The Campaign Builder's Guild

After a very long haiatus from this site, during which I learned some HTML, I finally managed to cobble together a website for my 2nd Edition AD&D campaign.  The site is still a work in progress, but some areas are pretty much complete.  One section in particular, that I posted about here a long time ago, are the 50+ independent cities that make up the heart and core of the geographical section of my campaign.

Here is a link to my website:  http://www.crystalhatchlings.com/

Here is a link to the section dealing with my cities:  http://www.crystalhatchlings.com/Rossak/TheRegionsOfRossak.htm
(Scroll down to Map of the Regions or use the "Map of the Regions" link below the header.  The map is interactive.)

If interested please feel free to browse the website.  There are a number of interactive maps on the site so some pages may load slowly.

Any and all feedback is greatly appreciated!  And, I will endeavor to ask any and all questions about my site.

Quote from: BlueSilenceWoah, I find working on weather and geaography elements complicated. You sure have put work on this... well, you said you have worked on Icen for years. You said Marco Polo is your inspiration. Do you have any other source of inspiration for Icen?

A winter in Finland and a BattleTech campaign were also an inspiration.  I was an exchange student in Finland back in 1988-89 school year and during that year I saw a LOT of snow.  Also during that year I taught some of my friends how to play BattleTech.  I ran a campaign and the winter there gave me the inspiration to create a world where the temperature zones were reversed.  I got to thinking that warm poles and a cold equator would be cool.  Part of this was a natural result of dealing with such huge amounts of snow and extreme temperatures (I've seen -40 with -65 wind chills and it was cool).  So, I created with desert poles and a frozen equator.

Years later when I started toying with the idea to finally create my own D&D world I wanted to do something that was truly unique and different and while thinking about it I remembered my BattleTech world.  I also got to thinking about what challenges explorers would have, or if there would even be challenges in crossing the cold zones.  Given the angle of the sun the equitorial zones I would have to come up with something different to present a challenging environment like our own explorers dealt with when exploring the arctic and antarctic.  I could add in more thermal activity at the poles and move the planet further away from the sun.  But, I wanted something different.  I wanted a zone where travel would be difficult, and one day I watched a documentary on K2 and I knew exactly what to do.  So I created a massive ring of mountains around the planet and capped them with giant glaciers.  The more I tweaked my drawings the continents started to morph into a single continent, the mountains grew higher, and the glacier become more imposing.  Eventually I purchased Campaign Cartographer 2 and Fractal Terrains and started finalizing the initial world design and what you see is what turned out.  There have been other sources of inspiration (such as an old Dragon magazine article from the 80's about cold weather gaming, the Great Glacier (title?) Forgotten Realms supplement from 2nd edition, and even a travel documentary about visiting a glacier in New Zealand (Globe Trekkers).  

That's the gyst of it.  The rambling inspiration of a rambling mind!


Take care and have a great day....



ciao,
john.

Quote from: BlueSilenceI always try to encourage the training and use of knowledge skills or other things that are not combat related like profession. And interacting with the population. I will consider enforcing this with rumors, thanks Mock26.

I wanted to ask since Im not familiar with all of the terminology you all use... When you talk about player-driven you mean that the plot centers on the different players´ motivations and individual stories as opposed to story-driven that would be more centered on a general plot regardless of the players characters?

Actually, I'm not that familiar with the terms either.  I merely use the rumors to add a bit more depth and realism to my world.  I think that you are right in that player-driven generally means that the main focus is on the players and their goals/motivations/backgroun and there is less of a central plot (such as save the world) in the game.  But, I could be wrong.  Hopefully someone who is more familiar with the term can answer it better.  I'm just a cheerfully grognardic greybeard old-school DM.

Quote from: Kapn XeviatHmmm, I'm pretty sure the climate of that would would be very, very different. I think there would be lots of rain near the glacier, as any moisture that makes it there would instantly condence.

I do have to say bravo for creating a truly fantastic world. I think you should pick places on your map for each of the races to have carved out. You mention an underdark; does it travel entirely under the glaciers in one big network?

I haven't thought too much into the weather around the glacier, except that there will be LOTS of fog.  I was thinking of there being a lot of areas with temperate rain forests (like those in British Columbia and Washington State).  I will definitely have to go through with that idea now that you have mentioned a lot of rain in the vicinity.

As for the underdark, my thinking at this point is that it is a world-spanning system but with only a few areas where the two halves of the world are connected, and those areas will be very dangerous paths to tread, even more dangerous than the underdark is supposed to be.  My plan is to develop areas of the underdark much like certain kingdoms on the surface will be detailed.

I like the idea of isolated racial areas and will give it some serious thoughts.  Thanks for the praise and thanks for the thoughts!


Take care and have a great day....



ciao,
john.

Quote from: Kapn XeviatWould definitely make a good use for Gather Information/Knowledge Local. I'll try this. Any tips on making them random/organic?

I sometimes use the local newspapers for ideas, and I also watch people.  A woman walking her dog down the street could lead to, "Lady Dunstan's pride and joy, her dog Diamond, broke her leash while out for a walk and has been missing for 2 days.  She is offering a 100 g.p reward for the return of her beloved pooch.  Hundreds of locals have been making a nuisance of themselves in their vigilant search for the dog."  Or, a squirrel running along a tree branch with a nut in it's mouth could lead to, "A squirrel was seen carrying a ruby hat pin along a tree branch.  Several youth followed the squirrel to a park and uncovered a treasure trove of small gems and pieces of jewelry.  Many people have come forth claiming certain items, but it looks like the youth may walk away with a sizeable amount of wealth from any items not claimed in the next 10-day."

Just about anything from the modern world can apply to a fantasy world, with a little tweaking of the facts (thus the reading the news and watching the world around me).  A fight in a bar could be two rival bakers getting into a brawl over who's bread is the best.  Some kids joyriding in dad's car could be some kids joyriding in dad's chariot.  Or a commercial from the television could be turned into an advertisement yelled out by the town crier.  Songs can sometimes give you ideas (Bad, Bad, Leroy Brown could be about a burly knucklebone player who cheaps someone and is now on the run).

Also, feel free to use any of mine!  I've got some more lists elsewhere, but they are on different storage devices.  I'll see if I can find them.  Of course, I'm hoping that people will post there rumors here so that everyone can share and make it easier to come up with new ones.


Take care and have a great day....



ciao,
john.

Quote from: LordVreeg[blockquote=mock26]The entire Herris Serrano and Esmay Suiza series of books by Elizabeth Moon (Hunting Party, Sporting Chance, Winning Colors, Once a Hero, Rules of Engagement, Change of Command, Against the Odds).[/blockquote]
Hmm.  I don't know these at all.  quick synopsis?

I thought of a way to sum this up but everything I tried was just too cumbersome.  So, here's a blurb from Elizabeth Moon's website:

Heris Serrano is a disgraced Regular Space Service officer who takes a job as a rich old lady's space yacht commander. Set in a universe where longevity treatments are beginning to have an impact on society, this seven-book series combines political intrigue both internal and interstellar, space battles, military infighting, horses, hot-air balloons, and a fairly serious consideration of the effects of long life and immortality on any society which finds a way to have them. For new readers, the best entry points are book one, Hunting Party, and book four, Once a Hero. The first three books are now available as Heris Serrano; the other four are still out in separate editions.

Book four, Once a Hero, switches the main character from Herris Serrano to Esmay Suiza, a young and gifted officer who doesn't realize the gifts she has and who gets a bit of a bad repuatation due to some mistakes and some plots against her.  I am more partial to the Esmay Suiza books as they are the ones that I started first, but I enjoyed them all.  I think that the final four books are the best written of the 7 books and the story really comes together and I really like the character devolpment.  All of the books take place far into the future in a human only universe and in the main area (the Familias Regnant) there is a deep traditition of certain families traditionally being ruling class and there are long lines of military families who are strong in the military.

I recommend the entire series, but highly recomment the final four books.

The Silmarillion, J.R.R. Tolkien.  Hands down (in my opinion) the best thing he ever wrote.

Inheret the Stars, James P. Hogan.

Starship Troopers and Stranger in a Strange Land, Robert Heinlein.

The entire Herris Serrano and Esmay Suiza series of books by Elizabeth Moon (Hunting Party, Sporting Chance, Winning Colors, Once a Hero, Rules of Engagement, Change of Command, Against the Odds).

The Three Musketeers, Dumas.

Quote from: LordVreegWhat is the tech/magic mix and level?

It will be very similar to that found in the Forgotten Realms.  It will be just a standard D&D world.  But, I do like the idea of dwarf and gnome engineers being quite skilled at their craft.  I especially love tinker gnomes from Kyrnn.  But, none of this has been really thought out in advance.  This is still a newborn world and as of now is devoid of sentinent life!


Also, can you explain these beacons in more detail?  I like the idea.  Are they physical in nature?  Is it some sort of "marking your territory" spell?  If they are physical, can they be moved by other people and without your knowledge?

Quote from: Towel NinjaOk i think i understand that part now. So what kind of different races are you going to have in this world?

It will be a standard D&D type of world.  I'm a big fan of the Forgotten Realms (the concept behind it, not neccessarily all the material put out on it) and traditional D&D type of games.  So, I will pretty much be using standard D&D races.  I'd like to include some homebrew races, but I've never had much luck with creating new ones.  There will be some somewhat unique monsters (somewhat unique in that they already exist in my Forgotten Realms campaign but are only known to me and my players) that will be added.

Quote from: Towel NinjaWow i really really like this concept and am very interested in reading more on it.

I was wondering though, how advanced will the people be?

Another thing is you said when the moons align that path opens up in the ice and there is a flurry of trading and traveling but then later on you proceed to say that "Most inhabitants of each half of the world don't even know that the other side exists" and i was wondering how if there is a large amount of activity between the two halves every five years why half of the world wouldnt know the other side exists?

Only those in the vicinity of where the channel opens up know of the other side.  The kingdoms around where the channel forms carry on their normal trading and they stock pile non-perishable goods (or perishable goods with the help of magic) and once the moons align they load up their ships and sail through.  So, a trader from the southern half might acquire some "Milstorian Brandy" from the northern half, take it back and that bottle eventually winds up 6,000 miles away.  The person drinking the brandy only knows that it came from somewhere to the east.

I know that it needs more work, but the idea is inspired by Marco Polo.  Most people in Europe knew nothing of the far east, yet the further east you travel the more people who know about the far east.

As for advancement, it will be pretty much like what you'd find in the Forgotten Realms.  There will be gunpowder in some places (I'm thinking of making it produced only on one side but it has spread to the other side and is extremely valuable, but I'm not sure yet).  I will have wild magic but none of the stuff similar to the time of troubles (i.e. the gods banished to the world) that led to the creation of wild magic.

At this time I'm also leaning heavily on the "Point of Light" type of a world.  It kind of fits in with the not knowing what is on the other side of the glacier line of thought.  I just like the idea of there being concentrated kingdoms carved out here and there, some completely isolated from other civilized kingdoms, some not.  Trade would be very important in this world and it would be a great source of employment for adventurers (and give a great plot hook for players).  It would also help with why most of the world doesn't know that there is more on the other side of the glacier.

Quote from: Snargash MoonclawWell, at least he'll be honest about his ambitions and plans for world domination.

I don't know....   I'm not sure he'd make a good President.  Wouldn't his duties as god of all of his own worlds distract him from running our wee little country?

Triple post, hmmm.

Moderators please fee free to delete this post.

Oops, something snafu'd.

Moderators please fee free to delete this post.

Quote from: Mock26Icengale (formerly just Icen) is a D&D world that I've been working on here and there for quite a few years.  The idea has been with me since probably the mid to late 80's and a few hand drawn maps can still be found in the odd notebook in my piles of gaming material.  Icengale is a world with a lot of thermal activity at the poles and a massive continent that spans the entire planet around the equator, except for one channel that is about 150 miles wide.  Thus the temperature zones are opposite on Icengale than they are on Earth, so the closer you get to the poles the warmer it gets.  The aforementioned channel is impassable most of the time.  The mountains are massive and soaring and rise to heights that are far in excess of our own Himilayans, averaging 35,000-45,000 feet, with some mountains soaring higher.  The central mountains that circumnavifate the world are also covered by a massive glacier. It is well nigh impossible to cross the glacier and the mountains without the aid of the most powerful of magic as there are massive dead magic zones at those altitudes, and those monsters that have adapted to those altitudes (including a mutated species of dragon) are some of the fiercest on the planet. Once every 5 years the two moons of the planet line up and there is a shift in thermal currents and a tunnel melts beneath the glacier where it crosses the channel. Then, for about 4-6 months there is a flurry of travel and trade between the two halves of the world. It is not uncommon for wayward ships to be stranded on one side or to be caught in the middle when the currents shift yet again and the channel freezes over.  There are many caves along this channel and some are rumored to connect to the underdark, but no known survivors have ever found a way through.  There is one small island with a heavily fortified entrance that leads to a dwarven city, but the dwarves don't always come out when the channel thaws.  Many a boat has beached on the island and the crews have died of exposure while knocking on the massive metal trapdoor on the island, hoping for salvation before the glacier claims them.

At the moment I have only put together the first full world map that I actually like and very little details have been worked out.  Some of the worked out details are that teleport type spells will be nerfed.  Only the most powerful of mages will know the 9th level teleport spell that will allow them to bypass the glacier.  Most inhabitants of each half of the world don't even know that the other side exists.  They see the mountains and the glaciers as the end of the world.  White dragons will be the "top dracos" in this world, making even red dragons tremble in fear at the thought of fighting an ancient white wyrm.  There is also a hidden valley that through magic and thermal vents was made inhabitable and comfortable.  This valley actually lies under the glacer and only through powerful magic or via extremely secret tunnels is it accessable.  Though originally inhabited by mages it has since grown to be a sizeable yet self-sustaining community.  Powerful magic (and some dwarven engineering) allow light to filter down to the valley.  The valley itself is quite lush and outside of the valley very few people are aware of its existance.  The areas around the glaciers also have a very high concentration of rivers.

I plan on initially developing the areas on both sides of the channels with the main idea being a campaign where the group, hearing rumors of a way past the glacier, work their way to the sea around the channel and then eventually going through and getting stranded on the other side, where they will then seek a way home (or something else!).  I will also flesh out a few isolated areas, such as the mage's valley, a peninsula desert on the northern half that is blocked by a massive 175-mile long wall, and an area to the northwest of the channel where several of the very large lakes are connected by some extremely ancient and extremely long (200-mile and 350-mile) canals.

Also, there is one flaw on the map, as there is supposed to be a very narrow gap leading to the triangular shaped valley towards the eastern end of the map.  I also just noticed that I forgot to add rivers in this valley.

That's about it at the moment.  Here are two maps, one with the full glacier and the other with the glacial channel and the mage's valley (a tip of the hat to Gary Gygax and the World of Greyhawk!).

Thanks for taking the time to look at this and any and all feedback would be greatly appreciated!


Take care and have a great day....



ciao,
john.


Icengale:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v249/Mock26/Icengale.jpg


Icengale with channel and mage's valley revealed:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v249/Mock26/Icengale2.jpg

Quote from: SlapzillaBread Golem... AWESOME!  Would the Manual of the Bread Golem be a recipie?

No special recipe, just some bad yeast!   :D

Quote from: SlapzillaWhat I love about this tactic is that it not only adds flavor and depth to an area but look at all those hooks with which you can lure players into adventures.  Just turn them loose and let them lead for a while.  Great stuff, chief!

These rumor mill sheets are sometimes dangerous for my group, as they sometimes will completely get sidetracked by something completely off the wall that has nothing to do with the campaign!  I sometimes wish that I could forget the conversation where my group thought that the theft of onions from rooftop gardens might somehow be linked to their quest to recover the 10 rings that were used centuries ago to destroy an evil lich king.  Someone in the group thought that onions were needed in the creation of liches and convinced the rest of the group of this fact (they aren't allowed to look at the Monstrous Manual during sessions!).  So, instead of tracking down the ring that they knew was in the city they put that on hold and went out hunting for onion thieves!

And thanks for the compliment!  My group does look forward to these sheets whenever they enter a city!