The Campaign Builder's Guild

Wow, you've done a lot of work lately. I was kind of amused to see you put the Deep Ones in there with another name. ;) the organizations are all nicely written up--I notice in particular how there are several groups vying for psionic strength, which is interesting, and how few of these groups are genuinely altruistic which makes contextual sense. Cool that you have a way of putting in real life organizations that make sense in given the context of your world such as the Templars and the way they conduct themselves.

(OOC: recommend use of spellchecker for some stuff--extortion is spelled 'extorsion' in your entry for one of the knightly orders)

Quote from: TybaltWow, you've done a lot of work lately. I was kind of amused to see you put the Deep Ones in there with another name. ;) the organizations are all nicely written up--I notice in particular how there are several groups vying for psionic strength, which is interesting, and how few of these groups are genuinely altruistic which makes contextual sense. Cool that you have a way of putting in real life organizations that make sense in given the context of your world such as the Templars and the way they conduct themselves.

(OOC: recommend use of spellchecker for some stuff--extortion is spelled 'extorsion' in your entry for one of the knightly orders)

I had to look up deep ones in Wikipedia.  It said:

Quote from: WikipediaThe Deep Ones are a race of frog-like, ocean-dwelling creatures with an affinity for mating with humans.

Whoa.  Based on the name, I first thought you were talking about the Dwellers.  Now I'm guessing you meant the Danavas (one of the main kind of asuras in Hindu mythology).  I really should read more Lovecraft.  I've only read about five of his stories.  They ranged from pretty good, to really good (I really liked the haunted hotel in New England, for which I cannot remember the name of the story right now).  I made them amphibious because the myth said they were banished beneath the sea.  I had to take liberties since there wasn't a physical description that I found.

Thanks for the typo info.  I sometimes forget to run spellcheck in AceHTML.  I wish there was a way to make it auto-check like in Word.

Thanks for the review :)

Been a while since a new update.

What I've been working on is the new, full-color maps.

The world map gives the general idea, while the continent maps are more zoomed in and thus show names of cities and rivers, etc.

You will note I did take out the Lizard Isles.

Since the file names are the same, remember to hit refresh if you've viewed them and are using FireFox (or they otherwise still look black&white).

I also updated some old details (a fair bit of minor stuff), and added two new animas:
barghest (hellhoud, etc.)
wendigo

I really like the latest descriptions. The barghest one is far better than the one in the DMG. I think the wendigo depiction is very classic but succinct.

BTW, yes, I'm glad you discovered Lovecraft, very interesting source of inspiration.

The maps are nice to look at and most important easily readable--for that part of your site what you want are maps that don't give you a headache to try to read. It's very clear how you have broken down the regions.

Thanks as always Tybalt.

I'm glad you liked the barghest.  It actually is broken down into several different monsters in D&D (barghest, hellhound, yeth hound), but all are really talking about the same kind of black dog, so I generally try to make that just regional different names for the same creature.

I started reading Lovecraft maybe two years ago (probably a little less).  I should read more, though I've been mostly reading Robert Jordan lately.

The maps definitely took effort, so I'm glad they please.  It was my first effort in Photoshop.  For those using that program, you can add a white outer glow to black text, which makes it more readable on color background.  In some cases (rivers, etc.) I still had to use a slightly smaller font than I wanted to make it fit, but it sounds like it is still  legible.

A minor update of a few more animas (and some minor glossary updates):

Encantado
Swan Maiden

Cait Sith
Cu Sith
Hippocampus

Might have some more significant stuff this week.

For today, a new kingdom: Lyonesse

Today I present two new nations:

Daga
Reidgotaland

There's quite a few nations up now.  This is an area I'd definitely like some feedback on.

I took out the Fiction section, at least for a while.  I'm in the process of working on a piece I hope to eventually have published, and it invalidates some of that material.  Besides, it still used some old names for countries.

I like your additions re: the Atlas. It is interesting to see how the fall of Elysium affecting nations differently. I also like too how you blend your own ideas with some stereotypical ones.

Yeah, the stories I'm working on mostly take place before all this, but the site assumes the current date is like 3 years after the fall of the Elysian Empire.

I really haven't been working on anything lately (other than the short story I submitted for publication), but I guess I should get back to it this week.  I suppose I haven't been around as much this past week, either.  I'm pretty close to finishing the details for mainland Midgard, so maybe I'll work on that tomorrow.

Anyway, I'd love to hear any suggestions or feedback you have (or anyone has, of course).

One of the things I look for in a campaign site or book is the sense of the dynamic. What is the nation actually doing, and is there a sample of it? Most game books present this as being only apparently dynamic but in fact as being static. I realize that this is mean to present the nation in question as a passive body that the adventures/pc campaign will add leaven to...but I like a little more personally.

It would be interesting to know what the civil war is about for instance in Reidgotaland or the aristocratic regaining of power in Daga's details a little--I'm aware that you have an ambitious project to hand so I'm hoping you will take this as interest and not criticism. Also it would be interesting perhaps at some point to have a sidebar on the different orders and factions and how they affect nations in particular.

I like both those ideas.  I'll try to work them in sometime this week.

I think you're right about published settings - there's a tension between trying to create something alive and something static enough your book won't be outdated by the time the next one comes out.  Maybe that's why you don't often see active wars and so forth presented in most countries in these books.

But in presenting a particular year in history, and in working more for novels than gaming, my project is somewhat different.

Anyway, thanks.  Certainly I take it as interest, but constructive criticism is also helpful and welcome.

So a new update:

First of all, the maps page now features a map displaying the breadth of the Elysian Empire (as well as the map for the Encaran Empire) at its height, to give everyone an idea of how far it reached.

Secondly, we have several new regions:
Bjarmaland
Jotunheim
Nazca

You will also notice that each region now has another section after history in which the roles of any of the organizations present in the region are explained (thanks for the idea Tybalt!).

I also added details to the political situation in Daga and Reidgotaland, as suggested.  This should give a little bit better idea who the major players are in these nations.

As always, input welcome.

Wow, you must have been really inspired when you did those three. I like the little information at a glance insert, that's handy. One thing I like about your writeups on the countries is that there is instant clarity about what the land consists of.

The two that stand out for me most are Nacza and Jotunheim--the explanations of a giant dominated land and its ignored yet oppressed people and the sad haunting of a civilization come to an end are very nicely written up.

Sorry if this is just gushing but I really liked those entries. I also like your write up of the knights of Lamorak btw--one of the most obscure of the knights of the Round Table in spite of his rating in the Table hierarchy. Glad he has some legacy. ;)

I'm glad you liked it.  It's gratifying to know I have a regular reader.

Nazca is obviously loosely based on the real Nazca (in Peru), and Jotunheim on Norse mythology.

Lamorak was kind of an obscure knight, wasn't he?  I've made an effort to include many heroes/deities of myth/legend, though often altered from their original form in varying degrees.