The Campaign Builder's Guild

If everyone  can use magic to some degree than your going to wind up with a world like Saga Frontier 2 where magic is ubiquitous and the inability to use it
is considered a disability.

In such a world a lot of the technological development is going to be centered around facilitating the use of magic,and filling in the gaps that magic can't economically.

Wizard or Mage would just be a title for the prodigies that are actually good at using magic.
For comparison, anyone barring disability can engage in athletics yet out of the population how many have the physicality to become professional athletes?
Out of those with the physicality f\how many have both the inclination and dedication?


In a world of guns and explosives what role do battle-mages have?
First they'd be Force Multipliers called in as special use troops and not the bulk of an army,t here roles would very greatly according to ability.
But those among them who were combatants instead of playing a logistics&support or espionage role would act as highly versatile artillery.



If much of the technological base is magical, then advancement will be heavily influenced by the ease at which enchanted items can be produced.
And what exactly magic can do in your world is going to be the biggest factor, if we assume the basic fantasy rpg power set as well as a fairly economical means
of enchantment then...

Your setting isn't going to be late 19th to early 20th centenary for very long, it have even skip from medieval directly to space faring.

"If you try to please everyone, you'll end up pleasing no one."

Starfinder to me seems to be an attempt to make a quintessential Space/Science-Fantasy setting, and in trying to capture a flavor that worked for everybody has little of its own.

When I  look at Starfinder I  see every Space Opera and Space/Science-Fantasy trope, I don't see one person's or even a group of peoples visions.

Dragon Age.

Elder Scrolls.

The Witcher.

All D&D derivative fantasy, however there are these bits and pieces that make each one distinct.



There is also the fact that Starfinder was "conveniently"  announced after the launch of the Aethera campaign setting  a third party rpg for Pathfinder.

Quote from: Ghostman
Hello Architcet, I'm glad that you're finding this setting interesting. :)

Renegade (former) paragons do exist in the world, as NPC characters. They could be temporary allies for PCs during a scenario, but aren't really suitable as player characters -- a mixed party would be difficult to justify and keep together, and the renegade character would have to sit out on many scenes.

Quote from: Gardening-Architcet
I think that the Paragon order could benefit from having a Ranger corps of some kind, Lord of the Ring's Dunedin or Game of Throne's Nightwatch could serves as inspiration. Some real world inspiration be drawn from Circuit Judges and or the Texas Rangers. Paragon's are obligated to protect a vast amount of territory and even with a wide array of domesticated giant flying  beast are likely to be a reactive rather than proactive force when it comes to dealing with threats. A partial solution is for a contingent of Paragons drawn from the ranks of  the outdoorsy types that are rather good at dealing with people, to be assigned given territories which they patrol for dangers;there would also be ranger station where people know that they can go to for aid or shelter in event of a crisis.

It's already kind of assumed in the setting that many a paragon's duties would include that kind of wandering patrols. Just without a special organization.

Well  a title or designation for the Paragon's that are stationed on the surface and serve as first responders to the various threats that roam the surface, would work for me. I can even see tension developing between the Surface Paragon who actually live and work with the people and the Skyward Paragon who only leave the citadels on mission.  The Skyward Paragons thinking that Surface Paragons have grown to familial with the surface folk and are "going native, the Surface Paragon" thinking of the Skywards as soft,arrogant and disconnected from the people that they are supposed to  to be protecting. 

Quote from: Gardening-Architcet
Magic that mere mortals could tap into. Maybe it's cutting deals with demons or nature spirits, maybe A strong willed mortals can manifest eidolons weaker than what a Paragon could call forth certainly but still impressive to other mortals, perhaps mortals can use the same dynama fueled magic as Paragons albeit a much weaker version.

Other magics do exist but they aren't dynama-based, they're something entirely different. I'm not sure if I'm going to try detailing any of them though.

It's incorrect to use the word "mortal" to distinquish ordinary people from paragons, since paragons are human beings and just as mortal as anyone else. Although they are miraculously empowered, they aren't actually considered to be divine in nature, not even partially. I think this is an important feature of the setting that ought to be made clear.


I was thinking of the setting in well a mythic sense, the Paragons are people literally uplifted by the Empyreans a group of god like beings. Thus I was seeing the Paragons as essentially Demigods or Nephilim, though by infusion rather than heredity,calling the common people mortals flowed from that and sounded more flavorful than mundanes. 

Quote from: Gardening-Architcet
And even if the Triarma must be a sword and sheath, are their no mighty arms that could be bestowed upon a worthy mortal companion.

Magical artifacts (other than triarma, anyway) should be rare, to the point that it's rather unlikely one would be seen in a game, if not as a plot device. I want to keep equipment management to a minimum and keep the focus on characters' abilities, goals and relationships. Eidolons do wield fantastic weapons of wide variety, but those are really just part of their manifest avatars and thus not something that can be acquired.

P.S. I find it fairly ironic to use a picture of Archer in that context, given how much Archer fights with his swords vs how little he actually uses his bow. :P

Hero Emiya is first and foremost a marksmen, it urned  him the designation of Archer rather than Fencer or Saber, the legend of the nameless Hero revolves around his usage of the bow. Archer has the eyesight and a bow powerful enough to het targets miles off and with arrows that explode like miniature nukes, that sounded like something that warrior mystic should be able to do. 

To the Ghostman I have to say that I loved Astral Blades and was so forlorn,distraught,crestfallen when nothing happened with it.

So I'm glad that you've started hammering together a successor setting.

I love the pseudo brozne age  epic fantasy world that you have set up, the fact that all those so called mythological events are literally true is something else that I like.

I hate when people try to fix or retune somebody else work to fit  their definition of cool and or appropriate. So I'm not going to do that, i'm going to share my thoughts and ideas and you can do what you will them.

I think that Sparkletwist's critique of Paragon has some merit, looking at it from outside I can so much room for expansion and a few places that can be tweaked.

First there could be more room for Paragons that were born and perhaps manifested there powers without begin a part of the Order. Personally I got no problem with begin a regular member of the Order born and raised to take my place ammidst  its august body.  However a lot of people do have a problem with it.  Folks want to play the new kid on the block that is just coming into their power and is whisked away from their mundane life to adventure and glory;how many stories from antiquity to modernity follow the set up that I just described.   They also want to play the home town hero that slew the dire sabertooth in burst of supernatural puissance and skill!  The badass lonewolf,man on the edge, the cop or agent that's always gets called  in to their superior's office but is never actually discharged from their service because they are just too damn good at what they . Related to the "The badass lonewolf,man on the edge" is the wandering gun-slinger or samurai, the figure who can save the system precisely because they exist outside it.


Where do these lost Paragon's come from? Well the children that Paragons leave behind in the amongst the surface human populations. The most common scenario is the father that dies in battle before they can claim and raise their child. With a little tweaking this scenario can even be applied to Lady Paragons I can see the story now...

QuoteA Lady Paragon is in a remote settlement she's enjoying a feast in her honor after slaying some rampaging  demonic beasty, then she looks at that one gaurdsman who refused to break ranks when the Warlock's beastly minions surged over the town's walls...he starts to sing , he has the voice of an Empyrean. Nine months later it's a dark and stormy night Lady Paragon has delivered a healthy child. Unfortunately a messenger has barged into the room, he was sent to get the Lady-Paragon for the Warlock thought dead has returned with another even larger and more fearsome horde of beasts.  Lady-Paragon knows her duty she hands the child to the father,leaps out of bead gathers her things and rides off to rally the guards;while labor is an ordeal for human women Paragons are magically infused superhumans. Lady-Paragon fights all night and holds the line against impossible odds and slays that Warlock once and for all. However she is slain in the process, the townsfolk find Lady-Paragon standing atop a hill of corpses sword in driven through the Warlock's black heart!  The Father takes the Triarma it's light fading and promises to give it to the child.

I think that the Paragon order could benefit from having a Ranger corps of some kind, Lord of the Ring's Dunedin or Game of Throne's Nightwatch could serves as inspiration. Some real world inspiration be drawn from Circuit Judges and or the Texas Rangers. Paragon's are obligated to protect a vast amount of territory and even with a wide array of domesticated giant flying  beast are likely to be a reactive rather than proactive force when it comes to dealing with threats. A partial solution is for a contingent of Paragons drawn from the ranks of  the outdoorsy types that are rather good at dealing with people, to be assigned given territories which they patrol for dangers;there would also be ranger station where people know that they can go to for aid or shelter in event of a crisis.


Magic that mere mortals could tap into. Maybe it's cutting deals with demons or nature spirits, maybe A strong willed mortals can manifest eidolons weaker than what a Paragon could call forth certainly but still impressive to other mortals, perhaps mortals can use the same dynama fueled magic as Paragons albeit a much weaker version.

The invention of money all the problems come with a cash based economy. Some far flung city-state or federation of city-states introduce the concept of money to the "known world".

Rebel Paragons. Not evil just rebellious Paragon's that genuinely believe that their kind's stewardship of humanity is a form of oppression and must be brought to an end.

Tyrannical Paragon's that think they should just conquer humanity rather than playing distant off handed guardian and have taken steps towards their goal.   

Other Magic weapons. Are one handed/hand and a half blades of orichalcum and sheath bound together with the users soul into Triarma truly the only weapon suited to Paragons?

What of Bows.





Spears.




Two-Handed Swords.


Staves


and

Knives.
.

And even if the Triarma must be a sword and sheath, are their no mighty arms that could be bestowed upon a worthy mortal companion.

Well that's all I got.