I've been playing around with an idea based on Colonial America, in a fiction location with at least two defined colonies established by a Kingdom across the sea (??). New Dernallion colony is somewhat similar to Virgina, with Liamsport as its capital. New Lancaster (??) to the north is like New England, being a Puritan (like) based society of religious fanatics and witch hunters.
At first I wanted to develop an Appalachian society of disaffected immigrant Celts who've left persecution in the Old Kingdom, and have come to the new world, where they still found prejudice by the ruling class in the lowland coastal regions, thus went into the back country founding many small, poor farming communities and have also brought with them all their superstitions, mystic practices, farming "by the signs", even their folklore which has actuated in the new world, in the form of fey beings, perhaps, even giants, dragons and ogres. I call this region the Tuskahenny Mountains and River region. Practicing witches exist in their population...
Of the witches, rather than pagan practicing healing women as what they probably were historically, I'd like to introduce the Christian idea of witches tempted by Mephistopheles like Satan character - so witchcraft is being in league with the devil...
Such a setting could also provide access to a bucaneer culture in the barrier islands and cape region of New Dernallion (located south on its coastal areas).
Of course I want to develop a native population of "savages" with at least two fictional tribes: Pachtipequa and the Chichock nations, being like the woodland native americans - perhaps similar to the Mohawk and Shawnee. They would have unique nature powers with strong spiritual connections.
Finally among the aristocratic plantation farmers (I don't want to introduce slavery, as this setting is not America) with indentured workers of lower class/peasants working the fields, the establishment of a New World colony, was created by multiple secret societies with varying and contradicting agendas.
The Academie (Wizards) pursues science, alchemy, logic and reason, though still have access to the practice of arcane magic, which they deem as science.
The Order of the Enlightened - aristocratic freethinkers, not unlike the Illuminati with the goal of eventual self government.
Imperialists - aristocratic loyalist to the Crown, with the goal of expanding the Kingdom into an Empire, and the Crown Colonies being a direct result of that expansion.
Anarch - a mercantile order desiring total free trade without influence from civil authority.
Order of St. Tobias - an Inquisition among the Puritans of New Lancaster, witch hunters all.
The Cabal - an order of bloodline bound sorcerers seeking exile from the Old World.
The Shadow - a shadowy organization of power brokers with hidden agendas, believed to have smuggled arcane artifacts from the Old World, to be hidden in the New World to protect it for some unknown goal.
Cult of the Old One - perhaps a bit of Cthullu, at least in one port village.
Various members among the aristocratic society are members to more than one organization which further inflates the conspiracies and silent networking between the secret societies.
For the time being I'm thinking of continuing to work with a Pathfinder RPG system with some unique classes. I would have to introduce flint-lock muskets, pistols and cannons, thus gunpowder and gunsmithy. I would have to introduce sailing ship movement rules for merchant trade and piracy.
I know this has been done before, but still the idea sounds fun, and since its not really America, I have much more freedom to go in non-historic directions.
At this point, I'm developing a list of place names towards the creation of detailed map the emulates the style of Colonial America.
Thoughts?
GP
Sounds interesting.
Colonial America and secret societies. Nifty!
Have you heard of alleged Federal triangle hidden in DC's layout by Freemason planners? I saw a bit about it on a History Channel special about the Masons and conspiracy theories.
There's an interesting novel series by Orson Scott Card that involves similar themes, although more definitely in America and slightly later period. Starts with the book Seventh Son.
Quote from: khyron1144There's an interesting novel series by Orson Scott Card that involves similar themes, although more definitely in America and slightly later period. Starts with the book Seventh Son.
Alvin the Maker series, yes, I've read them - that is set approximately 1820 to the Civil War. Cool concepts and definitely influenced my idea on it, but, yeah, way late. I'm looking at the late 1600's as an approximate comparable timeline with some circumstances from pre-revolutionary war, but mostly set pre-18th century.
Edit: admittedly, however, I'd like to make my native population very similar to Orson Scott Card's vision - "green walking" moving great distances on foot, like a limited form of teleport, but much slower. Different in some respects having totem animal spirits, the powers of shape-shifting, perhaps summoning Woodland Creatures, animal companions and animal speaking. Also "dream walking" shamans and spiritually enhanced weapons. In Pathfinder Speak - both barbarians and savage culture rangers. I want to use the new Oracle class as possible shaman, though 4 Winds shaman is pretty cool as well.
GP
Whaling ships! I'm not sure when the americans started hunting whales, but I know they did it quite a lot at one point.
Taking witches in the satanic direction could be interesting, and there seems to be a couple of different magical schools.
And you can hardly go wrong with secret societies (well, you can, but you're off to a good start if you decide having one in your setting).
Anyway, a potentially very good idea :)
On Cape Chatterly there would exist at least one whaling town - so yes, I'd had plans to introduce whaling as an industry in this setting. Cape Chatterly contains one whaling town, several fisherman towns, a Cthullu controlled village and the Bucaneers society as well.
I've been studying 17th and 18th century maps of the new world and individual colonies, so my first step and creating a thoroughly described map of the two crown colonies with dozens of towns, several counties, some wilderness trails, country inhabited by the various indigenous tribes.
I have lots of reference material to work with: the Legend of Sleepy Hollow, the Scarlet Letter, the Last of the Mohicans, the House of Seven Gables, all works by Rudyard Kipling, Nathaniel Hawthorne, plus stories about the Pilgrims, Salem, Massachusetts, the French and Indian War, etc. Plus the life of Benjamin Franklin, as in the Alvin the Maker series, a Ben Franklin type character would be the primary "wizard" of the new world (Ben the tamer of lightening.)
Much of the Masonic and Illuminati involvement in actual America did not occur until late, or just prior to the Revolutionary War, however in my setting those types of organizations involvements occur at the start of colonization period. Lots of ideas to pursue.
Regarding the various magic schools: the Academie (Science Wizards), the Cabal (bloodline sorcerers), the Shadow (includes mind control or mesmerism), there's also a budding medical community (includes necromancers), of course the folk magic of Tuskahenny region, and the Devil associated covens of Witchcraft - not to mention native spiritual magic. Lots of schools of magic.
Since there is no slavery in the setting, this precludes the idea of African Voodoo magic.
GP