From the Depths of a High School Notebook Comes...My New Campaign Setting

[Ninja D!]

That is a good elaboration from the idea of history repeating itself. Makes me wonder, is the "grand story" merely a metaphor, or is it to be taken literally - that there's someone or something that is actively doing the telling?

That was something that I had in mind the whole time. I think that there is certainly the possibility of the Babba using their knowledge to manipulate events in small ways when they feel they are able to safely do so. They would also always be able to side with the winners and such. More in the long term, they intend to preserve all of the Babba stones that they can for those who come next.

There were three main inspirations for the Babba. The Bene Gesserit from Dune, the idea of a 'wheel of time' where the results are always the same but details can change, and the view of time from Doctor Who where most things can change slightly and everything will work out the same but there are certain people and events and important things that must always remain the same.

[Ninja D!]

I have a little more for my entry on the Order of Babba now :

Common Knowledge / Popular Opinion
Most of the people of Natu know next to nothing about the Order of Babba or the Babba Stones. This is so much the case that many who have not personally witnessed the influence of the Order, or one of it's agents believe the organization to be a myth. Among the few common people that do not feel this way, or know more about the Babba, they are not well trusted or even openly hated. The reasons vary but any agent of the Order is likely to meet with more success in their appointed tasks if they do not identify themselves as such. This only adds to the mystery surrounding the organization and, to some extent, deepens mistrust in it.

Over time, many conspiracy theories have grown up around the Order of Babba. Their subject matter ranges from the mundane to the fantastic and the Order does nothing to openly confirm or deny any of them, which only causes these ideas to spread. Many scholars that have observed or studied this believe that this is done intentionally. Some of the conspiracies may, in fact, be true but as long as the Order does nothing to acknowledge them, they only serve to further cast the true motivations of the Order and it's members in shadow and make it more difficult for the average person to learn the truth.

[ic=Shadows on the Sand]"Lord Baron!" Someone was pounding loudly on the door. The sound had awoken City Baron Daryush Raad from his sleep. It took him only a moment to recognize the voice as Rostam, the leader of the night watch at his estate.

The loud knocking continued. "Lord Baron!" Rostam called again. Daryush rolled out of his luxurious bed and put his feet on the floor, shaking fog from his mind as he did so. His favored concubine had been beside him and was only now waking. The City Baron stood slowly, and walked across his private room to the large door where the noise was coming from.

"What is it?" City Baron Raad asked as he opened his door only a little. Outside he could see Rostam, accompanied by two other guards who were holding an unfamiliar man between them. The stranger wore a hooded cloak that appeared to be made to conceal his entire body. At first glance the fabric appeared black in color but upon closer inspection, one realized it was difficult to assign it any one color. It seemed to shimmer and yet be dull in appearance at the same time. The effect was mildly unsettling and one that the eye seemed all too quick to look away from.

"Lord Baron," Rostam said, putting a fist of his dominant left hand into the open palm of his right and bowing his head in the customary greeting of a superior, "my apologies for waking you. I felt this may be important enough for you attention."

"And so here you are," the large framed City Baron of Bosra said, growing annoyed. "Tell me why."

"Yes, Lord Baron," Rostam put his hands at his sides. He was obviously nervous, having only met the City Baron that employed him a small number of times. The stories of the fiery temper of Daryush Raad only increased his agitation. "This man was captured just outside. He appeared to be leaving the estate." The head of the night watch swallowed hard and gestured shakily to the cloaked man. "We've been interrogating him for over an hour and he has revealed nothing to us. He has only repeated the same phrase again and again."

City Baron Raad could see the dried blood on the prisoner's face, a sure sign the that interrogation had been a thorough one. "And what is that?"

Before Rostam could respond the cloaked man spoke up in a rough, angry tone, "I am but a shadow on the sand."

"Throw him in one of the cages. In time, he will talk or he will die. Either way, I can go back to sleep." Once the City Baron had spoken, he slammed shut his door, allowing no debate. "It was nothing," he answered his concubine, who was now sitting up in the large bed, before she could ask. "Just some pests."

The cage the City Baron kept just outside his estate at the edge of Bosra remained empty in the morning. There was no sign of the cloaked man. By day's end, all of the members of the night guard staff had been replaced and those who had served previously were not seen alive again. It was in this way that the temper of Daryush Raad was quenched.[/ic]

On a few rare occasions, individuals wearing unsettling but distinct cloaks have been seen in Natu. They are highly elusive and on the rare occasions they have been captured, they will only repeat the words, "I am but a shadow on the sand."

No one that is not affiliated with these people knows anything about them but some who have heard the tales of encounters with them suspect that they are members of the Order of the Babba. They are thought to be elites of some kind carrying  out orders of the highest importance and sensitivity. There are even stories that the cloaks they wear are enchanted, like the blessed artifacts of legends.

[Ninja D!]

Just a little bit more for the Babba, I think. Then I'll be ready to call it finished, at least for now.

Official Keepers of Records[/u]
Ever since the founding of the Council of Barons, the Order of Babba has freely provided the service of keeping the official records for Natu. There are, of course, other repositories of information as well as others who keep records but as far as the Council is concerned, the records kept by the Babba are the ones that really matter. Some have felt that this gives the Order too much power but no one else has stepped forward to take it's place.

[Ninja D!]

I'm also roughly sketching out the 'recent' (last 500 years or so) timeline of Natu. If anyone has any suggestions, I'm open to them.

[SamuraiChicken]

I have finished reading this thread, so now I have a better understanding of your world. First of, some praises:

I love the creation story of Natu. All too often the deities are mighty, powerful, and always right. Natu seems to shatter all of these assumptions. In addition, I love how this story results in explaining why things the way they are, especially the council of barons. I've seen religion used to give a ruler authority, but no where else have I seen mortals (or demigods) tell a god what it may or may not do. Reading that story truly made my day.
Also, it's a great way of explaining why divine miracles don't really happen anymore, forcing people to rely on belief.

The Arbiters are an interesting form of law enforcement. I like it. An interesting solo game could have the PC play as a Tribunal, which gives him or her a reason to poke their nose into other peoples business (or adventures, whatever you want to call them).

Thumb Rings: a fascinating idea. In a world with multiple races, this makes a lot of sense for identifying sentient species from monsters.

I like the philosophy of the Babba. Prophecy is hard to work into fantasy games, and yet you created an order that has an interesting philosophy. Usually prophecy-keepers are pious and lawful, yet the Babba seem to be more in the 'grey area.' While they ensure that things 'go as planned', they have also accepted that history can tolerate a small degree of change and exploit it.

And now for some other ideas:

Ideas for Necropolis:
For the Necropolis, you mentioned that you wanted it to be first built by someone else but later inhabited by the necromancers. Perhaps the structure was a temple built by an ancient civilization, and within its walls the secrets of necromancy are written. The ancients who built it probably saw it as some sort of religion, but modern necromancers (being scientist-like, as you said) are both learning necromancy and studying it. Perhaps their scientific goal is to look at the old religion's superstitions and rituals and try to find the 'truth' of how they work.
Since the ruins have the secrets written on the walls, certain chambers could focus on different types of undead, or specific necromantic spells. In this case, there could be the 'litch room,' which was either sealed off or the walls destroyed during the time that the necropact was written (sort of a 'no new litch' philosophy, so the only litches remaining are the powerful ones from the time before the necropact).

For the fire aspect of the necropolis, the necromancers could have many theories as to what the furnaces actually do. I can imagine necromancers debating and testing the machines, trying to understand what they do and how they can exploit them.
One theory is that these furnaces could supply an 'inner fire' to undead creation, essentially creating the perfect resurrection: bringing a person back to life without making them a zombie. While there is no evidence that this is what the furnaces are for, the idea itself of a perfect resurrection could be a 'holy grail' that some necromancers are looking for. If they can find the secret of eternal life (without resorting to lichdom, vampirism, or turning into some other undead life form), then such power would be greater than necromancy, and wouldn't be restricted by the laws of the Necropact.
Such a dream could easily be (and probably is) similar to the 'northwest passage' dream: a sea route through the Americas to allow easy trade from Europe to the Americas and then on to Asia. It never existed, but that never stopped explorers from looking for it.

If you are linking the Citadel with Necropolis, you could have clues to the puzzles and mysteries of the Necropolis lie within the forgotten basements of the Citadel. This could be interesting for any necromancer attempting to sneak into the Citadel in order to find the answers to such mysteries.

Ideas for Architecture:
I would say that when people do get around to building structures, they build them fairly big (like a two-story house, which is big compared to even a large tent). Size helps to prevent the building from being buried in sand (larger structures are easier to find), and such buildings could support several families and provide plenty of storage space.
Also remember that the common building material would be mud bricks instead of stone.

Ideas for the Order of Babba:
I can see the Babba having secret agents in Necropolis and in the Citadel. While they act like normal members of the location, they are secretly keeping an eye on current events and 'steering' them in the right direction. It would be fearsome to have one of the Council Barons be a member of the Order in secret, making sure that the prophecies are fulfilled on the political front.

I really like how this setting is developing. It's amazing how much it has grown since it's notebook origins.

[Ninja D!]

I love the creation story of Natu. All too often the deities are mighty, powerful, and always right. Natu seems to shatter all of these assumptions. In addition, I love how this story results in explaining why things the way they are, especially the council of barons.

The Arbiters are an interesting form of law enforcement.[/quote]For the Necropolis, you mentioned that you wanted it to be first built by someone else but later inhabited by the necromancers. Perhaps the structure was a temple built by an ancient civilization, and within its walls the secrets of necromancy are written.[/quote]I can see the Babba having secret agents in Necropolis and in the Citadel. [/quote]This will absolutely be the case, to some extent.

Thank you again for reading and commenting.