Xearic Discussion Thread

[Drizztrocks]

Please, comments and critisisn.

[Drizztrocks]

How do you make the link to the setting in your signature?

[Matt Larkin (author)]

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[url=url]link name[/url]

And I think your first sig statement should use the word "you're."  :demon:

Vecna is a goddess now?

[Drizztrocks]

Yeah, I desided to make Vecna a gooddess, just to change something up. If I use the core gods names, I atleast want to change some stuff about them.

[Lmns Crn]

You may also want to link to this thread from the setting thread. Right there at the top, in the "Please post all comments somewhere else" statement, would be an excellent place to do so.

All issues of confusion associated with using familiar names with surprising changes aside, I wonder why your gods need gender or other physical traits at all. You make a point of distancing them from mortal bodies and mortal traits, bringing them closer to vast, impersonal forces. Maybe mortals think of these weird and complicated forces in personified terms to make things easier, but that doesn't mean the gods actually need to have such "fleshy" traits.

I never really like seeing orcs, goblins, and their ilk demoted to minor dangers, because I think it removes much of their potential. However, I like your use of history to do so (the War of the Woodlands).

I guess I am mostly just disappointed that currently so much of your thread's information is concerned with classes and feats and other things I don't really care about much?

[Drizztrocks]

Thanks for everything, and will certainly put a link at the top of the page. I'm about to post some Geography, and then i'll get some history up. But, just since you mentioned it, i'll post the history for the War of the Woodlands up.

The War of the Woodlands
Long ago, when human were still a very primal tribal species, it was mostly the elven-kind and orc-kind that populated the world. The elves lived in the trees and forests, mingling and practicing their martial arts. The orcs traded with them. Some even settling down in the elven villages, as the orcs moved through the elven forest cities and across the wilderness, migrating with the herds of Bison that was their main food source. But, their relationship grew rusty, their differences getting in the way of their friendship. Small skirmishes erupted between the strong, tough and brawny orcs, and the nimble, quick elves.

At first politicians on both sides attempted to stop the riots, but the orc cheiftans found the war good for the economy. The goblins, who were always the lesser, poor citizens of orc society,generaly because they had a cruel, malicious streak, were made slaves by the orc cheiftan's. Many orc tribes united under one banner. The goblin slaves were used to make weapons, armor and genral physical labor. The goblins slaves became more useful when the orc men began to be drafted into the Orcish army. Outposts were constructed, but the orc tried to make them seem peaceful frontier settlements, and attempted to make it appear as nothing was wrong. In truth they were planning to strike the elves when they least expected it, burning their forests and taking their people as slaves.

The elves weren't buying it. They noticed the goblin slaves being worked nearly to death, emaciated and starving. The elves also took note of the outposts. They began buileding their own army, but not in time.

The orcs struck, their soldiers pouring into the elves forest homes, burning and pillaging. Most elven citizens had atleast minor training with the bow and blade, so the elves defense was not meager, but the sheer size of the orc force nearly overwhelmed the many elf tribes in the forests. The orc army had split up, striking mkany different forests with full help arrived after a primitive elven wizard sent a call to the Feywild. Eladrin mages and warriors poured in through portals, blasting the orcs and wreaking havoc with lightning bolts, fireballs and arrows flying free. The elves got their chance to regroup, and also united under one banner, the elves and the orcs were even, and it seemed as if the Eladrin, despite their unfriendliness with the elves, came in their time of need anyway. The orcs, however, weren't done yet. They enlisted the aid of ogres and hill giants, many of them hauling seige mach9ines into battle. In this time of war, each generation of orcs got duller qand duller-much interbreeding in homes was going on because most of the orc men were away at war. Many orforce, giving no chance to retaliate. At first it seemed that it would be a massacre. But then c-goblin crosses also appeared. This was a very crucial part in the war, a mistake of the tribal leaders, something thyat would lead the orcs to eventually be thought of as a dull, crude and Barbarian species.



Both the elves and the orc had heroes arise in this time of war, and heroes fall. This war shaped much of the northland-many forests were burned, eventually creating prairies and plains.Orc villages were also destroyed, another factor leading to the failure of their race.

The elves slowly won out, their skill with the bow and ability to move through the trees with unmatched speed let them strike down entire orc parties without a single one of their soldiers being killed or even injured. The elves had their losses, though-many of their great cities were destroyed, along with beautiful forests.

Even though the elves won the War of the Woodlands, the surviving orcs moved west and created a great orc kingdom, with most of the economy ran by goblin slaves. The orcs had a new leader, one powerful, intelligent and pure of blood-the name was Brass-Knuckles Thistlethorns. He was half powerful ogre half-pure blood orc. He planned on leading the orcs to great conquest to burn the elven forests and enslave the other races like the feral halflings and digging dwarves. There was one problem with there plan, a problem they'd soon have to deal with, a wild, primal race of Barbarians that has just made some breakthroughs in culture and society, and is well on their way to success-Man.

[Drizztrocks]

PLEASE. Anyone who looks at this just look over my setting on the Homebrew thread and tell me what you think of it. I will respond to everything.

[Drizztrocks]

Okay. Is it this hard? I see alot of views. No posts. Simply post what you think of it-there's a link at the top of the page!!

         I'm seriously sorry, it just seems like im doing all this work but no one is even commenting or anything. I need constructive critisism!!! Sorry again, extremely sorry, just getting somewhat irritated.

[LordVreeg]

Okay. Is it this hard? I see alot of views. No posts. Simply post what you think of it-there's a link at the top of the page!!

         I'm seriously sorry, it just seems like im doing all this work but no one is even commenting or anything. I need constructive critisism!!! Sorry again, extremely sorry, just getting somewhat irritated.

DR,
Let me reprise a comment I have made a few dozen times before.  Want some responses to your setting thread?  Give some feedback on some other settings.  I don't know what anyone is thinking expecting all the intellectual altruists to spend valuable time and effort looking over a thread and positing plusses and negatives for no reason.  
Seriously.  Anytime I am feeling the urge to scare some readers with my setting or get some feedback, I go on a binge of commenting on stuff on other threads.  SOmetimes I get the responses, the rest of the time I at least feel justified in sneering at the folks who post but don't review.
I don't aim this just at you, as I'll abscond with any nearby soapbox, but I will proclaim once again that 'This site is a cooperative enterpise'.  Post and review in equal amounts, and your work will get love.

[Steerpike]

I've looked over the Xearic thread and perhaps I can offer a few constructive criticisms.  I haven't been a member long but I've lurked for a while, and one thing I can suggest is tidying up your posts a bit.  I know that's a boring formatting thing, but it will make things easier for readers.  Your recent entries have been better, but some of the earlier posts are a bit cramped and crowded (no spaces between titles or new paragraphs, etc), and you don't make much use of bold or different sizes.  Like I said, that's just a technical thing.

Crunch really doesn't interest me too much so I won't comment much on it.  Looks like pretty standard stuff.

Fluffwise, there are a few things I laiked quite a bit.  The desert metropolis (Celtrickdim?  I forget exactly how to spell it) has potential - I like the idea of tensions between the hobgoblins and how that conflict gets transformed once its transplanted into an urban setting.  Plus sewers are always fun.  I also really, really liked the small snippet on Beltruce, the Town of Lost Hope.  I like the idea of crocodile-riding marshy halfing kinife-fighters - I get an image of rather sinister bayou-dwelling rogues - though most of your halfings seem to be of the standard hobbity type.

You say at the beginning of the thread that "The main idea of this campaign setting is to combine new, exciting aspects with classic earopean mideval theme."  I guess I'm just not seeing enough of the new stuff to hold my interest for too long.  Xearic looks like a pretty standard 4th edition DnD world with a fairly lush geography, but otherwise its not dissimilar to Greyhawk or the Forgotten Realms, including the deities.  You've got orcs and elves fighting, hobbits living in hills, an Underworld where demons and devils live, tweaked a bit from the standard planes but not drastically changed, etc.

What I'm trying to say is, what makes Xearic particularly unique?  What differentiates it from Greyhawk or the Realms?  Yeah those are good settings - I mean not really my cup of tea, granted, but totally rich, deserving settings - but they've kind of monopolized the "medieval europe but-with-fantasy races" thing.  I'm usually in favor of chucking out the standard races right at the start, but you don't have to do that either to make a different-feeling setting.  Eberron does it by throwing in a lot of pulpy stuff - trains and robots and noir mystery and an emphasis on exploration and mystery.  Iron Kingdoms - probably my favorite published setting taht uses the standard races - adds huge amountsof steam-tech and transplants the usual tropes to a sort of quasi-Victorian or late 18th century setting.  Dark Sun puts it all in a giant desert, makes magic environmentally destuctive, etc.  Have a look at Synid, melchior's increasingly cool setting, which is replete with sumerian and mesoamerican influences (or for that matter the much older and thus thoroughly developed Xiluh, also a great mesoamerican setting).  They all take the standard array of races and classes and mess with it somehow.

You've clearly put a lot of effort and hard work into writing your material, and none of its  bad its just that - at least to me - it feels like you're going over already well-trodden ground.  I'm not trying to be discouraging - you should definitely keep posting materil and keep world-building, and I can tell that you enjoy the creative process - but I suggest trying to push the envelope a bit more.  The fantastic is not limited to the stuff in the PHB or in Tolkien's Middle Earth or the Realms; it can encompass a lot more, and the most exciting settings deviate in some way from that core of good but rather overused material.

[Drizztrocks]

Okay. Is it this hard? I see alot of views. No posts. Simply post what you think of it-there's a link at the top of the page!!

         I'm seriously sorry, it just seems like im doing all this work but no one is even commenting or anything. I need constructive critisism!!! Sorry again, extremely sorry, just getting somewhat irritated.

DR,
Let me reprise a comment I have made a few dozen times before.  Want some responses to your setting thread?  Give some feedback on some other settings.  I don't know what anyone is thinking expecting all the intellectual altruists to spend valuable time and effort looking over a thread and positing plusses and negatives for no reason.  
Seriously.  Anytime I am feeling the urge to scare some readers with my setting or get some feedback, I go on a binge of commenting on stuff on other threads.  SOmetimes I get the responses, the rest of the time I at least feel justified in sneering at the folks who post but don't review.
I don't aim this just at you, as I'll abscond with any nearby soapbox, but I will proclaim once again that 'This site is a cooperative enterpise'.  Post and review in equal amounts, and your work will get love.

      Well, if you look over a myriad of other Campaign Settings, I have contributed to the Faded Campaign Setting and the Clockwork Jungle greatly, and have looked over many many other settings and have contributed to a large amount of them, even if it was one comment. I'm also acctively on some of the different magic systems floating around the boards. I guess i'm just trying to say that....well, I'm not sure. But thank you for offering that, I will make sure that I am aware that I am contributing equally to what I expect, which I beleive I have.

[Drizztrocks]

I've looked over the Xearic thread and perhaps I can offer a few constructive criticisms.  I haven't been a member long but I've lurked for a while, and one thing I can suggest is tidying up your posts a bit.  I know that's a boring formatting thing, but it will make things easier for readers.  Your recent entries have been better, but some of the earlier posts are a bit cramped and crowded (no spaces between titles or new paragraphs, etc), and you don't make much use of bold or different sizes.  Like I said, that's just a technical thing.

Crunch really doesn't interest me too much so I won't comment much on it.  Looks like pretty standard stuff.

Fluffwise, there are a few things I laiked quite a bit.  The desert metropolis (Celtrickdim?  I forget exactly how to spell it) has potential - I like the idea of tensions between the hobgoblins and how that conflict gets transformed once its transplanted into an urban setting.  Plus sewers are always fun.  I also really, really liked the small snippet on Beltruce, the Town of Lost Hope.  I like the idea of crocodile-riding marshy halfing kinife-fighters - I get an image of rather sinister bayou-dwelling rogues - though most of your halfings seem to be of the standard hobbity type.

You say at the beginning of the thread that "The main idea of this campaign setting is to combine new, exciting aspects with classic earopean mideval theme."  I guess I'm just not seeing enough of the new stuff to hold my interest for too long.  Xearic looks like a pretty standard 4th edition DnD world with a fairly lush geography, but otherwise its not dissimilar to Greyhawk or the Forgotten Realms, including the deities.  You've got orcs and elves fighting, hobbits living in hills, an Underworld where demons and devils live, tweaked a bit from the standard planes but not drastically changed, etc.

What I'm trying to say is, what makes Xearic particularly unique?  What differentiates it from Greyhawk or the Realms?  Yeah those are good settings - I mean not really my cup of tea, granted, but totally rich, deserving settings - but they've kind of monopolized the "medieval europe but-with-fantasy races" thing.  I'm usually in favor of chucking out the standard races right at the start, but you don't have to do that either to make a different-feeling setting.  Eberron does it by throwing in a lot of pulpy stuff - trains and robots and noir mystery and an emphasis on exploration and mystery.  Iron Kingdoms - probably my favorite published setting taht uses the standard races - adds huge amountsof steam-tech and transplants the usual tropes to a sort of quasi-Victorian or late 18th century setting.  Dark Sun puts it all in a giant desert, makes magic environmentally destuctive, etc.  Have a look at Synid, melchior's increasingly cool setting, which is replete with sumerian and mesoamerican influences (or for that matter the much older and thus thoroughly developed Xiluh, also a great mesoamerican setting).  They all take the standard array of races and classes and mess with it somehow.

You've clearly put a lot of effort and hard work into writing your material, and none of its  bad its just that - at least to me - it feels like you're going over already well-trodden ground.  I'm not trying to be discouraging - you should definitely keep posting materil and keep world-building, and I can tell that you enjoy the creative process - but I suggest trying to push the envelope a bit more.  The fantastic is not limited to the stuff in the PHB or in Tolkien's Middle Earth or the Realms; it can encompass a lot more, and the most exciting settings deviate in some way from that core of good but rather overused material.

         Thank you so much. This is the exact kind of reveiw I love, that shows a completely honest opinion of how my setting looks. Thank you so much, I love this as this allows me to go back, make some major changes, and come out with a better campaign setting. Thank you!

[Hibou]

When it comes down to it really, from what I've seen so far you can probably do away with races in favor of cultures and ethnic groups. All of these races aren't necessary, especially if you're trying to add outside of the ever-popular standard of humans, elves, dwarves, orcs, and halflings.

Most people at this point are looking for either something that changes the wheel from a circle into a square but makes it go faster, or are looking for something that shocks them like putting forks between your fingers and stabbing a fuse box - this is very standard D&D, very standard beginner's campaign design. Don't be discouraged by this, though - we all start somewhere.

[Drizztrocks]

Umm...thanks? But do you here yourself? This is a very basic beginner campaign setting, but don't be discouraged. So your telling me that it is basic and beginners, but I should continue to waste time doing it anyway??? Did I read that right?

[Drizztrocks]

Okay, so maybe that was a little rude. But I want ideas on how to change the setting so that it is more exciting, more playable and all around better. And if it seems kind of core, it is semi-based on a series of novels I am writing, so the world kind of has to be the same. But luckily the novels only take place in a small area {the north and small portions of southern jungle} so I have nearly complete freedom on all other areas. But I cannot change huge major things like races.

        That being known, I was thinking of starting AGAIN. This time including some kind of skill sytem somewhat like Celtricia's. Classes could just be sets of trainable skills. What does everyone think of this?