SRD, with the exception of the Wild Elf, whose favored class is changed to Barbarian; and the Wood Elf, whose favored class is changed to Outdoorsman).
Gnomes are as described in the Player's Handbook
Half-Elves are as described in the Player's Handbook
Half-Orcs are as described in the Player's Handbook
Halflings are as described in the Player's Handbook
Humans are as described in the Player's Handbook
Dromites are as described in the Expanded Psionics Handbook
Xephs are as described in the Expanded Psionics Handbook, though Xeph Lands is changed to the western island of Naranjas
Aaleear as are described in Mythic Races
Syltath are arctic Artathi as described in Mythic Races. Their favored class is Barbarian
Coivalds are as described in Mythic Races, but favored class is only Druid
Faeries are as described in Mythic Races
Niomus are as described in Mythic Races
Ooloi are as described in Mythic Races
Grippli are as described in Dragon magazine 324, with psionic modification per the article
Languages are modified as follows: The common tongue is called Trade Tongue. All PC humans know their country's base language, as well as Trade Tongue
Rationale: This is intentionally a D&D game world, so the standard races and sub-races are all there. I've also added in the races from the Psionics Handbook that seem to make sense for the world, as well as races from other sources that I like. If you're familiar with the Mythic Races book you'll notice I mainly took the forest dwellers and fey races and left most of the rest alone. I like my forests to be teeming with all sorts of life, and I like the concept of the 'fey world' and seelie court being in a close, but alternate, plane.
I'll also note that there are other races (orcs, goblins, etc.) that are not allowed as PCs. And a player would have to do a lot of convincing to let them play a drow or duergar.
Chapter Three: Classes
All classes are capped at Sixth Level, as per the E6 rules.
The following classes are allowed to player characters in the game, modified as follows:
Acrobat '" as described in City Works
Assassin '" as described in City Works
Barbarian '" as described in the Player's Handbook, enhanced by Totem options from the SRD
Bandit '" as described in the Book of Roguish Luck
Bard '" variant as described in The Complete Book of Eldritch Might
Cleric '" as described in the Player's Handbook
Commander '" as described in Path of the Sword
Druid '" as described in the Player's Handbook
Eldritch Weaver '" as described in the Advanced Player's Manual
Fighter '" as described in the Player's Handbook
Gutter Mage '" as described in the Book of Roguish Luck
Hunter '" as described in Path of the Sword
Monk '" as described in the Player's Handbook, modified by the Fighting Styles variant from the SRD
Noble '" as described in SpirosBlaak
Outdoorsman '" as described in Path of the Sword
Paladin '" as described in the Book of Hallowed Might, including the Neutral Good and Chaotic Good options. Paladins must be dedicated to a specific deity (and that deity must allow paladins), and must follow the code of that deity's paladins
Psion '" as described in the Expanded Psionics Handbook
Psychic '" as described in the Advanced Player's Manual
Psychic Warrior '" as described in the Expanded Psionics Handbook
Rogue '" as described in the Player's Handbook
Samurai '" as described in Complete Warrior
Scout '" as described in Complete Adventurer
Shadowsworn '" as described in the Book of Roguish Luck
Shaman '" as described in the Shaman's Handbook
Shugenja '" as described in Complete Divine
Sorcerer '" as described in the Player's Handbook
Soulknife '" as described in the Expanded Psionics Handbook
Swashbuckler '" as described in Complete Warrior
Thanemage '" as described in the Advanced Player's Manual
Warlock '" as described in Complete Arcane
Wild Defender '" as described in the article Wild Defender from Dragon magazine 324
Wilder '" as described in the Expanded Psionics Handbook
Wizard '" as described in the Player's Handbook
Characters are allowed to multi-class as normal, but this is not encouraged due to the level limitations of the E6 system
Rationale: I like lots of PC options, and they've got them. I basically allowed everything from my splat books that looked cool without being too high-magic. The Ranger class is gone because it's spell abilities suck under E6 (capped out at max 2 first level spells). The Hunter, Outdoorsman, and Wild Defender pick up the slack. The Favored Enemy ability also becomes a Feat, as you'll see in that section.
Please note that some of these classes will be restricted by race and/or culture, though this isn't all worked out yet. For examples, Samurai and Shugenja classes are restricted to the Grey Elves only, because their culture will be based on feudal Japan (they intentionally cut themselves off from the rest of the world, and are thus very insular, just like Japan was during part of its history). Additionally, monks only come from the western part of the world (there's only one primary continent), because that is where the somewhat Asian-influenced cultures are.
Chapter Four: Skills
Use the Maximum Ranks, Limited Choices option from the SRD
List of skills in the game:
All base skills from the Player's Handbook are included
All skills from the Expanded Psionics Handbook are included
Urban Lore from Path of the Sword. Class for Rogue and Bard, and now called Urban Survival
Craft: Poisonmaking from Complete Adventurer
Knowledge: Streetwise and Knowledge: Tactics from SpirosBlaak
Profession: Military Commander from Cry Havoc
Mimic Voice from Traps and Treachery
All Psychic skills from the Advanced Player's Manual are included
Rationale: The skill system doesn't need many changes, so only a few things got added which looked cool and usable. I'm using the variant skill rules to make my own life simpler, really. I've spent too much time agonizing over what skills to pick at each rank, so this way you set it at first level and you're done, unless you pick feats to give you more skills.
Chapter Five: Feats
All base feats from the Player's Handbook are included
All feats from the Expanded Psionics Handbook are included
All but Regional feats from the Player's Guide to the Sovereign Lands are included
Skill Knowledge [General] from SRD is included
All feats from Libris Mortis are included
Resounding Blow and Subduing Strike from the Book of Exalted Deeds
All feats from Path of the Sword are included
All feats from Wildscape are included
Clash of Blades, Count Coup, Improved Rapid Shot, Monkey Climb, Nimble Feet, Sniper, Spear Wind, Stick and Fire, Superior Trip, and Sword Wind from Bow & Blade
Arcane Warrior, Armor Prowess, Brawler, Contortionist, Dextrous, Eagle Eyes, Endurance Swimmer, Favored Enemy, Hawkeye, Impressive Immunity, Inspiring Foreman, Lookout, Master Pilot, Naval Heritage, Port Savvy, Precision, Rope Climber, Sea Dog, Shadow, Smooth Talker, Speedy Recovery, Sprinter, Steady Legs, Storm Sense, Superior Pilot, Swing-By-Attack, Touch of Clarity, and Weapon Kick Up from SpirosBlaak
Acrobatic Attack, Attuned, Channel Touch, Cut Arrows, Epiphany, Feign Death, Flamboyant Display, Improved Inertial Armor, Improved Touch Attack, Manifest on the Run, Precognitive, Psychic Leech, Psychic Turnabout, Rapid Recovery, Spoilsport, Strong Mind, Trailblazing, Unarmed Sunder, Weapon Display, Weapon Flurry, and Whirlwind Defense from Mindshadows
All feats from City Works are included
Favored Enemy Strike and Favored Enemy Strike, Critical from The Book of Hallowed Might
Arcane Battle Feats and Fighting Style Feats from The Book of Iron Might
All General and Eldritch feats from The Book of Roguish Luck
All feats from The Complete Book of Eldritch Might
Bloodline feats from the September 2003 issue of Dragon
Extra feats from E6
All feats from Heroes of Batle are included
General and Wild Feats from Complete Adventurer are included
General and Metamagic Feats from Complete Arcane are included
All feats from Complete Divine are included
All feats from Complete Warrior are included
All Psychic Feats from the Advanced Player's Manual are included
Rationale: Man, there are just too many feats in D20, aren't there? I've got all these feats in a spreadsheet and it is almost 800 lines. Every book author felt the need to develop new feats. However, many of them are good or interesting, so I'm defaulting to letting all of these feats be in my game, and I'll leave it up to players to not pick the sucky ones.
Note that feats can be restricted by race or class. For example, the Arcane Battle Feats will be limited to high elves only, because only they have the schools that teach such skills; and only Sorcerers can take Bloodline feats.
Chapter Six: Description
Use the Alignment Axis from The Book of Hallowed Might
Religion is changed by having the following list of gods in the game:
Major gods
Kulaj the creator
Urgan the worker
Dorana the water deity
Essoch and Enaul the gods of time
Malloch the treacherous
Minor gods
Akrasia, the thief of time
Chalavar the glutton
Halgrin the screaming lord
Larhoon the blood hunger
Kurzana the builder
Kain the black lord
Luna the protector
Thalander quickheart
Vaath the laugher
Valkon the sky lord
Vogg the firelord
Yaheine the sword maiden
Jode, the guardian of song
Dumathoin the keeper of secrets
Berronar the mother of safety
Hanali Celanil the romantic
Sheela Peryroyl the wise
Segojan Earthcaller the naturist
Flandal Steelskin the forger
Limpang-Lihai
Ehlana
Salamos
Dy'Madra
Syl'Aset
Rationale: My love for Monte Cook's Malhavoc Press comes out here. I'm using the Celestial River pantheon from the Second Book of Hallowed Might, as well as a bunch of minor gods from a web supplement to another Malhavoc product (Skeyn's Register, maybe). Each major demi-human race has its own pantheon, and some of the races from Mythic Races that I'm using have their own gods, as well. Yeah, it's a lot. You will notice that the standard D&D deities are missing (i.e., Moradin, Carl Glittergold). I keep waffling on whether to add them or not, but I'm keeping them out for now. What is here comes from articles in an old Best of Dragon book I have. The Celestial River pantheon is worshipped all over the world, but the minor gods have very regional followings.
Chapter Seven: Equipment
All base equipment from the Player's Handbook is included
All equipment from the Expanded Psionics Handbook is included
Xephs use equipment from Mindshadows
Wood elves use equipment from Bow & Blade
Other races use equipment from various Dragon magazine articles
Rationale: This one is definitely a work in progress. The final intent is to give different races and cultures equipment options that reflect their cultures. For example, the Xeph in my game are going to have a culture that has heavy Indian elements (that's India as in the Asian sub-continent, not Native Americans), as I'm using a lot (though not the battlemechs) from the Mindshadows setting, and I'm making that island the homeland of the Xephs. And the Grippli, but that's another story, entirely.
Chapter Eight: Combat
Combat Maneuvers and Stunts from the Book of Iron Might are used
Players Roll All the Dice variant rule from the SRD is in play
House rule: negative DEX modifiers can't make Flat-Footed AC higher than regular AC
House rule: five-foot adjusting steps can not be made after making an attack
Rationale: Not much to mention here, really. Just adding in some options to enhance the flavor of combat. The house rule about negative DEX mods and Flat-Footed AC is based on common sense and past game experience. The house rule about adjusting steps is based on bitter GM experience.
Chapter Nine: Adventuring
No modifications to this chapter
Chapter Ten: Magic and Chapter Eleven: Spells
Due to the use of the E6 system, no spell greater than 3rd level can be directly cast by a character in the game.
The Incantations variant from the SRD is used to handle rituals needed to cast higher-level spells.
Spellsongs (Complete Book of Eldritch Might) are used by the Bard
If a spell exists in a sourcebook, it is an option, but Soul Magic is not used
The Spell Point variant from the SRD is used. The first metamagic option is used, as well as the Vitalizing variant.
All divine casters use the Spontaneous Divine Casters variant from the SRD
Rationale: The spell point variant gives some extra flexibility to magic users, and the making of all divine casters as spontaneous casters eliminates one of the annoyances from my history of D&D games: that all clerics, no matter their faith, become healers. While that makes some sense from a metagaming perspective, it doesn't make sense inside the game world. Why would the god of wisdom grant healing spells? This way, clerics are encouraged to select spells that reflect their faith.
Now that the rules are out of the way, here is a map of the game world. This was generated randomly using the fractal generator at the Dire Press website. This was made months before I ever started this project, but I liked it and think it provides some interesting elements. World size is roughly the same as Earth, though I think it ends up being a bit larger by 5% or so (I've lost those notes somewhere on my desk).
EDIT: OK, wow, that image upload screwed up. Let's try that again in another post...
Let's try this...
(//../../e107_files/public/1217094299_772_FT52701_worldgen2_post.gif)
I will be developing the campaign world slowly. This will be done through just thinking about it, getting inspired by unrelated readings, talking with people, etc. Another way it will be developed is through game play. At this particular time I don't have any specific players in mind; I play with a regular group (when we actually meet...), but their styles and my styles aren't really in alignment. I like low-powered fantasy, and they want to play epic level superheroes that slay gods. So, I'll probably never run this world for them. However, I have no problems playing solitaire games using Mythic or other methods, so I'll occasionally be doing that in the world, to help check for game balance issues and to develop the world.
Thus, I have started working on an area of the world, pictured below. If you look at the overall world map, you will see a large lake/small sea to the east of the huge inland sea. This is the one right under the glaciers. That is the same large lake/small sea in the campaign area map. This is the western part of a large human-controlled empire that fractured and collapsed around 70 years ago or so. The land has fractured into a number of different kingdoms, which have been conquering each other ever since. Thus, there are now roughly a dozen or so different kingdoms vying for dominance. The game will initially be set in the Kingdom of Lorne, which is NW of the large lake/small sea. The game will start in the town of New Hoxbee, right at the northern tip of the country, where it borders the unclaimed wild lands (orcs, bugbears, wild elves, barbarian human tribes, ogres, etc.)
I'm currently working on a map of the area, using the old Judges Guild Campaign Cartographer system. For those of you unfamiliar with it, it is a way of mapping the world. The base level uses 5 mile wide hexes, each of which contains 25 smaller hexes across. These smaller hexes are thus each 0.2 miles wide, and contain 25 smaller hexes across, which are each a little more than 40 feet wide. Heck, you could even have a really large map that had 125 mile wide hexes, though I've not seen that done before. When I get that to a decent position I'll post it. I'll note, however, that the final maps I come up with aren't going to slavishly map to the original fractal map of the world; I'm just using that as a basis to get my imagination running.
(//../../e107_files/public/1217095025_772_FT52701_campaign_area_post.gif)
Ah, screw it, here's a scan of the map of northern Lorne, including New Hoxbee. The lines connecting settlements are roads; I haven't added any water sources, yet, and only New Hoxbee has been named so far, though the village SE of it will be Brandon's Bridge. Small villages and thorps are not shown on a map of this scale. More roads leaving the map will need to be added, as well.
I'm using the map symbols from old classic D&D maps. I tried to attach it to the post, as well, but it didn't look right. Ah, well. Ask questions if you need to.
(//../../e107_files/public/1217096058_772_FT52701_northernlorne_.jpg) (//../../e107_files/public/1217096058_772_FT52701_northernlorne.jpg)
[blockquote=LR]For examples, Samurai and Shugenja classes are restricted to the Grey Elves only, because their culture will be based on feudal Japan (they intentionally cut themselves off from the rest of the world, and are thus very insular, just like Japan was during part of its history). [/blockquote]
Okay, first interesting snippet. This makes me happy. I like some reason for a race to be separate, as most setting have no reason for them to be that way.
I like low-power fantasy, and changed my systems for the same reason. Your logic of high-power creatures being defeated more 'realistally' resonates for me (the highest PC HP in my setting is 44, for a 12 year old character).
About the Gods, dump the traditional. No reason to make your campaign more like everyone elses. But who worships the other gods, if you have racial deities? Are those then the 'human' gods?
Ish will be thrilled about the Indian/hindu element. You guys can talk about the variety of ankus' you want to use together. (and I know you know what that is....)
Looking forward to reading your mana recharge rules from E6, and how they affect change.
All in all, a good read, and I look forward to the world specifics.
[blockquote LV]About the Gods, dump the traditional. No reason to make your campaign more like everyone elses. But who worships the other gods, if you have racial deities? Are those then the 'human' gods?[/blockquote]
Yes, and no. Humans don't worship the gods specific to other races (with one notable exception which I hope to write about eventually), but that doesn't mean that demi-human races don't worship any of the 'human' gods, because they do. This especially relates to the major deities, the Celestial River Pantheon (the first six listed). These are major gods for the entire planet and worship of one or more of them can be found everywhere, even in the very uncivilized parts of the world if you look hard enough.
And thanks for the kind words. As I get my myriad ideas out of my head and onto paper (or comptuer file, more likely) I'll post summaries of them here.
Quote from: lionrampantAh, screw it, here's a scan of the map of northern Lorne, including New Hoxbee. The lines connecting settlements are roads; I haven't added any water sources, yet, and only New Hoxbee has been named so far, though the village SE of it will be Brandon's Bridge. Small villages and thorps are not shown on a map of this scale. More roads leaving the map will need to be added, as well.
I'm using the map symbols from old classic D&D maps. I tried to attach it to the post, as well, but it didn't look right. Ah, well. Ask questions if you need to.
OK, so I was sitting around with nothing much to do and whipped this up in an hour or two...
(//../../e107_files/public/1217175090_749_FT52701_kingdomoflorne_.png) (//../../e107_files/public/1217175090_749_FT52701_kingdomoflorne.png)
Wow, thanks Steel General! That looks great.
Since I got that nice color map of north central Lorne, I figured I'd dig out and post what I already have on the kingdom and the town of New Hoxbee.
Kingdom of Lorne
Lorne became independent 62 years ago when the Sundren Empire broke up. Since then it has expanded its size by conquering some smaller kingdoms and duchies around it. The throne has changed hands a few times since then, as well. The current king is from the third family to hold the throne, and he has sat on the throne for 11 years. He dethroned the previous family in a war. The previous family had the fortune to have two generations sit the throne. They also took the throne by war, dethroning the original king that helped break the kingdom free from Imperial control.
The current king, Theodore Delban, has two children: a son and a daughter. The son, prince Quentan Delban, is from the king's first wife, who died shortly after giving birth. He is 15 years old. The daughter, princess Osera Delban, is 10 years old. Her mother, the king's second wife, was actually a daughter of the previous king. Theodore Delban took her and made her his wife the night he claimed the throne. The princess' mother lived a few years before dying under mysterious causes which have never been properly explained. The prince and princess are quite fond of each other, though the princess hates the king and defies him as much as she can.
King Delban has done a very thorough job of stamping down unrest in the kingdom, and has a penchant for launching wars against surrounding lands whenever the nobility gets uppity, as a way of defusing tension. The King is very religious, and worships Kulaj, Dorana, and Thalander Quickheart. The King subscribes to the heretical theory that Kulaj and Thalander mated to create the world. This is fairly well known, but the local priests play it down as much as they can, as they don't want to have to proclaim the king an apostate. The priests of Dorana seethe at his apostasy, though, and may do something about it.
The king is 37, and has a new wife, aged only 16. She is the daughter of a prominent noble family. Queen Denvey Delban seems very happy with her life, and is currently pregnant. She does not get along with the prince or the princess.
The Kingdom covers about 100,000 square miles, and has a total population over 3 million. There used to be more, but there have been a rash of diseases in recent years that have thinned the population from 10 to 15 percent.
Note: The part about the heretical religious beliefs only makes sense when you realize that orthodox Kulaj worship has the world being created by her out of the elements of the Celestial River. All other gods were created by her (according to orthodoxy, anyway), as well as the world itself, and nobody helped her. I'll post more about the gods soon, whenever I find where I saved that file...
The Town of New Hoxbee
New Hoxbee is named after Hoxbee, a town hundreds of miles to the SE, in another kingdom that used to be part of the Sundren Empire.
Large Town
Adult population 4,490
Town is led by a baroness, a human level 1 aristocrat.
Town alignment is Lawful Neutral
Everyone in the town is level 1
The town is racially mixed:
80% human
9% halfling
5% elf
3% dwarf
1% gnome
1% half-elf
1% half-orc
The main temple in the town is to Kulaj the creator, though Enaul has a temple as well. The town covers 109.5 acres of land, and is walled. The town has seven wards. The Merchant, Craftsman, River/Bridge, Market, and Gate wards are within the wall. The Odoriferous Business ward is outside the walls, and is where the tanners and smithy are located. This ward was recently devastated in fighting against a force of ogres and goblinoids that attacked during the winter from out of the wild lands to the north. The town walls were damaged, but were not breached in the fighting.
The town is ruled by one power center, the Baroness Elspeth Lorinar
Note: I'm using the wonderful sourcebook, A Magical Medieval Society: Western Europe, to develop the details for each kingdom, town, and city.
You're most welcome, glad you like it, and I hope its of use to you.
Steel, I'll check that out soon (already bookmarked it for ease of finding later), but I'm gonna keep dumping out my own ideas for the next few days.
OK, I found that Word document I have that provides details (hopefully, suitable for players who care) on all of the deities in the world. It is, however, 13 pages, so I'm not going to copy that into here. If people are interested, I can stick it on the web and link to it.
For now, I'm putting up another map, with crappy MS paint numbers added to it. I will then write my current thoughts on each of those areas. Feel free to critique or comment as the mood strikes.
(//../../e107_files/public/1217290821_772_FT52701_worldgen2_numbers.gif)
1. Naranjas
This large island, separated by the Great Expanse from the rest of the world, has nurtured its own races and cultures, with minimal impact from the greater world. Naranjas is the home of the Xeph and Grippli races, as well as the Yuan-Ti. The island has a tropical climate, and is mostly covered in jungles and rain forests. Xephs live in cities that exist both above and below the surface of the island, and in scattered towns and villages. Xephs primarily live in the northern half of the island, as their blood foes, the Yuan-Ti, control the south. There is a constant low-grade war going on between the two races, which occasionally turns white hot. This has created somewhat of a DMZ between their areas. The primary advantage the Xephs have is that they have a navy, so they can maneuver better by sending troops across the water.
The Grippli are a race of frog-men that stand from two to three feet high. They are friendly with the Xephs, and considered a food source by the Yuan-Ti. Grippli would prefer to be left alone and live in their own villages in the jungles, but the hostility and hunger of the Yuan-Ti have driven many to live with the Xeph in their towns and cities. Grippli are rather primitive, and do not live in houses; give them some trees and/or a hole in the ground for shelter and they're good. A pond is a plus, too. Thus, Xeph cities have developed to have large parks and other arboretal areas for their Grippli friends. Some Xephs are very patronizing of the Grippli, treating them like intelligent pets, but wise Xephs recognize their sentience and treat them decently.
Because Xephs are great craftsmen and traders, their ships have sailed into pretty much every port in the world at some point. Sometimes they get treated badly and don't return, but Xeph goods are considered high quality and highly desirable in many places, so the Xeph have become quite rich on the whole through their trading power.
Because the Xeph rely so much on the sea for their wealth and prosperity, worship of Dorana is very popular. Grippli don't seem to be very much into religion, for the most part; there is no deity that they show any preference for on average.
Xephs, Grippli, and Yuan-Ti are all psionic, and arcane magic-using Xeph are very rare. Even divine magic-using Xephs are quite uncommon. No grippli in known memory has ever cast an arcane magic spell.
When finalized, Xeph culture will be very much based on Indian myth and lore, and their clothing and equipment will reflect that.
2. Helg'Amar
This northern area is the home of the grey elves, the most insular race in the world. Related to the more common high elves, the grey elves have slowly closed themselves off from the rest of the world over the years. In the present day that have almost no relationships with anyone other than high elves, and that is kept to a minimum.
The grey elves consider themselves to be the pinnacle of creation. After Kulaj made them, she made nothing else, because you can't improve on perfection, so why try? They look with, at best, pity on everyone else in the world, if not outright distaste at the ugliness and lack of grace of other creatures. It is unheard of for the grey elves to let any other race, except for a handful of high elves, into their lands. There is only one grey elf kingdom, ruled by the same king for over 500 years.
The elves last real interaction with anybody was with a human kingdom that lived on the islands in their far southern domain. This was 300 years ago. 350 years ago, the king of those islands accidentally mis-spoke in the presence of the elven king, and the king was insulted. He brooded on the brash (though clueless) human's words for 50 years, before deciding that he was slighted, and his honor demanded recompense. By this time, of course, the human king was long dead and his line had been usurped by another. The elves didn't care, though. They descended in force and slaughtered most of the human inhabitants for the "grave, horrible slight on the king's honor." They did gather up many of the women and children, stick them on boats, and send them out into the sea rather than kill them (they're not evil, they just must cleanse the stain on their honor), but they wiped that human kingdom off the map. In fact, if you ever find a grey elf and ask him about it, he'll most likely tell you that those islands have always belonged to the elves, because they wanted to wipe those annoying humans from history. The message is: do not mess with us; do not talk to us; leave us alone, because we're better than you and you damn well better know it, or we'll teach you how much better we are.
The insular culture of the high elves has developed in some wierd ways, such as the samurai and shugenja PC classes. While they have regular fighters, the samurai are ritual soldiers of the noble houses, trained in the history and honorable ways of their people. Shugenja are priests of the elven god Prielghari. Interestingly enough, this is the same god primarily worshipped by the wood elves, though grey elves say that their racial cousins are debased and worship improperly. Prielghari has many elemental aspects, and the shugenja focus on one of four aspects: earth, air, fire, or water. The wood elves also say Prielghari has an aspect of "wood," which horifies grey elf purists as some kind of bizarre heresy.
Any grey elf PCs, outside of a campaign set in grey elf lands, will be one of the rare grey elves that disagrees with their overall cuture, and doesn't automatically despise everybody else in the world. The occasional grey elf decides to travel the world and actually see what it is like with their own eyes, and hear it with their own ears. These rare individuals may still be very prejudiced, but they are willing to put those prejudices to the test to see if those beliefs are valid. Anyone returning to grey elf lands with a changed worldview is treated badly, generally, and some elves have even been banished for having their minds "tainted" with different views.
Bottom line, grey elves aren't evil, they just really, really don't like you. Unless you're a high elf, in which case you are treated like a cousin who is a bit simple, but probably harmless.
3. Naihan
This area is pretty undefined, but my current plan is to have it controlled by humans that are culturally influenced by the Chinese Tang Dynasty. The region has generally been stable for a while; ruling families come and go, but Naihan's borders haven't changed much over the years. This has mainly been due to the various ruling family's lack of ability to really control the bureaucracy. The bureaucracy is very good at running the basic functions of the government, and also very good at making sure that whoever is in charge ends up being more of a figure head than an actual all-powerful emperor. You can't run the country without the bureaucracy, so you can't just get rid of it, but it helps stop over-arching ambition in its tracks.
The region might even end up being a handful of different countries, rather than just one; undecided on that point. I do know that it will be relatively wealthy, due to solid trade activity with other regions. They also will have at least one top notch magical academy, and most of the monasteries (necessary for the Monk PC class) are in this region of the world.
4. The Former Sundren Empire
This large area was at one time under the dominion of the Sundren Empire, a human-controlled empire that arose a little under 300 years ago. It generally expanded its reach through force of arms, though a small handful of provinces just capitulated rather than fight what they felt was a hopeless battle to remain independent. As tends to happen, it became corrupt and militarily weak over the years, such that around 75 years ago the outlying regions began to break free. This process was complete by 50 years ago. The old capital of Sundras is in the peninsula in the SE portion of the empire's reach.
Ever since the break-up, this area has been a hotbed of activity, with lots of fighting and political maneuvering as the various new kings, dukes, and other rulers fought amongst themselves to consolidate power. There are roughly 20 countries that currently exist in this region, down from a high over 45 at its peak. Due to this activity, the area is crawling with mercenaries, and ex-mercenaries who have turned to banditry. The lands are generally very fertile and there is plenty of water, so the populations are higher than you would otherwise expect due to the abundant agriculture.
The previously-described Kingdom of Lorne is part of this region. The region also includes many halflings, a moderate number of gnomes, and at least one large forest controlled by wood elves. Dwarven clans generally live in the hills and mountains to the east and west, though near Sundras there is a large dwarven mountain settlement that is still loyal to the old imperial line. Many years ago one of the old Sundren Emperors died fighting off an attack on the dwarves, and they have always honored the debt by pledging their fealty to the Sundren ruling house.
5. The Wild North
Very little has been decided about this area. I am loosely basing it off of the concepts in the AD&D1E Forgotten Realms product, The Savage Frontier. As such, there will be independent city-states based along the coast of the Great Inland Sea, and deeper inland, in the space between the glaciers, there will be barbarian human tribes, some wild elf tribes, and a lot of evil humanoids (orcs, ogres, and more). There may or may not be a lot of ruins from ancient civilizations for plunder.
6. The Eastern Plains
This area will be home to wild elves and evil humanoids, but it is primarily the home to a large number of human nomadic tribes, based loosely on the concept of The Horde, from the Forgotten Realms. Think nomadic mongols and you're close. One significant change is that this entire area was once ruled, many hundreds of years ago, by a race of cat-people, the Artathi. These are the ancestors of the Syltath that roam the frozen north. The Artathi had a very developed civilization, and many ruins of their cities, towns, and temples still dot the vast plains. Daring treasure hunters occasionally risk the wrath of the nomadic tribes and raid these ruins seeking treasure and magic items of great power from a lost age.
7. The Lost Lands
These large islands are an enigma to many. Ancient ruins dot the islands, as well as much of the submerged area under the surrounding ocean. Few people live here, and the place is generally considered cursed. Deranged cultists make up most of the population. There are many stories about this place, but it is generally believed that over 1000 years ago there was a a large island in this area, where a powerful civilization lived. They prospered for a while, before disaster struck. The nature of the disaster is unknown, but there are many theories. One is that a massive volcanic eruption destroyed the island, breaking it into many smaller islands as the sea rushed in. Another is that a magical explosion sank most of the island beneath the ocean waves. Another is that the gods were angered by a great evil performed there, and therefore the gods destroyed it. One dark tale, that told by the cultists who liveon the island, is that an ancient evil god arose from the sea and ate the land, leaving only a few pieces behind after its hunger was sated. The Ooloi, the good sea-dwelling race, refuse to discuss the event, which some people take as proof that something bad had to have happened there. The Ooloi will only say that the sea became angry and destroyed the island.
At this point I have no idea which theory about the island's fate are actually correct. If it ever matters for a game, I'll make a decision, but I like to add stuff like this to the world just to watch players speculate about what happened. And I can't give away the secret, because even I don't yet know the secret.
Just a small update:
I'm stepping back a bit from detailing the cultures of the world to focus a bit more on natural elements (which areas are wet, which are dry, where are prevailing currents, etc.). Once that gets nailed down to something I'm happy with I'll provide the details.
Campaign design work temporarily put on hold while other projects occupy my brain.
rats the lost lands were interesting to me. Maybe it was the deranged cultists (can never have enough of those). Though I have to admit, my mindset is to figure out everything in advance....somehow, as a player, it would hurt my head if the DM didn't really have some deep hidden reason that these lands were 'lost'.
I'm one of theose people that seems to be undiagnosed bipolar; I got really on fire and spend tons and tons of time on something for a while, and then the fever is gone and I'm all "meh" about it. Never fear, I'll get back to it at some point. Though I do have the new Mongoose Traveller in the mail to my house, so I may be designing star systems for a while.
HOWEVER, I will tip you in on what my current leaning is on the Lost Lands; Someone centuries ago got Dagon's attention. Dagon thought they all looked tasty, and that was that. Kind of the whole "Congratulations! You actually summoned Cthulhu! You are honored to be the first to die!" thing. However, I'm not running a game of this currently, so it's all just intellectual fun, and if it ever mattered in a real game, I might have changed my mind on it by then.
UPDATE
So, I am realizing that there are things about this setting that I am unhappy with. Specifically, there is just too much going on. Too many deities, too many races, etc. I originally did that based on play experience, as many players want almost unlimited choices. However, it is making my brain hurt, so I am going to trim it down somewhat. I don't yet know what will get cut, but some of the options will be going away.
However, I have other projects occupying my time currently, so nothing will be done in the near future.
As part of my continued thinking about my setting, I have come to realize that I simply want to do something different with the magic system. Some playtesting with the "Recharge Magic" variant has shown that I consider that variant to be a massive pain in the ass, and not worth the extra book-keeping. I am now leaning towards more of a "power point" system, like the Elements of Magic book published by EN Publishing a few years back. I've been reading through it and really liking the idea, but I'm not yet sure how to implement it. Anothing thing I want is for different cultures to have different arcane magic traditions. The Elements of Magic system lets me do that, but it will be a lot of work, work which will only be accomplished slowly.
The flip side of that is how to handle divine magic. I've got some ideas, but they are not fully formed and I don't know if they will end up being balanced or not. Only time and work will tell.
Some more work has been done. I am avoiding the Elements of Magic system, as it was just too different from base D20. Instead, I am using the Spell Point variant from the SRD. This is for both Arcane and Divine casters. I am also making all divine casters Spontaneous Casters, which will help focus divine spells towards the specific deities followed by those characters.
I have also been working on specific lists of classes for each race and culture. I'm only part way done, but I'm liking how it is working so far. This is helping to really give a different feel to the different races and human civilizations in different parts of the world.
Lastly, I have been cutting down the deities, as well. Specifically, many of the racial deities are going away, though a few are staying in one form or another. The original posts have been edited in a few places, but most of these changes are not yet reflected above.
...
Aaaand, I'm back. Sort of. After taking many months to do other things, including playing games, including some of the role-playing sort, I'm thinking about this setting again. Specifically, of the need to simplify it. Not really from a setting perspective, but from a rules perspective. There are a lot of house rules in here, as well as non-core D20 stuff pulled from literally dozens of sources, and I want to simplify it a bit.
Also, I want to get organizing it better, so I might get one of those wiki things and try to get an organized site going to collect my thoughts and ideas better.