Hello all, i began posting this on the wizards boards and got ignored. i'm going to post it here and hope that you all find a better use for it then Wizards did.
The Campaign Builder's Handbook
We have all wanted to create a wide span campaign setting like The Forgotten Realms, or an exciting, thrill driven setting like The Eberron Campaign setting, but sometimes weâ,¬,,¢re not sure where to start. While digging through the Wizards of the Coast message boards, I have read through several fantastically done settings, and some not so well done. So I am going to make a workshop for all DMs building campaign settings (now referred to Builders, because thatâ,¬,,¢s what we really are). Here you can learn some useful tips, skills, and styles for campaign building and campaign running.
The First rule of Campaign Building is that there really is no right way to go about it. Every Builder has his or her own wants and needs. Some say to stay away from clichés; others just cannot stay away from those blasted elves. Some like to start from the inside-out, just plotting along the campaign as the players go at it. For now, weâ,¬,,¢re going to assume that you are interested in the latter style, of outside-in. These kinds of Builders want to plot out every aspect of the campaign, every city and thorp, every grain of sand between the halflingâ,¬,,¢s toes. This can be daunting to say the least, but im going to make a campaign setting along with you, like Bob Ross but Iâ,¬,,¢m not painting. The key is to not allow get burnt out. For starters, you need to get some ideas. Here are some of mine:
1. Iâ,¬,,¢m going to call this project The Archipelago Setting. In case youâ,¬,,¢re wondering, an Archipelago is a series of islands that are in an area of water. For our campaign setting we will have several islands from small, to medium, to big!
2. I donâ,¬,,¢t like orcs how they stand. Dull witted, brutish, and barbaric does not appeal to me. However, what â,¬Å"does nock my arrowâ,¬Â are the orcs from the Eberron Campaign setting. If you look at the picture of the orc on page 155 you can see how he almost looks like a samurai. I want to kick that up a notch, I want an island of Orcs who are smarter, bound by honor, and made up of Samurai, Wu Jen, Shugenja, and ninjas.
3. I want my islands to be mostly tropical. I also want to use Dagon (a sea demon from H.P. Lovecraftâ,¬,,¢s stories and his stats are on page 60 of Hordes of the Abyss).
4. I want to have a high-magic, medium tech setting. What this means is that magic is a part of life, and to a small extent used in everyday life (not to the extent that Eberron uses it). I also want low technology, so there will be flying ships, Dwarves use ironclads and submersibles, but no flintlock pistols.
5. Psionics are prevalent in the setting. It stands like a second magic, and at least one island will be built almost completely around magic.
So now I have five basic ideas to be my springboard into The Archipelago Setting. Once you have down some things that make your setting unique from other settings, itâ,¬,,¢s time to write it up and post it on the Boards! Here are some things to keep in mind. Firstly, The Boards donâ,¬,,¢t do indents, so when writing something up in a text program like Word always skip lines between paragraphs. Secondly, you may want to bold important things like names of cities, countries, and gods. On the Boards this is really easy, you can highlight the word, click the bold button and it automatically bolds it. What this looks like is word or something like that. You can do the same with changing text, italicizing, and underlining.
So when presenting your idea to the Boards for review, try to organize your data nicely. Sometimes readers will be set off by huge posts, so try to break it up into small bites. Your first post will likely include the things that make your Campaign special (see above), followed by races, deities, countries and whatnot.
Races is the first, most important because it shows players what choices they can choose from for a campaign. You might also want to give short descriptions of each race if they are different then in normal Dungeons and Dragons games.
In The Archipelago Setting there are:
Humans are the most diverse race of all; they come in all shades and sizes.
Warforged is a race often referred to as The Ancients, because they have been around since before anyone can remember. They procreate by creating more of themselves from creation forges hidden deep in the jungle.
Gnomes are crafty and sometimes insidious. They head the most dangerous organization in the entire Archipelago known as the Gnomish Mafia. In Gnomish it is referred to as â,¬Å"La Guierrasiaâ,¬Â or the darkness.
Dwarves are greedy, often times hoarding treasure like a dragon. Occasionally they leave their mountain strongholds to help in the building of cities for the other races.
High Elves are haughty and usually stay away from the lesser races. Their skill in the shaping of mithril is equal to the dwarves. They hate dwarves, they have constantly been at war with the dwarven empire and have been at a stalemate for hundreds of years.
Wild Elves are separate from their High Elven brethren. They share an island with Shifters, and the two races live in peace. Their civilization is the Druidic power center and they worship the trees of the jungle.
Shifters live with the Wild Elves and together they separate themselves from the dangers of civilization. All shifters are naturally Arcanophobic meaning they hate and fear arcane magic.
Changelings are naturally born to play the game of subterfuge. They run the largest intelligence agency that keeps tabs on all the other islands.
Kalashtar are a race who fled the Far Realms and may have finally found peace living with the Xeph, although, rumors spread throughout the islands that the Kalashtar may have brought dangerous enemies with them.
Xeph have been the psionic masters of the Archipelagos for years, only recently have they embraced the Kalashtar into their civilization. They enjoy the spreading of Psionic skills and knowledge to other lands.
Eastern Orcs are trained warriors, ninjas, and spiritual spellcasters. They are civilized and obsessed with honor. Using a very complex feudal system Eastern Orcs belong to clans and refer to themselves as such, frequently in the third person. For example: Orald of the Pegasus Clan says "Orald the Giantslayer hears something coming!" They frequently add titles that refer to their deeds in battle.
So what happens when you want to make up your own race? Pretty simple, look to the races in the Playerâ,¬,,¢s Handbook, do you notice none of them have level adjustment? In my humble opinion a good race has no level adjustment. So this way you can run a first level game using the races and not using unwieldy rules. When presenting Races for review, try the Races message boards, this way people who are experienced at creating races can help you balance them out. After which, you might want to post it in the Campaign Workshop Boards along with your setting. Follow this method:
Give a short description of the race; this can be a very short, paragraph-long story like from the Eberron Campaign Setting or just a description of the race as a whole.
Personality: Describe what their personality traits tend to be.
Physical Description: how tall are they? How much do they weigh? What color eyes and hair do they have? Do they get weird skin colors? Do they have multiple arms? Do they sleep? Do they eat? Do they have a wiry build or a more muscle builder one?
Relations: how do they react with other races? Are they Xenophobic or very accepting of other people?
Alignment: sometimes a race tends to lean towards no particular alignment, but if youâ,¬,,¢re describing Drow from Forgotten Realms you would say that because of their chaotic nature and ruthless style they tend towards Chaotic Neutral.
â,¬Å"Raceâ,¬Â Lands: describe where they can be found in your setting. For mine, Wood Elves would be found deep in the jungles of the Island of Prath.
Religion: What religion is the base religion of the race? In the Archipelago Setting Dwarves lean towards the god Stonefather, the god of Blacksmiths, Metal, and Earth.
Language: Does the race speak only Common or do they have their own language?
Names: you can talk about naming conventions here, or just give some examples of female names, male names, and surnames (last names).
Adventurers: why does this race love to go on adventures? What motivates them to set out and fight monsters?
Racial Traits
Now for the hardest part, try to make a well balanced race. Usually at the end of the traits you list some bonus languages a character can take, a favored class, and Level Adjustment. If it has no level adjustment, make it +0.
The next step is to think up some gods. Now, in your campaign setting there might not be any gods. If thatâ,¬,,¢s the case then you might want to think about what youâ,¬,,¢re going to use instead of Clerics. Healers would make a good class for filling the hole when it comes to healing the party. You might like the idea of having a pantheon of hundreds of gods, or one as in depth and huge as Forgotten Realms. But please, resist the temptation, because in a real campaign the gods will only be used like this. In the beginning of the game when the Cleric chooses his patron deity, whenever the players need to purchase some healing potions or other divine items, or whenever an evil cleric attacks the players. Thatâ,¬,,¢s about it. So keep it simple, no need spending days plotting out a pantheon if it wonâ,¬,,¢t see much action. You might not want to stat the gods either, unless youâ,¬,,¢re playing an epic game where it is very likely that the players will rattle their swords at the gods. I think it is just good for the sake of argument to consider gods unfathomable. It will save you hours of stating, and who knows, you may find you really donâ,¬,,¢t like the idea of gods who come down from on high and save the day (like in Greek mythology) and that you more like the idea of gods who have taken a step away from mortal workings (like in H.P. Lovecraft stories).
With Deities, you may want to submit them to the Deities and Planes Boards before you post them on the Campaign Builderâ,¬,,¢s Boards. Try to make your Deity slots fit into a DnD Style (like the ones in chapter 5 of the Complete Divine). These are some of the gods of The Archipelago.
Dagon, Prince of the Depths
Lesser God
Symbol: six tentacles rapped around a fanged mouth
Portfolio: Sea Serpents, the Ocean, Sea Demons, Tidal Waves, Destruction
Domains: Chaos, Entropy, Evil, Water, Madness, Ocean, Abyss
Alignment: CE
Cleric Alignment: CE, NE, N
Favored Weapon: Dagonâ,¬,,¢s Caress (+1 Scourge)
Dagon was once a demon prince of the Abyss until his cultists brought him to the material plane where he tore apart the world, leaving the once great continent of Geraldi a series of broken islands. Dagon was subdued and greatly weakened by his enemies and now is trapped deep beneath the sea, but his cultists still labor to bring him back.
Stonefather, Master of the Earth
Intermediate God
Symbol: A Mountain made of mithril or some other precious metal
Portfolio: Metal, Earth, Blacksmiths, Dwarves, Strongholds
Domains: Law, Good, Cavern, Craft, Dwarf, Earth, Metal
Alignment: LG
Cleric Alignments: LG, NG, CG
Favored Weapon: Stonefatherâ,¬,,¢s Hammer (+1 Maul)
Stonefather created the dwarves from droplets of Mithril that flowed from his mountain home in the outer planes. He protects them and every craftsman thanks Stonefather for giving him the strength and ability to create beautiful arts. The god of Earth greatly opposes Geraldianna, the goddess of elves.
Geraldianna, Mistress of the Arts
Intermediate Goddess
Symbol: A mithril flame
Portfolio: The Arcane Arts, Elves, Elitists, The Moons
Domains: Chaos, Magic, Elf, Balance, Charm, Lust, Moon
Alignment: CN
Cleric Alignments: CN, CG, CE
Favored Weapon: Geraldiannaâ,¬,,¢s Edge (+1 Longsword)
Geraldianna is the patron goddess of the High Elves. She teaches them to ignore the lesser races and to focus on the greatness of Elvenkind. Her priestesses are beautiful and lustful especially since so many of Geraldiannaâ,¬,,¢s rites involve sex. Some believe that Stonefather and Geraldianna were lovers in ancient times but broke each otherâ,¬,,¢s hearts. So the mistress of the arts tries to cover her pain, while the master of earth tries to fix his. Both churches deny these claims.
Derianna, Mistress of the Psionic Arts
Lesser Goddess
Symbol: A Psi Crystal
Portfolio: Psionics, Xeph, Oracles, the Mind
Domains: Chaos, Good, Mentalism, Illusion, Oracle
Alignment: CG
Cleric ALingments: CG, NG, LG
Favored Weapon: Deriannaâ,¬,,¢s Staff (+1 Quarterstaff)
Derianna is the sister of Geraldianna. She connects with the Xeph who love her for her creation of Psionics. She bids her priests to find all those who can learn the ways of the mind and to train them further. She is also a minor goddess to the Giths of the astral plane.
Relic, the Warmaster
Intermediate God
Symbol: A bloody sword
Portfolio: War, Warforged, Battle, Slaughter, Valor
Domains: Destruction, Protection, War, Strength, Balance
Alignment: N
Cleric Alignments: CN, N, LN
Favored Weapon: Relicâ,¬,,¢s Arm (+1 Greatsword)
Relic is the creator of the warforged, although no one but the gods knows it. Relic is a bipolar god, in that he represents both the destructive force and the protective force of war. He usually appears as a warforged with beautifully gilded skin. He waits for the day when he will step up from simply being worshipped by warforged to being accepted as their father.
Darolnol, the Tyrant
Intermediate God
Symbol: A black, mailed fist
Portfolio: Tyranny, Murder, Spite, Torture
Domains: Destruction, Law, Evil, Envy, Strength, Madness, Tyranny
Alignment: LE
Cleric Alignments: LE, NE, CE
Favored Weapon: Darolnolâ,¬,,¢s Iron Grasp (+1 spiked gauntlet)
Darolnol is the master of pain. He was one of the beings who brought Dagon from the abyss to wreak havoc across the world. He fought to keep his role as Tyrant god from others who wished to usurp him after Dagon was imprisoned, but needless to say he won that battle. Darolnol enjoys using chaos to strengthen Law, because he knows without one there can not be the other.
Merinala, Lady Death
Intermediate Goddess
Symbol: A skull
Portfolio: Death, Undeath, Liches, the Damned
Domains: Death, Undeath, Evil, Balance, Time, Wrath, Abyss
Alignment: NE
Cleric Alignments: NE, LE, CE
Favored Weapon: The Headsmanâ,¬,,¢s Axe (+1 Great Axe)
Merinala is the mistress of death. She is the only deity who lairs in the Abyss, she trapped the demon prince Pazuzu eons ago and took his layer as her own. The death of Pazuzu cowed the other princes; she also keeps her enemies at bay with her gifts. When someone dies, if he is found worthy, he goes to the afterlife on the realm of his god or goddess. Those that are found unworthy are sent to Merinala. She is too busy to torture the souls herself, so she gives them to the demon princes to play with.
So there you have a small pantheon. Because In Archipelago there are so few gods, they pull double duty being patrons of races and patrons of other things (like the goddess of magic is also the goddess of elves) there are infinite ways of making a pantheon. It helps to have all bases covered, but you might want to stay away from bajillions of gods. In one campaign setting I made, the gods are nothing more then ideals. People worship Valor, Death, Destruction, and Destiny. No weird names to remember! You need to decide what works best for your campaign.
To take the deities a step farther, you might want to make initiate feats. These are pretty simple and fun to make, plus they allow you to introduce new spells to the campaign. Usually initiate spells are available to those who take the feat only. For example:
(New Feat) Initiate of Dagon
You have been initiated into the greatest secrets of the church of Dagon.
Prerequisites: Cleric or Ranger 4th, Dagon for a Patron Deity.
When you cast Corruption spells you only pay half the corruption price.
In addition you also add the following spell to the cleric or ranger spell list:
3- Lash of Dagon (Page 75 of Dragon issue334)
4- Absorb Strength (Page 84 of BoVD)
5- Consume Likeness (Page 89 of BoVD)
So there you have a new initiate feat. If you choose spells that are already made (like I did here) make sure that they donâ,¬,,¢t show up other places. Make sure that you keep continuity so that your campaign seems more real. If you are spell making retarded, feel free to pick up a copy of the Spell Compendium, and then pick and choose spells that look good to you. It is easy and allows you to throw spells into your game that your players may not have seen before.
Another temptation for builders is to create a history. Histories make a world seem more real (which is something we really want to shoot for, but then again, how real can a world full of dragons and zombies feel?) but can be more useless work. Whatâ,¬,,¢s the point of keeping a timeline that shows when The Giant City of Nargutha was destroyed if the PCs will never ever enter Nargutha? There are different ways of going about this, and you want to try and avoid pitfalls. We donâ,¬,,¢t need an â,¬Å"Abbreviated Historyâ,¬Â that takes up 6 pages like in the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting. You could write a small story that tells the creation story and any other important information about your world, or you could make a timeline. For example:
In the dawn of time, the planes were crafted on the anvil of Stonefather. He poured care and power into the places that would be the new homes for his brothers and sisters. Then he made a neutral land. The Material Plane was not to be touched by any god. When his siblings marveled at Stonefatherâ,¬,,¢s skill, one plotted the destruction of his brotherâ,¬,,¢s creation. Darolnol the Tyrant made a pact with the demon prince Dagon. Dagonâ,¬,,¢s underwater cult quickly became a widespread religion across the continent of Argebria. They loved their sea god and praised his name every day until they called him to their home plane. Dagon answered the summons and revealed himself in his true form. He swallowed his worshipers and began to destroy the land. Stonefather was repulsed at the destruction of his creation and set out with other gods to imprison the rampaging Dagon. When Dagon was locked away in his prison deep beneath the ocean, the damage was already done. The grand continent of Argebria was now deep beneath the ocean, leaving only the islands of the Archipelagos. The survivors rebuilt their cities on the islands, and continued to bless the names of the gods who saved them from destruction. That was thousands of years ago, now the tale of Dagon is a story for children. Meanwhile Dagon still whispers to madmen and dreamers at night, waiting for the moment when he can be released from his prison and return to his work of destroying the multiverse.
Wasnâ,¬,,¢t that lovely? It tells who Dagon is, what Dagon does, and even sets itself up for the campaign in which Dagon will be released from his prison and only the PCs can stop him. SWEET!!! What my history shows is that the people of Archipelago are deeply invested in the gods. In the game, Dagon was released 8,000 years ago. That means that most people have forgotten about the god, except for the few scholars who still have texts that predate the cataclysm.
So now we have some cool ideas, some races, some gods, and a history as it pertains to your game. Are we done yet? Nope. Now we want to think about classes and prestige classes! Now, before you start having Favored Souls and Warlocks running amuck in your world, you as the DM need to decide what roles are the classes going to play. A class represents a fantasy archetype, and in different games different archetypes will present themselves. Itâ,¬,,¢s very possible that magic in your game has evolved into a purely military form; therefore there are only warmages in your campaign. However, in my opinion, a lot of those classes arenâ,¬,,¢t particularly useful; I can see how some DMs would want to use them. In the Achipelago Iâ,¬,,¢m using all the core classes (Bard, Barbarian, Cleric, Druid, Fighter, Monk, Paladin, Ranger, Sorcerer, and Wizard) but I also want to use some of the classes from the Complete series. The Samurai, Ninja, Wujen, and Shugenja classes are all used by the Eastern Orcs only. The Psion, Psychic Warrior, Soulknife, and Wilder classes are used primarily by the Xeph and Kalashtar, but other races who have been tapped for psionic skills take the classes too.
Hereâ,¬,,¢s a little thing you might not have known. Prestige classes are really meant for you the DM. You can use them to present enemies and NPCs with skills that the players would never run up against otherwise. So therefore you might want to use all sorts of prestige classes for villains and NPCs, look in any source book and you will find tons of them, especially the Complete series. What if you want to make your own? Most prestige classes are ten levels of advancement, but some are five or less. What you want to do is combine cool abilities with balance. You might want to post your creations on the Classes Boards.
Tips for being stuck
So youâ,¬,,¢re trapped by writers block eh? Do not fret oh builder, because it is not the end. The key to overcoming writers block is to overcome it (see? Is that so hard?). everyone gets over it in different ways, one trick is to just get away from your project. Put it far out of sight, and focus on something else for a day, then sit back down and go at it with a fresh mind.
Try cruising through the boards and checking out some of the other campaign settings. Heck, you might find an inspiration or idea that you love. Donâ,¬,,¢t worry too much about copyright; if you arenâ,¬,,¢t publishing your setting then the world is your oyster. If you are, you may want to keep your eyes on your own paper and stick to the SRD.
Try teaming up, designing a world is hard. God did it in seven days and no one expects that out of you. Try asking a friend what he would want to see in a campaign setting, or a local Gaming Store Guru. You can PM a member of the Campaign Builderâ,¬,,¢s Guild and talk things over, who knows what will happen when great minds combine.
Go to Barnes and Noble and peruse the Dungeons and Dragons books with a notebook and pen handy. A lot of times there is only one thing in a DnD book that you really want for your campaign. The employees wonâ,¬,,¢t hassle you if you sit down in a huge overstuffed chair and jot down a feat or prestige class that you really like, plus if you have a caramel frappuccino in hand it can make for a wonderful way to beat the summer heat.
If you really need to get work done, turn off all distractions. Shut off the TV, leave the internet alone (except as a tool), and lock the door. You also might want to find out if youâ,¬,,¢re a night person or a morning person. Some writers work best late into the night, while other wake up at 4 am and write wonderfully. Itâ,¬,,¢s all apart of what your tastes are.
I like the effort you're making here, though I haven't looked it over thoroughly yet. This'll surely help a few people clear up their wants and needs when they decide to build a setting.
I think this is a more than awesome way to develop a "handbook;" through specific effort. I look forward to reading every one of these articles as they're updated, and wouldn't mind them being posted in "the Post" either :)
Very nice. I don't agree with the history part though. A semi-detailed history can set the tone as well as give you ideas. Now I'm not saying that's for everyone, but it shouldn't be glossed over like it isn't important.
The point of keeping a timeline that shows when The Giant City of Nargutha was destroyed is that a future DM might want to set an adventure to the ruins. Having some history behind it can help the DM create his adventure. I was actually having trouble making anything. I tried to start big, start small, and other methods, but I couldn't get anything I liked. It wasn't until I made a timeline and a history that I was able to create the first nation of my setting. I am using the same method for the second and it is very helpful.
Other than that this is very good and probably should be added to "The Post"
I'm with Poseidon on the history aspect. The more detailed the history, the more robust the setting. And a good timeline provides a logical flow to political plothooks and, as Poseidon said, a sound basis for those ruins.
Quote from: CYMRO, Koning van KoolI'm with Poseidon on the history aspect. The more detailed the history, the more robust the setting.
To an extent. But look at forgotten realms, where every miniute of the past 2000 years is mapped out in great detail. It get cumbersome. While I agree more history is better, there is a limit to how detailed it should get.
Quote from: Lord Xathan of The Final HouseTo an extent. But look at forgotten realms, where every miniute of the past 2000 years is mapped out in great detail. It get cumbersome. While I agree more history is better, there is a limit to how detailed it should get.
I agree that is why I said a semi-detailed history. You don't have to go crazy with the history.
Quote from: Lord Xathan of The Final HouseTo an extent. But look at forgotten realms, where every miniute of the past 2000 years is mapped out in great detail. It get cumbersome. While I agree more history is better, there is a limit to how detailed it should get.
One does not have to write a Gibbonesque history, but detail is important.
But the very popularity of FR is due in no small measure to the fact that one has all that information as a base to build upon.
Don't forget that those "histories" provide character motivations and background color.
Thank you Crom, god of muscles, mustaches, and manliness, for giving me some replies! Now, about Histories, as you can see there are so many different ways of going about creating a setting that it is hard to write an article based handbook. but it's ok, I will try. There are pros and cons to everything, let me help you all out.
Big Histories
Pros:
-Gives you a lot to work with.
-Gives the players a lot to work with when making character backgrounds and motivations.
-Gives the setting a more realistic (if your history is done well) feel.
-Makes the setting seem well polished, and gives it the impression that you have worked hard.
Cons:
-It's a Hell of a lot of work!
-It can hard to be original.
-A lot of the information may not be used, so all that work was for nothing.
-It could be done poorly.
A Shorter History
Pros:
-It's easy to use, make, and read.
-It can be more specific for your campaign (like it is in the Archipelagos).
-It can be read in less then thirteen hours.
-It allows you to keep it simple and flexible. And as my dad always says "Flexibility is the key to air power."
Cons:
-One of your players may love your campaign setting so much, he asks you to let him DM it for a while. So you agree and lend him all your notes. a month later, he's screwed everything up because he had no idea what the flavor, histories, or style of the game was.
-It can be done poorly and have too little to work with.
-Players could have trouble making themselves fit in to the setting.
It's Okay if you want to have a long history, or a short history, or a mediumly-long-yet-short history. YOU ARE THE DUNGEON MASTER!!!! make it however you want. This handbook does not poo-poo on any style of design, it is meant to show Builders how to get from the idea to the game.
'Nuff Said
The Gnomemaster
P.S. I'm going to change the section i did on Histories to include my pros and cons. so that way when you download your copy of the CAMPAIGN BUILDER'S HANDBOOK it will have all this in there.
-GM
QuoteCons:
-It's a Hell of a lot of work!
-It can hard to be original.
-A lot of the information may not be used, so all that work was for nothing.
-It could be done poorly.
-We love work! Don' we?
-History, being cyclical, ain't an original sort of girl.
-You never know when you might use it.
-Like RL history? ;)
Well CYMRO, you make good points. the way history could be poorly done is you might wind up copying off of another source and your players could see right through it. FOr example: if in your world the god of murder, strife, and tyranny dies but has resently returned. a player might say "like forgotten realms right?" it might happen that you thought that up all on your own and now your idea is a little "not so cool". As i write this handbook, I'm designing a world that would be good for a campaign arch, so i made a small history that directly ties in to my campaign. The campaign arch could very easily take place in some islands off of Faerun, or be west of the blood sea in Krynn. I tried to make it simple enough that it could fit in another campaign setting.
and yes, just like real life history.
'Nuff Said!
The Gnomemaster
Magic
Every now and again I see a campaign setting with its own magic system that focuses on will or whatever. This is a good way to make your campaign stand out. Sometimes campaign settings are based completely around Psionics, or Incarnum, or vestiges. There are different ways of going about magic as presented by Wizards of the Coast. Here are some:
Spells are your generic Sorcerer/Wizard, Cleric, Bard, and Druid (and Ranger and Paladin at higher levels), itâ,¬,,¢s presented in the playerâ,¬,,¢s handbook and almost every player is familiar with this style.
Psionics are the powers of the mind. A psion, Wilder, or Psychic Warrior get so many powerpoints or PP (gotta love abbreviations) that they can spend on Powers. Powers work just like spells. They are presented in the Psionics Handbook, you might want to pick up the Complete Psionic to.
Vestiges, Shadow Magic, and Truenames are all available in the Tome of Magic. It presents three classes that supplement and use the three systems. Vestiges are powerful beings that mortals make pacts with for power, Shadow magic manipulates energies from the shadow planes, and Truenames are made up of the language of creation.
Warlocks use eldritch energies and are slightly evil. They take invocations that supplement their eldritch blasts. Read all about it in the Complete Arcane.
Incarnum is a completely new system based on souls. I canâ,¬,,¢t suggest to get it because I donâ,¬,,¢t have the book and never really read it. It might be worth reading first then buying, but make sure itâ,¬,,¢s going to be important to the campaign before you spend 40 dollars on it.
Some players feel that the way magic is done today in dungeons and dragons is unwieldy, and they wonder why DnD has yet to use Mana points for spells. In Unearthed Arcana rules are given to make Mana points part of your house rules. Itâ,¬,,¢s completely up to you if you use it, remember, youâ,¬,,¢re the DM.
The way you go about it is completely up to you. In your campaign you may want to remove divine magic because there are no gods (like Dragonlance right after the cataclysm). If you do something that drastic, you may find youâ,¬,,¢re giving up a lot that makes DnD what it is. However, you may have a party thatâ,¬,,¢s not interested in clerics, so itâ,¬,,¢ll be ok.
In The Archipelagos, The few gods grant spells to their worshippers, the shifters and wild elves are mostly Druids, and arcane magic is well spread out. However, the xeph and kalashtar both have been pushing for more Psionics, missionaries search islands to find children with the talent, and then they take them to be trained.
Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. As a fledgling world builder, I thank you.
Yair, im glad you read through it. you're the first person to post in three days and i thank you for it. i almost had given up. i'll write another installment just for you.
Check your views rather than your comments. I've been reading along, but I just don't feel I can add much. I'll be glad to lend you my opinions and writing talent if you plan to publish this. I will say it can definitely use some polish, and maybe some other opinions. Keep up the good work though!
I'm reading along as well when you have updates. I don't have any more comments at the moment, so I haven't posted anything.
Pirates
Everybody loves pirates. From the Pirates of the Caribbean movies and ride, to Erryl Flinnâ,¬,,¢s swashbuckling films, they are a popular piece of pop culture. You may be tempted to add Pirates to your campaign in one form or another. This is fine, but you may want to stay away from potential pitfalls. Here are some Pirate clichéâ,¬,,¢s.
-Pirates always say â,¬Å"Arrghâ,¬Â or â,¬Å"Yarrâ,¬Â or â,¬Å"Yo ho!â,¬Â or â,¬Å"Me heartiesâ,¬Â.
-Pirates with eye patches.
-Pirates with pets (parrots or monkeys).
-Pirates with missing limbs (such as hooks for hands or peg legs).
-Pirate flags with skulls.
-Pirates love booty (as in treasure you dirty minded kids) and bury it on islands.
Here are some good ways to avoid these. Pirates with eye patches make little or no sense to me. Supposedly, the reason they are missing an eye is because they lost it in a sword fight. How lucky of a swing does it take to hit someone in the eye and slice it out without killing them? As a DM you may be tempted to make an NPC pirate have only one eye, because it will make him look tough. Try not to unless you do it well. The reason being is that DnD has enough one eyed characters running about (Vecna and Gruumsh to name some) why add another to the list? What may seem cool might turn out to be hokey to your players.
Scurvy is a disease that many sailors get from a lack of vitamin C. Sailors get scurvy from staying away from fruits for months at a time. Though pirates did not know this, the way to cure scurvy is just to eat some fruit. That is the main reason why the shipâ,¬,,¢s surgeon would amputate infected limbs. In a DnD setting, this isnâ,¬,,¢t much of a problem. Instead of a surgeon most ships probably have clerics who can remove diseases and heal wounds. So there is little or no reason for pirates to be suffering from scurvy.
Pirates with parrots that screech, â,¬Å"Awwk! Shiver me timbers! Awwk!â,¬Â are pretty well done. Same with monkeys. If you want to give a Pirate a pet, try any different animal or unintelligent beast. He may keep a displacer beast on board for when they raid ashore. That give it a unique taste.
The reason a Pirate may hide his treasure is to keep it from being stolen from his ship. Most pirates had hangouts where they could hide when the navy was coming too close to catching them. In a DnD setting, instead of a cave a pirate may use Mordenkainenâ,¬,,¢s Mansion to create a home away from home.
In a DnD setting, Pirates are made up of more than just rogues, fighters, and swashbucklers. Clerics of the sea take the chance to help sailors and to create a wind when it dies. Sorcerers are drawn to the power they are given, because spellcasters are so useful they are almost always made officers. Wizards would probably dislike the lack of privacy they are given on pirate ships, Paladins would hate the company, Rangers would probably enjoy the nature and calmness away from civilization. Another twist on the classic Pirate is to use airships instead of ships that sail in the water. You could also team these ruffians up with Pterodactyls that they would ride into raids.
Want some inspiration? Look to Pirates of The Caribbean: Secrets of the Black Pearl, and Dead Manâ,¬,,¢s Chest. Or visit your local library and check out the kidâ,¬,,¢s section. They usually have great books with wonderful illustrations that put things into perspective.
Mmm... some good points on pirates. Most of the stereotypes for them are exaggerated largely due to children's literature, and it makes them less appealing. In my own worlds, pirates are definitely recognizable due to the style and format of garb they wear, but for the most part they don't look much like what our culture views them as. In fact, in one of the frigid northern regions of Aath the people looked more like stereotypical pirates than the real pirates did :).
What do you have to say on Demons, Devils, Yugoloths, and Undead?
Staples of the Dungeons and Dragons Game
The trick to DnD is to make sure that your game is unique, yet it still needs to be recognizable as Dungeons and Dragons. Otherwise your campaign turns into a completely different D20 game. Thatâ,¬,,¢s why you need to watch out for â,¬Å"staplesâ,¬Â, I call them staples because they are what keep DnD together (plus, calling them adhesive strips just seemed silly).
Dragons: duh! Dragon is in the name of the game! No DnD game would be the same without it. In fact, if you remove dragons completely just call your game â,¬Å"D20 fantasy game without dragonsâ,¬Â. Whatâ,¬,,¢s that you say? If you called it that no one would bother reading your post or play your game? Well, again I repeat the word Duh. Now, the key is that you can make dragons take different roles than huge monsters that horde treasure and need to get killed for it. Doing this reduces the Dragon to the equality of an orc guarding a treasure chest. Here are some great examples of what can be done with Dragons:
-Dragons are an endangered species, on the brink of extinction. The PCs are asked to find out what is making them all die.
-Dragons are wily manipulators and are rarely seen in their natural form. Usually they are found polymorphed and serving as advisers for kings.
-Dragons are the masters of the ancient empire that civilization is built upon.
-If you want, you can cut out the Chromatic and Metallic Dragons, and instead replace them with Sea Serpents (as seen in Dragon Magazine) or Crystal Dragons.
consider that part one. next i'll probably go into demons and devils together, followed by undead, and probably dungeons. the reason im ommitting the yugoloth here is because to me, the loths aren't a staple. they aren't even in the monster manual. which is unfortunate because i do love them so. in my opinion they are alien enough that you could replace devils and demons with them in your setting. so keep an eye out for all that, i gotta go to work soon.
'Nuff said!
the Gnomemaster
Hey, just what I needed. This will surely help me organize my ideas, I ve just read the first part and did great for me. So Im resurrecting the thread, that way others may read it. Thanks.
Quote from: GnomemasterGnomes are crafty and sometimes insidious. They head the most dangerous organization in the entire Archipelago known as the Gnomish Mafia. In Gnomish it is referred to as â,¬Å"La Guierrasiaâ,¬Â
Interesting, I've got a homebrew I've played in for several years with the Gnomic Syndicate, a racial thieves guild that weaves throughout the entire gnome culture with their "rules of acquisition-styled" Gnomicon - gnomic spiritual guide. My gnomes are gun-runners, slavers, slave-breeders, smugglers, and anything to do with the black market - which they dominate. They have a shrinking pantheon, as their own gods kill each other off to takeover portfolios of power, so to does the gnome government. These aren't tinker gnomes, but traditional gnomes with a diabolical twist.
I see someone else thought of that too!
GP
For a few years I had many befuddled ideas clunking around in my head and I found that all my builder ideas were completely unclogged when I finally began to write down the deities and their relationships. Everything flowed from there. I knew many of the deities that I wanted and what their roles were to be in history. Since the deities were the personifications of what was important to the peoples of the world, I found that I could recreate history by knowing what was important to the people. The ideas exploded after that for a month straight. So Gnomemaster's first rule that there is no right way... may I humbly suggest... be adjusted to 'there are many right ways'.
Elves (and most creatures) in my world were created by dragons capturing and raping proto-fey (and most creatures) early in the first era to add weapons to thier arsenals of personal power. The deities of the fey then, were protective, noble, mystery solvers with a looooong memory. This also gives flesh to personality types of the fey themselves... secretive, slow to trust, controlling/manipulative etc.. Magical preferences, art and sociology became clear to me. Their relationship to their world became something that stood out as obvious etc..
I also found that (strangely) it was easier for me to work on two hitorical periods at once, the first era and their ramifications in the third era. Did this with a great many races. Soon I had a genuine history, a 'place' to go, a living world to build and populate. Wherever you get the 'unclogging' don't matter of course, but get it somehow. I think a timeline could have helped me, too.
My two cents on the 'handbook' is that you must understand that unless you are Mozart, you will rewrite much. Work on different sections in smaller doses because things like religion and history and revolutions normally intersect. Don't try to create one, then the other, then the other because you will have a harder rewrite and more will get edited out. Knock out the major ideas and/or important events just as dramatically as you please. Fill in the rest of the details later. No need to stay linear. You will be able to connect the dots later. Let them be. Local flavor will come. Relax. Just do it. Y'know?