[poll] Setting Blurbs - Developing three worlds at once

[Xathan]

Setting Blurbs

Iâ,¬,,¢ve decided to put Datrik on the backburner, and work on other settings for the moment. I've decided to work on these three worlds here, and let your questions about them help me flesh it out: any thoughts would be appreciated. If you have questions about any of the settings, Iâ,¬,,¢ll be happy to answer them â,¬' It's how I do my best work.

Oh, and if you feel you can't give feedback/ask questions because there is just too little info on them, say so and I' work on expanding them.

Shades of Grey

Four hundred years ago, Malth was much like any other world. That all changed when a cabal of wizards, seeking ultimate power, tore the nature of the universe beyond repair. Since then, Malth has slowly changed. Old magics have faded into near oblivion and the gods have grown distant. Meanwhile, powerful entities called vestiges are summoned to the mortal realm while magics that use the power inherent in shadow, souls, and words arise to take the place of what once was. Meanwhile, countless demiplanes have begun springing up, tied to the mortal realm.
Tone: Dark. Malth is not a happy, nice place. The demiplanes that are springing up are horrible places to visit: for example, one is a prison plane from which there is almost no escape.
Themes: Horror, discovery in a world that changes constantly, surviving the unknown, nature of religion, superstition
NOTE: Obviously, the magics in this world are going to be only Incarnum and those found in ToM, with perhaps invocations thrown in there as a plus.

Empires of the Great

This world is dominated by a few great empires, each ruled by a powerful and ancient race. Under their heels sit the common races: humanity, another race of physically powerful and brutish race, a race of beautiful and intelligent beings, creatures that are small offspring of fey creatures and mortals, and others. All of them are ruled by their masters. Some of the empires treat the humanoid races as near equals in all things but government, while others treat them as little more than cattle.
Tone: Hopeful. Some empires are granting the humanoids more and more rights, though other oppress them just as mercilessly.
Themes: Political intrigue, freedom from slavery, self-determination, international politics
NOTE: None of the races described here will be standard races, or even races already existing. The beautiful and intelligent race will fill the elf niche, but they will not be elves, mechanically, culturally, or in any other way.

[spoiler]Xahtine â,¬'
The Xahtine are the oldest of the great races, and their empire has stood the longest. Located in the southeaster hemisphere of the world, the Xahtine empire is connected by a land bridge to their northern neighbors, and greatest enemies, the Vatyrish. Where the empire of the Vatyrish is lush and fertile, the Xahtine protectorate is harsh. The major cities of the empire are located on the coasts, the banks of rivers, and the shores of lakes, while the desert is largely uninhabited by the Xahtine. The Xahtine are noted for their amazing mental abilities, including their facility with psionics. They are moderate in their policies towards humanoid races: Humanoids can buy their freedom from the Xahtine.

Vatyrish â,¬'
The Vatyrish exist to the northwest of the Xahtine protectorate, but the two are as different as the lands they inhabit. The Vatyrish are a vampiric race, and must feed on blood to survive. They are creatures of shadow and darkness, and they build their cities in the massive trees of their homeland. They are harsh masters for their humanoid slaves, working them nearly to the point of exhaustion, but they are also fair masters: a Vatyrishi (singular of Vatyrish) that kills a slave is held accountable by Vatyrish law, while a slave that defends himself against undue punishment is not charged by law. Draining an unwilling humanoid for blood is considered as heinous as raping a slave, both of which are punishable under Vatyrish law. Vatyrish hold family in the highest of regard, and are the only Great Race with a specific law that forbids separating human families â,¬Å"until the whelps reach their own adulthood,â,¬Â meaning when they are physically mature.[/spoiler]

Smog and Ashes

A cataclysmic war against extraplanar forces threw this world into chaos. From it rose a new order, the law of the gear. Cities have become mechanized, wars are fought with ships that travel air and land, craft allow mortals to travel to the moons of the world and the moons and worlds beyond, mortals bind machines to their flesh to gain power. The gods have warped, taking on new forms to fit the new needs. The old dies away, as forests of gears and oil replace those of wood.
Tone: Gritty, but not desolate. Though technology is making this world a less than friendly place, it is also providing great benefits, lengthening life spans, allowing for new exploration.
Themes: Technology Vs. Nature, discovery and exploration, Magic Vs. Technology, Technology Vs. Religion, moral ambiguity, political intrigue, interactions with extraterrestrial lifeforms.
NOTE: SaA is more sci-fi than any of my other settings, but it will still fit loosely into the steampunk genre. Also, I will be doing away with the alignment system for this world.

[Raelifin]

Damn! I'm usually not one for steampunk, but Smog and Ashes sounds so cool!

Also, I must aplaud this: "NOTE: None of the races described here will be standard races, or even races already existing. The beautiful and intelligent race will fill the elf niche, but they will not be elves, mechanically, culturally, or in any other way."
Homebrew races unite!  :cyclops:

[Xathan]

Thanks for the feedback, Rae. Just out of curiosity, what about it do you find cool, and is there anything you would like to know more about?

I think we both seem to have the same view on standard races: IE, that they are boring, overused, and trite.

[Raelifin]

I guess it's the idea of steampunk, except way overdone. Instead of trains and airships I see giant mecha-crawlers and cities that pump out so much smog it blocks out the sun. You have some sci-fi elements in there too, and I haven't had too much experience with sci-fi & classic and when I have tried it, it has been very bad. I guess what really drew me in was the idea of "Cities have become mechanized" being giant cities that are so metallic they become almost robotic entities in their own right, constantly moving on to avoid the huge smog clouds that could be lethal if you don't move on. Of course I'm making these up, but the blurb made me think of them, and so I like it best.

[Xathan]

You got it almost right. I'm not going to have the cities be giant mecha-crawlers, since that was done in dragonmech, but the cities themselves are made up of mecha crawler buildings. Some of the cities are stationary, but also have a life unto themselves almost. (I"m even playing with a new form of government, the Technocracy, where the government IS a machine or machines.)

[Numinous]

Smog and ashes is cool, I guess I have a thing for steampunk.  but if you push it too far, watch out for it becoming a sci-fi game.

[Xathan]

I'm not worried about it becoming sci-fi - I'm fully prepared to take it into sci-fi, if it makes the setting a better setting. Still, I would like to keep it fantasy.

Anyone have anything they would like expounded upon? clarified? developed? anything?

[Xathan]

Here are two of the Great Races from Empires of the Great.

Xahtine â,¬'
The Xahtine are the oldest of the great races, and their empire has stood the longest. Located in the southeaster hemisphere of the world, the Xahtine empire is connected by a land bridge to their northern neighbors, and greatest enemies, the Vatyrish. Where the empire of the Vatyrish is lush and fertile, the Xahtine protectorate is harsh. The major cities of the empire are located on the coasts, the banks of rivers, and the shores of lakes, while the desert is largely uninhabited by the Xahtine. The Xahtine are noted for their amazing mental abilities, including their facility with psionics. They are moderate in their policies towards humanoid races: Humanoids can buy their freedom from the Xahtine.

Vatyrish â,¬'
The Vatyrish exist to the northwest of the Xahtine protectorate, but the two are as different as the lands they inhabit. The Vatyrish are a vampiric race, and must feed on blood to survive. They are creatures of shadow and darkness, and they build their cities in the massive trees of their homeland. They are harsh masters for their humanoid slaves, working them nearly to the point of exhaustion, but they are also fair masters: a Vatyrishi (singular of Vatyrish) that kills a slave is held accountable by Vatyrish law, while a slave that defends himself against undue punishment is not charged by law. Draining an unwilling humanoid for blood is considered as heinous as raping a slave, both of which are punishable under Vatyrish law. Vatyrish hold family in the highest of regard, and are the only Great Race with a specific law that forbids separating human families â,¬Å"until the whelps reach their own adulthood,â,¬Â meaning when they are physically mature.