The Campaign Builder's Guild

Taken from my thread on the WotC boards and moved to here.

I am making a campaign based in a chain of islands called the Lentauri Archipelago, it's is more advanced than regular D&D, it's basically pirate tech. Wait, before you write this off as another stupid Pirate Campaign, let me explain. Yes, there are some pirates, but that's something you really can't avoid in a sea campaign. And even if I could, I wouldn't leave them out. Pirates can be good, if they're not overused.

But, anyway, the really unique thing about this campaign, is its magic system. I am using the Seven Elements magic, a system I am still working on in this, however.


[spoiler=The Story]The story goes like this, a long time ago, the Gods of the Elements (working on it) created the world of water, the Material Plane. Then, they created the Archipelago, which they named Lentauri. They created nine islands, each one to represent a different element, and two to stand for Men and the Gods. They made the plants and the animals. Then the god of Bone, Kralta, created the Men. He put these Men on his island, and created a guardian to watch over them, the Skull Miser. He watched the Men grow, learn, and explore.

Eventually, they built great ships, and sailed to other islands. The other gods were angry about this, until they saw that the Men tended their islands well, and had great respect for everything. The other gods admired Kralta for his creations, and agreed to leave his Men alone. Kralta suggested that they all leave the Men alone for one hundred-thousand years to see how they fared with the other creations of the Gods. 100000 years is nothing to a God, so they agreed.

Things went well, at first. After maybe 10000 years, the Men stopped praying to the Gods everyday, their belief in the Gods wavered. The Gods were angered by this, and were prepared to punish the Men for their disbelief. Kralta, however, reminded them of the agreement they had all made. The other Gods, true to their word, agreed to wait until the 100000 year period was up before destroying the Men. Meanwhile, the Skull Miser had been tainting the Men with evil, for indeed the Skull Miser, and even Kralta himself, desired nothing more than domination over the universe.

One of the other Gods, Greth, God of Metal, realized that the Skull Miser was tainting the Men, and told the other Gods, but not Kralta. For it had been Greth who was loath to make the one hundred-thousand year agreement in the first place, he had never truly trusted Kralta, sensing his desire for power below the facade of comraderie. So, the other Gods got together and found a slight loophole in their agreement, the had agreed to leave the Men alone, but only directly. Each god, then imbued a certain part of his island with power of the pure element they represented. The Flamelord, the Terramancer, the Hydromancer, the Windlord, the Barklord, and the Ferromancer.

The first Man that stumbled upon each of these hidden powers, was instantly made the mortal master of that element, a representation of the Gods they now knew existed. They also realized that the Skull Miser, who they had called their leader for longer than they could remember, was an evil manipulator. Another strange effect of their instant elemental mastery, was their awareness of each other, including the Skull Miser, who in, that instant of awareness, became the Bonelord, and his awareness of them. The other elemental masters set out to destroy the Skull Miser, but were defeated time and again. Each time one of their number fell, he or she would be replaced by another Man who had instantly inherited the power.

They knew that they could not defeat the Skull Miser now, so they decided to bide their time. They gathered their power, until they could affect all of Lentauri, together. They sent power into Lentauri itself, creating elemental magic that any sufficiently trained Man could wield. Unfortunately, the Skull Miser used this power to create Undead from once-living Men. The most powerful he called the Dark Skull Warriors. The Six Lords once again waged war against the Skull Miser, and this time it was even, but still not a victory.

So, the Six Lords, of which only the Flamelord was the original, put all of their power into one Man, and they called him the Gatemaster. The Six Lords were killed, and when their replacements came, they were much weakened. The Gatemaster, however, was very powerful. The first Gatemaster was named Thraxigar, and he and his brother Wendell, a Paladin of Metal, helped the new Six Lords in defeating the Skull Miser's army, and binding him in the Abyss. The Gatemaster and his brother were both killed during the battle, but the Gatemaster, like the Six Lords, was reborn in another body, that of an infant. And, it was later discovered, that the Bonelord was reborn in another body, just like the other Lords.

Thankfully, none of the Lords, or the Gatemaster, is born with the memories of his/her predecessor. When they reach the age of fifteen, they realize that they are the Lord of their element, or that they are the Gatemaster. So, any Lord can be a man or woman, good or evil, lawful or chaotic. Though, the Lords tend to follow a certain trait, depending on their element.

So, for the last thousand years, the Archipelago has gone on normally, or as normally as it can go. Kings rise and fall, the Lords are born and die, and no real threat has arisen which has united any of the Lords together. The Lords are basically equal in power, with the Gatemaster being more powerful than any one of the Elemental Lords.[/spoiler]

I don't want to overwhelm everyone, so I'm not going to post it all at once.

Interesting...

Reminds me a bit of Avatar: The Last Airbender. In any case, I'm curious to see more of the setting. More specifically: races, politics and magic.

Darkxarth! Hooray!

This looks - well, good. Just as it always has done. ;)

Come now. I thought we were trying to avoid the "Blah" comment phenomenon. I'll take up the first wave of caustic criticism.

First of all, you fail to mention themes and tones. Being one of the few big supporters of ethocentricity (please ask) on these boards, I cannot emphasize this enough.

QuoteThe story goes like this, a long time ago, the Gods of the Elements (working on it) created the world of water, the Material Plane. Then, they created the Archipelago, which they named Lentauri. They created nine islands, each one to represent a different element, and two to stand for Men and the Gods. They made the plants and the animals. Then the god of Bone, Kralta, created the Men. He put these Men on his island, and created a guardian to watch over them, the Skull Miser. He watched the Men grow, learn, and explore.

Now here's what I don't get. Lentauri is effectively the land of the gods. Each god received one island. What about the god of water? Kralta created an entire island for men in addition to the island of bone? Later we find out that Kralta is an evil god, so his best plan to take over... whatever is to make mortals? How could mortals do anything to a god?

QuoteEventually, they built great ships, and sailed to other islands. The other gods were angry about this, until they saw that the Men tended their islands well, and had great respect for everything. The other gods admired Kralta for his creations, and agreed to leave his Men alone. Kralta suggested that they all leave the Men alone for one hundred-thousand years to see how they fared with the other creations of the Gods. 100000 years is nothing to a God, so they agreed.

So Kralta's plan hinged on a spur of the moment decision to leave mortals alone? Aren't these islands sacred? Can't the gods see that man would change and alter these sacred lands during that time? These "gods" don't seem very intelligent to me. Maybe the whole thing is a myth.

QuoteThings went well, at first. After maybe 10000 years, the Men stopped praying to the Gods everyday, their belief in the Gods wavered. The Gods were angered by this, and were prepared to punish the Men for their disbelief. Kralta, however, reminded them of the agreement they had all made. The other Gods, true to their word, agreed to wait until the 100000 year period was up before destroying the Men. Meanwhile, the Skull Miser had been tainting the Men with evil, for indeed the Skull Miser, and even Kralta himself, desired nothing more than domination over the universe.

I feel that I must tell you that 10,000 years ago from modern day was in the mid-early mesolithic. With divine involvement and magic as a tool, it is likely that your people would be building nukes at the period where this takes place.

Quote from: RaelifinCome now. I thought we were trying to avoid the "Blah" comment phenomenon. I'll take up the first wave of caustic criticism.

First of all, you fail to mention themes and tones. Being one of the few big supporters of ethocentricity (please ask) on these boards, I cannot emphasize this enough.

QuoteThe story goes like this, a long time ago, the Gods of the Elements (working on it) created the world of water, the Material Plane. Then, they created the Archipelago, which they named Lentauri. They created nine islands, each one to represent a different element, and two to stand for Men and the Gods. They made the plants and the animals. Then the god of Bone, Kralta, created the Men. He put these Men on his island, and created a guardian to watch over them, the Skull Miser. He watched the Men grow, learn, and explore.

Now here's what I don't get. Lentauri is effectively the land of the gods. Each god received one island. What about the god of water?

In Lentauri, Water and the Great Sea are separate.  Even though the Great Sea is water, it is kept separate from the God of Water.  The Great Sea was created by all the gods.

Quote from: RaelifinKralta created an entire island for men in addition to the island of bone? Later we find out that Kralta is an evil god, so his best plan to take over... whatever is to make mortals? How could mortals do anything to a god?

The Gods of the Elements power is based off, you guessed it, the Elements.  So, Kralta's thought was, he knew that the way he made Men, that they would corrupt themselves and probably destroy the world and the Elements therein, thus effectively bringing down the other Gods.  But, since Death is one of the aspects of the Bone element, he would continue to gain power.  The other Gods, however, didn't realize how Kralta had designed Men.  So they agreed.

QuoteEventually, they built great ships, and sailed to other islands. The other gods were angry about this, until they saw that the Men tended their islands well, and had great respect for everything. The other gods admired Kralta for his creations, and agreed to leave his Men alone. Kralta suggested that they all leave the Men alone for one hundred-thousand years to see how they fared with the other creations of the Gods. 100,000 years is nothing to a God, so they agreed.

Quote from: RaelifinSo Kralta's plan hinged on a spur of the moment decision to leave mortals alone? Aren't these islands sacred? Can't the gods see that man would change and alter these sacred lands during that time? These "gods" don't seem very intelligent to me. Maybe the whole thing is a myth.

Wasn't a spur of the moment decision, but yeah.  His whole plan kinda hinged on it.  But he was confident that the other Gods' curiousity would make them agree.  Men started out respecting the world and living in harmony with it, only Kralta knew of the seed of corruption he had planted within them.  They saw Men doing good for the world, and, being basically good-hearted themselves, assumed that Man would take care of the world as they would have.

QuoteThings went well, at first. After maybe 10000 years, the Men stopped praying to the Gods everyday, their belief in the Gods wavered. The Gods were angered by this, and were prepared to punish the Men for their disbelief. Kralta, however, reminded them of the agreement they had all made. The other Gods, true to their word, agreed to wait until the 100000 year period was up before destroying the Men. Meanwhile, the Skull Miser had been tainting the Men with evil, for indeed the Skull Miser, and even Kralta himself, desired nothing more than domination over the universe.

Quote from: RaelifinI feel that I must tell you that 10,000 years ago from modern day was in the mid-early mesolithic. With divine involvement and magic as a tool, it is likely that your people would be building nukes at the period where this takes place.

I feel that I must tell you that they don't.  Although your logic is fine, with the involvement of magic, technology is growing MUCH more slowly than it did in our world.  Although, it is growing.  Man has discovered gunpowder and created flintlock pistols and longarms.

The Islands- There are nine islands in Lentauri, they make up the Archipelago.  Each one represents a different element, Men, or the Gods.

[spoiler=Hrathos]Hrathos- The largest island of Archipelago.  And the largest city, Gunthos, is also the largest city in the whole Archipelago.  The ruler of Hrathos is Hrathos XVII.  For over 1100 years, the kings of Hrathos have been naming themselves after the island to signify their connection to the island itself.  Hrathos XVII lives in Gunthos, in a grand castle. His son, Ethar, is next in line to be king, and his daughter, Valya, is engaged to Tarkan, prince of Verrun.
Hrathos is the Island representing Earth, and the presence of subterranean races is great here. In fact, most of the other islands have very few underground areas. Hrathos, as the largest island, has the most underground area.
Dwarves are common here, at least more common than they are elsewhere. Although Humans are still the dominant race, as they are almost everywhere in the Archipelago, Dwarves come in a relatively close second, with Gnomes and Drow not too far behind.[/spoiler]

What are the origins of the other races? I was expecting to see each race created by a different god, perhaps in responce to the Bone Lord's creation. Either that, or making new races, descendents of the original 'mancers. That would allow you to create almost gensai like races and make things slightly more unified. I can't say much more on it until I know where the other races came from, but I can point out immediately that dwarves really fit the idea of a race of "metal" (as they're excellent craftsmen), gnomes fit the race of "earth" (as they live in burrows and talk with burrowing animals), and elves fit the race of "wood" (as they tend to be identified with forest fey such as driads).

Sorry if I'm pushing my ideas on you too much; I'm just not sure what to say. I do like the mythology, and perhaps you'll take the time to polish it more and perhaps even micro-develop certain portions of it to create some hero myths.

Keep it coming, I'll keep a close eye on this thread.

Quote from: XeviatWhat are the origins of the other races? I was expecting to see each race created by a different god, perhaps in responce to the Bone Lord's creation. Either that, or making new races, descendents of the original 'mancers. That would allow you to create almost gensai like races and make things slightly more unified. I can't say much more on it until I know where the other races came from, but I can point out immediately that dwarves really fit the idea of a race of "metal" (as they're excellent craftsmen), gnomes fit the race of "earth" (as they live in burrows and talk with burrowing animals), and elves fit the race of "wood" (as they tend to be identified with forest fey such as driads).

Sorry if I'm pushing my ideas on you too much; I'm just not sure what to say. I do like the mythology, and perhaps you'll take the time to polish it more and perhaps even micro-develop certain portions of it to create some hero myths.

Keep it coming, I'll keep a close eye on this thread.

Thanks!  I like the idea of having each race descend from a different Lord of the Elements.  Hmm... I'll have to think about whether Dwarves get Earth or Metal.  Gnomes and Dwarves both sort of fit both elements.  I'll keep thinking about it.  Thanks again for the comment and the idea.

Well, while I'm thinking about which races fit which elements, I'll go ahead and post the next island.

[spoiler=Verrun]Verrun- The Second largest island in the Archipelago and probably the most civilized.  The largetst city in Verrun is its capital, Embar.  In Embar, King Seldan, the ruler of Verrun, and his son Tarkan, who is engaged to Princess Valya of Hrathos, dwell in their magnificent home, Castle Feldmar.  King Seldan and King Hrathos XVII have an uneasy alliance, neither one truly trusts the other.  Hopefully, the marriage of Valya and Tarkan will strengthen this alliance.  While Gunthos is an orderly city, Embar is a more laid-back port town, though not disorderly, it is their capital after all.
Verrun is the island representing Water. Here, peaceful Amphibian races live in relative harmony with the Human and Half-Elf population.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Parago]Parago- The third largest island in the Archipelago, and the smallest of the â,¬Å"Great Trioâ,¬Â as Hrathos, Verrun, and Parago itself are known.  They are the three â,¬Å"civilizedâ,¬Â islands.  Parago is ruled by Queen Isador from her capital, Vanca.  Isador is the strictest ruler of the â,¬Å"Great Trioâ,¬Â and her island, though not as populated as Hrathos or Verrun, is governed with an iron hand.  Vanca, similar to Embar, is a port city, though much more organized.  Parago has only a few true cities, as much of the island is wild jungle.
Parago is the island that represents Wood.  Many Wild Elves and Wood Elves dwell in the jungles of Parago, and, in fact, it is believed that they outnumber the Humans of Parago by a great deal.  The Elves, though not openly hostile to Humans, do not speak to them or let them into their lands.[/spoiler]

Okay, here's what I've got for main races...

Earth - Dwarves
Water - Sahaugin
Air - Halflings
Fire - Orc (And Half-Orcs)
Metal - Gnomes
Wood - Elves
Bone - Humans

Dwarves are sturdy, like stone, and they work with rock and minerals.
Sahaugin are the most numerous of the aquatic races, even though other races (like the Kuo-Toa) are aquatic too.
Halflings are the embodiment of the quick, lightness of wind.
Orcs (and Half-Orcs) are among the strongest of the Common races, and respect the power of flames more than any other Common race.
Gnomes are clever and intelligent, constantly pushing the bounds of technology, using iron and steel to create new and (usually) wonderful inventions.
Elves are creatures of the trees.  They live in high villages in the trees, and pay respect to the trees and all of nature.
Humans represent the adaptability of all life.  Good and evil are both aspects of Human nature, and of all life itself.

Basically, what this means is that a few of the races get changed.  Like, for instance, Elves favored class changes from Wizard to Druid.  And their culture revered nature more than magic, unlike the Core Elves.  There are other changes, which I'm still working on.  More to come soon.

[spoiler=Laselle]Laselle- The fourth largest island in the Archipelago, not much smaller than Parago, though much different.  The island of Laselle, also called the Isle of the Moon, is almost covered in ancient ruins, half-covered by the jungle.  Laselle, despite its hazardous ruins and jungles, does boast a few port cities, the largest of them is called Lusar, meaning â,¬Å"Bay of the Moon.â,¬Â  The ruler of Lusar is Greyson, a once-famous captain, now retired to a life of politics.  Greyson rules Lusar kindly, and is a well liked and respected leader.  Lusar is also the place where many sailors come to retire, if they live long enough.
Laselle is the island that represents all seven Gods.  Here, ancient ruins speak of divine power and arcane secrets.  Unfortunately, the dangerous beasts that live here care nothing for the runes in the ruins, and will gladly eat anything that gets too close.[/spoiler]

 [note=Greyson]Greyson (ruler of Lusar on LaSelle) and King Seldan (ruler of Verrun) were once shipmates on the Windbreaker, a famous trading ship that consistantly outran pirates, including Morgan the Black, on many occasions.[/note]

Damnit Dark.
I leave you alone for a few days and look what happens.
You done and gone let this go unupdated.
Now I'll admit I haven't been the most active feller myslef, but that's a changing.

Quote from: ZombomaniacDamnit Dark.
I leave you alone for a few days and look what happens.
You done and gone let this go unupdated.
Now I'll admit I haven't been the most active feller myslef, but that's a changing.

Curse you and your attentiveness and perserverance!

Okay, here's some more from the original thread.

[spoiler=Mortos]Mortos- Arguably the most dangerous island of the Archipelago.  Mortos was at one time as civilized and populated as Hrathos or Verrun, but that was before the Battle of Seven Elements.  It was here that the Skull Miser sought to begin his empire, and it was here that it ended.  All that remains of the cities and towns of Mortos are smoking ruins, filled with the dead.  Although the battle took place thousands of years ago, some foul magic keeps the the corpses from fully decaying or the buildings from collapsing entirely.  The only things that walk on Mortos now are the Undead.
Mortos is, surprisingly, the island that represents Men.  Mortos was the original place where Men appeared.[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Kasta]Kasta- Where Hrathos, Verrun, and Parago are known as the â,¬Å"Great Trio,â,¬Â Kasta, Tarran, and Sesco are called the â,¬Å"Dark Trio.â,¬Â  It is here that most of the pirates of Archipelago call home.  Kasta, being the largest of the â,¬Å"Dar Trio,â,¬Â is the most dangerous.  Kasts is also the home of Morgan the Black, the most feared pirate in the Archipelago.  Morgan runs an entire fleet of pirate ships.  The flagship, Morganâ,¬,,¢s ship, is called the Dark Blade, named after Morganâ,¬,,¢s Black Steel cutlass.  The Dark Blade is made of Darkwood and her black sails are woven with Air magic.  Morganâ,¬,,¢s blade, actually called Dark Light, is also forged with Air magic.
Kasta is the island that represents Air.  Birds flock by the thousands here, song birds, sea birds, and birds of prey.  The pirates of Kasta donâ,¬,,¢t all fly under Morganâ,¬,,¢s flag, but if they donâ,¬,,¢t, they pay a hefty fine and tax for docking and selling goods.[/spoiler]