The Campaign Builder's Guild

Quote from: Rose-of-Vellum
Thumbs up!

EDIT: So is it your intent to continue working on macro-elements or begin focusing on a particular nation/colony/state/region?

I think so. I find it quite easy to fill things in and make up stuff as I go.

Except a basic outline wouldn't hurt.

The immediate setting will take place on the southwest corner of a triangular-shaped continent, at a latitude that straddles temperate and subtropical. Like 18th and 19th century Europe, the political entities range from progressive nationstates to mercantile republics to theocratic city-states to bloated monarchies. The saturation of modern technology varies greatly. The members of a small town may share one pistol between the lot of them while the cost of firearms in a metropolis is far from unreasonable.

As far as plot hooks go, there exists the entirety of the Tombér, the realm of fallout, were two nations and half the imperial capital still lie ripe for the plunder and ill-earned treasure. It is a place haunted by trans-planar remnants and increasingly fierce pockets of chuul resistance. The post-war nation states are rife with political dissent and authoritarian crack-downs. All manner of ideological factions fight over the scraps of the Vieux Munde. The countrysides have regressed to a state of fear and paranoia not seen for decades; foul creatures, long kept in-check, have grown brazen and daring. Arcane organizations of all types compete in a delicate arcane arms race, racing to discover something remarkably new, or something terribly old.

The Chuul War is the plot point around which the setting revolves. The ware dates from 1078-1109. In 1078, the Ghenntrip-Osstian Empire was the dominant political power, however many client-states and cities were beginning to grow restless under exploitative and decadent overlords. Imperial culture and technology was stagnant. Armies were mostly levies or mercenaries, the heavy cavalry legions that won the city-states of  Ghenntrip and Osst an empire had become haughty shadows of themselves. Battle tactics consisted of massive pike pushes and "duels" of cavalry contingents probing for flanks to charge. Imperial artillery consisted of only mortars, small units of musketmen, and a handful of archaic brass bombards. State-sponsored battle wizards would also accompany units armed with staves, scrolls, and other baubles. However, some of the northern imperial client-states supported smaller, but more technologically advanced forces, with cast cannons, multi-shot muskets, and primitive rockets.

Imperial culture maintained the same music, dress, food, and aversion to frivolous ideas that existed when the empire was formed in 876. Technological progess had stagnated. Society as a whole could be said to has stagnated as well. The Ghenntrip-Osstian would have most likely been usurped by any number of states within the century.

But the Chuul War happened first. The came without warning from the southwest coasts, a countless swarm. Imperial and allied forces at first counted seemingly important, but the lack of discipline and poor logistics, not to mention the hubris of generals, began to take their toll. Casualties on both sides were enourmous. There remain hundred of massive "shell mounds" that dot the sites of battles, the piled carapace remains of thousands upon thousands of chuul.

Things began to go particularly poor with the arrrival of the God Crab, a massive fortress-creature, a mountain of shell. It arose in the Bay of Cloves, around which co-capital of Osst was built. The city was overrun in a night of violence. Half of the million residents died, the other half cast to diaspora.

After the fall of Osst, the war became one of brutal attrition. Steep coastal cliffs and mountainous terrain slowed the northerly advance of the chuul. Year-long sieges were fought on the walls of ancient barbarian citadels, the mountain passes they guarded choked with rotting remains of countless chuul and thousands of men. The fortress-ports along the coasts of Pennderance also saw fierce fighting as well. The waves of chuul would wash upon shore so thick that the cannons would glow red with overuse.

The imperial capital of Ghenntrip became the last free city south of the mountains, the massive butte upon which the city was proved a formidable defense. The war could be sustained though. That's when the creation of the ichor-bomb occurred. A team of adventures, now immortalized in popular culture and even seen as saints, snuck the weapon onboard the God Crab, hoping it would through the chuul into disarray and chaos.

The bomb successsly destroyed the God Crab and through the chuul into chaos, with most retreating into the sea never to return. The bomb also destroyed the Bay of Cloves, Osst, and everything within a three hundred mile radius. Everything looks like it's being sucked and stretched into the implosions epicenter. Thr world within the radius is grey and lifeless and choked with dust that doesn't settle. It is haunted by vicious shades of all those killer by the bomb, men, chuul, and birds alike. The shades are dangerous and fickle. 

I like the historical background. I dig a hyphenated imperial name, though neither Osst not Ghenntrip particularly tickle my fancy. In contrast, I really like the other names: Bay of Cloves, Pennderance, God-Crab.

The color-bled/bleeding implosion site and 'fauna' are also really cool.

As for those who deployed the ichor-bomb, "adventurers" seems a strange moniker, disjointed from the vibe of the setting, in my opinion. For instance, were they a state-sponsored special military unit, civilian radicals, or something else?

The adventures are adventures in a sense because they potentially could have been the players. They, as particularly talented war veterans of varying talents, volunteered for the mission, knowing it was a one way trip. You could say they were akin to special forces, equipped by the empire and her allies.

Was/is the empire autocratic or constitutional/democratic in any fashion?

Quote from: Rose-of-Vellum
Was/is the empire autocratic or constitutional/democratic in any fashion?

There is an emperor, but he shares power with the Carmine Chamber; a vague parliament of oligarchs and aristocrats. The G-O Empire functions somewhat like the Holy Roman Empire did; while the emperor is not elected, he must constantly negotiate and entreat with the dozens of clients states that formed the bulk of the G-O Empire

Without delving into political minutiae, the empire mixed aspects of feudalism, vassalage, and oligarchy. The G-O Empire was dissolved in 1106, three IG years ago. Osst is no more and Ghenntrip could not maintain the empire and the Chuul War. Ghenntrip is still an important city, but the neighboring realm of Vendt has risen to primacy, leading a very loose coalition of states.

The political climate as a whole though is fragile. Revolts are common and full-on revolutions (from both the left and right) could happen any day. Trade was thoroughly disrupted and many island kingdoms and coastal kingdoms have not been contacted in almost 50 years. In a sense, the world is ready to be discovered again.

I love Chuul and the idea of an invasion of lobster-things is fantastic, but I must admit that the very D&D word "Chuul" somehow feels out of place amidst so much invention. What about something like Scyllans, Carcinoids, or the Craw? Just a thought.

Quote from: Steerpike
I love Chuul and the idea of an invasion of lobster-things is fantastic, but I must admit that the very D&D word "Chuul" somehow feels out of place amidst so much invention. What about something like Scyllans, Carcinoids, or the Craw? Just a thought.

Agreed. I shall ponder.

The event was called the Carapace Wars, the Claw Wars, and Carcinex Wars. It is also colloquially known as the Temps Meridique, the sh** times.

The creatures are called claws, chits, wyrms, chatters, craw, charybdan, scyllan and a dozen other local names. Officially, as per imperial records, they are referred to as Carcinex marum; the jaws of the sea.

Shit is merde, not meride :)

So I'm guessing it would be Temps Merdiques? That's an expression often used in French in social circles. Especially to describe bad weather and temperatures. In Montreal we hear that a lot.

There is, however, a nice sound to Meridique.

Quote from: Magnus Pym
Shit is merde, not meride :)

So I'm guessing it would be Temps Merdiques? That's an expression often used in French in social circles. Especially to describe bad weather and temperatures. In Montreal we hear that a lot.

There is, however, a nice sound to Meridique.

It's not really supposed to be French, just vague pastiches of words and sounds to, at least my mind, ooze with 19th century Europe.

I figured we use RL languages all the time to evoke certain feelings, wizards using pseudo-Latin to evoke scholarship, Russified works to evoke cold, or, in my case, quasi-French to evoke a cultured lingua franca (no pun intended).

[edit] is that working for other people or is it throwing off the vibe?

I like it. Then again, I don't speak French.

(Me neither.)

Quote from: O Senhor Leetzis that working for other people or is it throwing off the vibe?

Personally, I would go with the actual French rather than the word that looks like you were trying to use French and misspelled it.  :P