The Campaign Builder's Guild

Quote from: TybaltA few comments:

1. Generally a good solid adventure beginning. I like that you have different possible paths depending on the type of character is there or what their inclinations of the moment might be. It is also very descriptive and is incidentally a nice introduction to your setting.

2. I'd like to know a little more about the barbarians. Do they look norse? Do the spirit connections affect more than just spellcasters? What kind of weapons do they use?

1. Thanks.
2.  Most tribes look pretty Norse, except the Tribe of The Ram, which are more Scottish.  Maybe I missed something, but what spirit connections?  Most of the fighting men of the barbarian tribes prefer big two-handed weapons, especially axes.

The names are really interesting here. You have some really clear Norse and Roman influence, and a lot of very pulpy sort of feel to all of this. In a lot of cases, I'd consider that sort of thing to be something of a flaw, but you've really made it work, and turned it into a style. As a player, I could definitely get a sense of the style of a world where people with names like "Stylus Steel" and "Gladius" are the movers and shakers. Same issue with the tarot themes. The way you've put this together, it works much better than I would have thought.

I guess I mainly want to see more big-picture detail before we jump right to individual taverns. I guess I'm a little at a loss as to what the King of Coins is telling me about Tera itself; though it's a nice, well-designed tavern (and no doubt a popular spot for your regular gaming group, if you have one), it seems that replacing it with a different tavern entirely would have minimal impact on the world as a whole. It almost seems like a digression.

I really like the Temporal/Spatial Palace. It's a cool idea, and I'd like to hear more information about that (and Arcanum in general.)

The information about barbarians is interesting. I guess I have a permanent soft spot for "savage" cultures that are, in their own ways, more enlightened than their "civilized" neighbors.

Your other races and cultures, from dwarves all the way through goblins, seem a little skimpy. If they're going to be viable origin-places for players' characters, shouldn't they ideally be as richly detailed as Tera or anywhere else? There are definitely good ideas in here, and I'd like to see them get a little more development.

Honestly, I think religion might be a little cluttered. There is an awful lot of deific stuff going on, much of it overlapping in function and role. Although I suppose that makes Ragnarock all the more interesting (nice choice, setting "now" at the onset of the end times, by the way), it's still going to be a huge amount to keep up with.

I think you could benefit the most by smoothing out both your maps and your prose. Even on the hex grid, your maps look pretty mechanical, and I'd like to see them spruced up a bit. Particularly in terms of history, I think prose might be a little more useful than timelines. Have you tried simply telling the story of the Steel emperors, rather than just listing which events happen in which years?

There really is a ton of interesting stuff here, and a lot of it seems really amazingly "classic," if that makes any sense. I like it.

Edit: What are some of your influences?

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To answer your last question first, I consider my main influences to be Terry Pratchett, Robert E. Howard, and Joseph Campbell.

The King of Coins actually originated from my desire to participate in a CBG contest, and then I x-posted my submission to the Tera thread.

Your question of whether it would be better to use an actual narrative than a timeline to convey the information regarding the rise of the Steel Emperors:  I'm kinda working on that.  I'm working on a campaign set in that era.  That's what that Castle Granite adventure is going to be for.

(I apologize if you did not want further discussion on an old thread, but I did not see a disclaimer.)

So far, I am liking what you've done. I'm not personally a fan of using so many real-world deities, but it looks like it could fit well here.

The on major incongruity that I have found concerns the Teran Empire. 'Adventurers' are described as a significant export, but then there is very little exploration being done.

Similarly, there is no description of the level of ship or aircraft technology almost anywhere. How do the Teran people get around - horse (or other animal) and carriage, boat on a river, blimp, winged animals, magic, or just by walking?

I will be reading it through again to get to understand it better. But, from what I have read, it has some definite potential.

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It is still a going concern kinda.  I've just been too drained, time-crunched, or lazy to post lately.


Interesting point regarding adventurers as a major export of the Teran Empire versus a lack of modern exploration.  I hadn't thought of it like that.

As for the transportation question, you are correct that I failed to adress it so far.  As far as possibile methodologies, I'm figuring kind of all of the above.

I'm going to try to go through your setting, a little bit at a time.  I'll start with your maps.

Your maps are functional.  I'd say they're more along the lines of crunch, when most maps are like fluff.  I can look for a number and find what I'm looking for without having to scan a massive page deciphering a difficult font.  I like that.

That said, they are not too pretty.  Mostly because the bottom one is apparently unfinished and that always takes away from things.  I would not feel happy with them (that said, I have NEVER felt happy with ANY maps I have made and probably never will) but as long as they serve their purpose and a little unfinished spot doesn't bother you, you are right to move on to the more important parts!

Also, the page number is because that page came from the World Builder's Guidebook (or a similar name, I'm tired) that TSR put out, right?

Quote from: Ninja D!I'm going to try to go through your setting, a little bit at a time.  I'll start with your maps.

Your maps are functional.  I'd say they're more along the lines of crunch, when most maps are like fluff.  I can look for a number and find what I'm looking for without having to scan a massive page deciphering a difficult font.  I like that.

That said, they are not too pretty.  Mostly because the bottom one is apparently unfinished and that always takes away from things.  I would not feel happy with them (that said, I have NEVER felt happy with ANY maps I have made and probably never will) but as long as they serve their purpose and a little unfinished spot doesn't bother you, you are right to move on to the more important parts!

Also, the page number is because that page came from the World Builder's Guidebook (or a similar name, I'm tired) that TSR put out, right?

First off:
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The maps are kind of at a good enough to start play point, which is most of what I was going for at the time.  I'm working on refining them, but it's kind of like at number 97 on my top 100 pet projects to work on in my free time list.


That's a pretty close answer: it was the Wilderness Survival Guide.  You at least got close on the era of the company, TSR rather than WotC.

Quote from: khyron11442. Most tribes look pretty Norse, except the Tribe of The Ram, which are more Scottish.

There's a difference? :P

Good work though, I will give things a full look through.

I had spaced this off.  Your badge is in my sig and I will be back here for more.

The Terran Empire

QuoteThis is probably the most important land of Terra. Terra's greatest power militarily and economically. Home to the most legendary of adventurers.

The current Emperor, Stylus Steel, is considered by many to be a letdown to his family's legacy.[/quote]The greatest military hero of the modern Empire is General Sigismund Odinson of the Bear Tribe.[/quote]The major export of the Empire is adventurers.[/quote]Terra Prima - Will there be more about this city?  I want to hear more. How is lawlessness legal and where is the line?  Is there authority or official leadership of any kind here?[/list]

Halflings - What makes it hard for the halflings to hold onto their own ways? How do they feel about the dwarves and how they live here?[/list]

Dwarves - Why do the dwarves forsake their own culture for a foreign one here?  How do humans feel about dwarves?  Halflings?[/list]

Technology - I am a bit uncertain about the level of technology in the bigger cities of this setting.  Could you clarify?[/list]

The dominant mental image that I got when I was reading through this setting was one of people playing D&D. That may come across as something of an idiotic statement at first-- I mean, that's the whole point, right? What I mean, though, is that's not just the image I got when thinking about the setting, but when I actually tried to envision what it would be like to be in the setting. It still felt like a game to me.

Part of this has to be the fact that it's about as standard a D&D world as they come. Pretty much all of the tropes are there-- though I did find your reworking of halflings a plus. The only complaint I'd have there is the "monolithic racial culture" motif, which seems to pervade a lot of standard (and even not-so-standard) D&D worlds. Humans would be just as capable of creating this "Asian" culture, too, wouldn't they?

However, what really hit me was the names. Oh, the names in this setting. I'm not sure what you were trying to do, but I do know I almost spat out my drink bursting out laughing a couple of times. The names you've used in this setting are... well, they're either genre-savvy, or they've gone and decided to sneak up behind verisimilitude and bash its skull in with a giant stick. Somehow, it feels like a little of both.

This started at the very beginning. Stylus Steel. Seriously... Stylus Steel? He is a letdown to his family's legacy. Does this happen to be because he pursued a career as a pornstar? He's far from the only one. Terra Prima sounds like a Star Trek planet, the Great University is a pretty pompous name, and the biggest questionable thing about Questionable Milton is his name. Humans got some freedom, so they call their land... Freeland. Ok then. I won't beat a dead horse, but... oh, the names.

On that topic, your description of Free Town is another aspect of this setting that just leaves me confused. It's either dry wit or a facepalm waiting to happen... and, again, I somehow get the idea that it's a little of both.

Essentially, the feeling I get from this setting is that it's probably pretty good for a group of friends sitting around playing D&D, as long as they don't try to immerse themselves too much or roleplay too deeply. I don't like settings that take themselves too seriously, mind you, but at the same time, it's hard for me to feel any enthusiasm whatsoever about roleplaying in this world. There is a lot that explains why this is this and that is that, and how certain things work, but none of it is really all that immersive or compelling. In some ways, it feels more like a parody of a D&D setting.

Thank you both, for you have given me much to think on.


As Terra stands, it's very much a gamer's setting designed to facilitate gaming without real ambitionsto be the kind of setting that peoplecould wirte a nove set in.

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A few comments on recent comments in no particular order:

Quote from: Ninja D!The Terran Empire

Quote from: sparkletwistOn that topic, your description of Free Town is another aspect of this setting that just leaves me confused. It's either dry wit or a facepalm waiting to happen... and, again, I somehow get the idea that it's a little of both.

Believe it or not, it is intended to be a place to actually try to use RPGs as a vehicle to explore what an anarchist community might be like, assuming that the term anarchist community is not an oxymoron.  There may be some humor to the write-up, but it is not intended to be entirely a joke.

Quote from: Ninja D!

Quote from: Ninja D!

QuoteThe greatest military hero of the modern Empire is General Sigismund Odinson of the Bear Tribe.

Yes, the general intention was for General Sigismund Odinson to be an outlander barbarain from the uncivilized north.  You know, I think I might have to start fleshing him out some to explain his status in the Terran Empire and his rise to power.

QuoteYes, the general intention was for General Sigismund Odinson to be an outlander barbarain from the uncivilized north. You know, I think I might have to start fleshing him out some to explain his status in the Terran Empire and his rise to power.

Yes, I think you should. That particular character is one of the things that has interested me the most so far about your setting.

And now I shall dig deeper still into the world of Tera...

Is it Terra or Tera?  I think I've seen it both ways in these threads.

Why did you choose to make the tarot deck significant? Was that part of what started and inspired the setting or did it come later?

Quote from: Ninja D!And now I shall dig deeper still into the world of Tera...

Is it Terra or Tera?  I think I've seen it both ways in these threads.

Why did you choose to make the tarot deck significant? Was that part of what started and inspired the setting or did it come later?

Now, it is supposed to be Terra.  It used to be Tera, but someone pionted out the proper spelling for the Latin word my setting takes its name from.  I have not corrected all the past instances of the usage of tera on my part, especially in this thread.

The Tarot elements are just one of those ideas I had.  I kind of know my way around a Tarot deck, and I thought it'd be cool to incorporate soem of that into the world I was building.  I think I started adding in the Tarot elements later.