so the other setting I was brainstorming about was slowly become Arga 2.0, which is fine, but I don't want to do that. So I'm throwing in my cards to this setting, which I've put in a new thread that's way way boiled down. so without further ado.
The premise of this setting was to take somewhat standard fantasy, and then put it all underground in the dark. At first I planned on just tweaking standard DnD fare, but have since decided against that because that would be lame. (On that not, please don't keep the Underdark in mind when reading this, or drow. Especially the drow. There will be no drow.)
The basic backstory is that "A long time ago, all the races that lived above ground had to flee into the dungeons and caves they feared for so long. The End." I'm keeping the reasons of the exodus unexplained, as I think it lends a nice umph of mystery and may give PCs good motivation to maybe go back, even though no one has ever made it there and back to tell about it. Now all anyone knows is life in the dark.
Developing the various cultures, beasties, and peoples of this setting (which I still haven't named) will be done so with the idea of subterranean evolution and adaptation. The geography of the world itself will run the gamut: tiny caverns barely wide enough to squeeze through, huge volcanic tunnels, vast underground seas and lakes and rivers, great fungal forests, "grass"-lands, etc.
Considering the locale, survival should be a big theme of the setting, as is light/dark contrast. Claustrophobia, the weight of darkness, and cold could find there way in to.
That all being said, I would not mind in the least if this became a community project if anyone wants to throw in ideas or totally jump on the band wagon, especially those who think like I do - you know who you are you foxy foxy setting designers.
Ok more to come later.
No drow... understandable since I believe the term, unlike Duregar, is copyrighted. but will there be "dark elves"? :D
Did you try to do something like this before- the world underground seems very familiar to me for some reason- I either saw a setting like this on GiTP or here within the last year. Still, it's always worth seeing a new 'take', though I'm still interested in that old 'metal' setting you proposed a while back.
actually, the word drow/trow is from Scottish folklore. And there will be no races called "Elves" or "Dwarves" or whatev. That being said, there may be races that resemble other races, but as for names and fluff - original stuff.
And yes, this idea/setting was posted earlier, but it was a bunch of ideas opposed to a somewhat cohesive brainstorm.
So the two questions I've got off the top of my head are:
Why is everything underground now?
and
What role do adventurers play? (I'm assuming that this world is going to be for some sort of RPG)
One of the traditional tropes of Underdark settings is to make them harsh, vicious places, because somehow being away from the sun makes everybody less moral. The one thing that always bothered me about Underdark was the belief that there aren't many resources underground. Arguably, cave systems are one of the most hospitable to animals. The temperature is steady and tends toward warmth, there's lots of cover and shelter, and water is common. The problem is that few plants, one of the staples of our diet, grow underground. Also, a lot of humans find cave creatures a bit creepy, because they aren't what we're used to.
One huge problem with all poorly-lighted settings in how to describe it to races who don't have Darkvision. ("Err... Yes. The tunnel is pitch black.") It might be interesting to play with the idea of lighting and what that means symbolically.
Also, mapping will be difficult, since it will have to be in layers. Travel is in three dimensions, not two like on the surface.