Currently running folks through the two Tiamat-themed Campaigns right now, and that should take us another 3-4 months before the players chew through that and are ready for something new. I generally prefer Homebrewing since most mainstream fantasy campaign settings tend to be very ... rote? By the numbers? Very much anglo-christians save the world campaigns and re-writting them to be more palatable to a racially-diverse table is exhausting when tacked onto the end of a 60-hour night-shift work-week, along with other duties.So I'm tossing this out so people whose brains haven't been reduced to grilled cheese can have a look and point out any problematic issues my fatigued brain may have missed.
Currently, the setting is based around small, self-sustaining Demi-Planes. 12 'Core' Worlds, and each Core World has 5 'Rim' Worlds. A Core World is about the size of two continents and an equal amount of water (fresh and/or salt). A Rim World is about the size of an Australia-sized land-mass and an equal amount of water (fresh and/or salt). Core Worlds have 5 biomes (arctic, tundra, jungle, forest, plains, etc) while Rim Worlds only have 2 or maybe 3 at most.
Each Rim World is connected to each other and their Core World by two Lesser Gates that only open 3-4 times a year, and will only open to other specific Lesser Gates. So, for example, a Rim World could connect to another Rim World only once a year, and maybe to the Core World twice a year. It might even be possible for the Lesser Gates to 'cycle' between which of the other Rim Worlds they'll connect to, but they will always connect, at least once a year, to the Core World. Core Worlds have 5 Lesser Gates and 2 Grand Gates. Core Worlds can connect to Rim Worlds whenever they want via their Lesser Gates, but cannot prevent Rim Worlds from their 'auto-connection', and their Grand Gates allow access to other Core Worlds, which themselves only open 4 times a year, and each time to a specific Core World. Lesser Gates can be open for a maximum of two weeks, while Grand Gates may be open for two months. There is no limit to the amount of mass that can travel through, and the Gates are all made of Orihalcum, an alloy of Adamantine that no metalurgist has been successful in replicating, that absorbs magic and uses that to self-repair. Since most Rim and Core Worlds depend upon trading within their own systems and, to a lesser extent, between systems, it is a universal taboo to harm a Gate, so there's just massive fortresses built around most of them to contain and drive back invaders.
There are 6 Elements, Solid (Earth), Energy (Fire), Liquid (Water), Gas (Air), Light (Positive Energy) and Dark (Negative Energy). Each of the six remaining Core Worlds embodies one of these Elements, and their Core Worlds represent a combination of this 'Dominant' Element and the remaining five Elements. The Core Worlds are surrounded by two opposing forces that form the Astral Plane, Pure Magic (Force) and Spiritual Energy (Psychic), in which the 'Gods' are said to dwell. So a Core World based on the Element of Earth would have Rimworlds of Fire/Earth, Air/Earth, Water/Earth, Light/Earth and Dark/Earth. No Gate, Lesser or Greater, can open up between any world of opposing elements, with the only exception being the Rimworld of the opposing Element within that 'System'.
For Example, The Rimworld of Fire/Earth could not open up to the Rimworld of Water/Earth, but could connect to any of the other three Rimworlds. Likewise, the Core World of Earth could not connect to the Core World of Air. For a person to reach the 'opposing' realm, they have to detour to another world, then wait for the gate for that world to open up and take that one, which helps prevent the players, when they get to higher levels, from just teleporting and bypassing the Gates. High level spells like Dream of the Blue Veil might be able to bypass this, but will be difficult to come by and prone to high risk of either failing or having some other issues, such as requiring specific locations or unique conjunctions, or even sending people backwards or forwards in time or stranding them in the Astral Plane.
Long story short, trying to jump from 'System' to 'System', or even within targets within the same 'System', is extraordinarily dangerous and not suitable to transmit large numbers of people, hence why the more powerful factions are stuck using Lesser and Grand Gates along with everyone else.
The rough back-history is that the Gods went to war in an unspecified time, but long enough that knowledge of who actually won or who built the Gates has long since been lost, and the remaining 6 Core World Systems are all that remains, the other 'Systems' either destroyed or cut loose during the madness of Gods waging direct war upon each other. It was also responsible for spreading Races across each of the Worlds and that's why you've got generic evil Orcs in one Rim World and peaceful farming Orcs in another Rim World attached to a different Core World, hence allowing my players to make whatever they want without invoking the Drizzt effect.
The remaining Gods either will not speak of the events that sundered the system, or cannot, having been raised to Divinity in the period of history afterwards. Primary Gods are the Five Dragon Gods:
Asgoroth is the Neutral Evil God of the Sun and has the Domains of Light, War and Unity, and is commonly depicted as a Wyvern-like Dragon with brilliant golden and red plumage instead of scales on his back and wings, a charismatic but ultimately selfish and narcissistic God who desires to be the most beloved God in existence and is a continuous embarrassment and antagonistic force to the rest of the Dragon God Pantheon. His overwhelming ego and sense of entitlement leads the Peacock Wyvern to constantly harass the other members of his Pantheon and to lead crusades against the other Pantheons, causing no end of chaos and destruction, and as such his followers tend to be either highly secretive or, in the places where Asgoroth reigns supreme, crush the worship of any other God whenever and however they find it.
Shumon is the Lawful Neutral Dragon God of Death, and also the patron of judges, grave-keepers and necromancers. Depicted as an immense green, black and blue genderless Wyrm adorned with elegant frills and a crown of golden horns, Shumon possesses control over the Order, Grave and Death Domains. Uncontrolled Undead are taboo to Shumon and their followers, and Clerics of Shuman tend to uphold laws that protect the greater good, even if they oppress the masses or tear down the mighty. Shumon works alongside their sister to uphold society without over-harvesting the bounty of nature, and to hold back Asgoroth's constant petulant rampages from doing damage to the Systems, and is the closest confidant of their father and creator, Knrol.
Yhismere is the Chaotic Neutral Dragon God of Life, and also the patron of physicians, performers and farmers, and has control over the Domains of Life, Trickery and Nature. Depicted as an elegant and noble-looking wingless Drake adorned with flowering plants in place of the scales and horns normal for her kind. The bounty of nature and the balance of the seasons is Yhismere's charge, and the Green Watcher takes her duties with a seriousness belied by her playful and whimsical nature. Alongside her kin, especially the stoic and even-tempered Shumon, Yhismere struggles to keep the Systems working as intended, often having to spend her time driving back Asgoroth and other arrogant Gods from doing even more damage to the already-strained divine system that keeps the Systems functional.
Yeth is a True Neutral God and the last, and least, of Khrol’s children and she and the other Dragon Gods know it. When Khrol was creating the other Dragon Gods, Asgoroth attacked his creator, demanding a greater share of the ancient and weary God's powers since the Wyvern believed he alone should rule the Systems, and in doing so ruined the creation of his sister, Yeth. Not Wyvern nor Drake nor Wyrm, Yeth’s form was ugly and repulsive, six-limbed like her creator but warped in shape due to Asgoroth's interruption of her creation. Despite her warped form, Yeth's love for the mortal children of the Gods remains boundless, and both Shumon and Yhismere are equally fond of and protective of their 'little sister'. Only Asgoroth earns Yeth's ire, both for his his part in her deformation, and the cost of lives from his endless crusades. Yeth commands the Domains of Blood, Twilight and Arcana, and watches over children of all races, midwives and the outcasts of most societies.
Finally there is Khrol, a Neutral Good God depicted as a massive, shimmering six-limbed Dragon bearing aspects of Wyrms, Wyverns and Drakes in his form, amd is the patron of Kings, Champions and Martyrs. Khrol can grant access to the Protection, Twilight and War Domains, and teaches his followers to be noble, self-sacrificing and virtuous, both to lead by example and avoid corruption from within. Badly weakened by the creation of his 'children', Khrol rarely takes the lead anymore, relying heavily upon Shumon and Yhismere to enforce his doctrines and spending his time trying to heal Yeth and cajole Asgoroth away from his selfish goals. As such, Khrol's priests tend to be a part of the temples of his childrens' flocks, acting as advisors and mediators rather than temple leaders in their own right.
Other gods are still in the works, but I'm aiming more for a handful of 'Old Gods' who survived the Godwars, and a smattering of Ascended Mortals who are screwing things up because they're still too heavily tied to one nation or faction to tend to their duties properly.
Part of the campaign will focus on stopping factions from inciting race-wars since two of the six Core Worlds harbour a very 'Deus Vult' attitude to anything not of their dominant race (A faction of Humans from the Positive Core World and a faction ofDragonborn from the Fire Core World) to the point they're willing to invade and attempt genocide on their ancestral enemies, despite the fact that the people they're attacking only share a heritage from thousands of years ago with the 'targets'.
Hey all, a fellow Forever DM here.
Currently running folks through the two Tiamat-themed Campaigns right now, and that should take us another 3-4 months before the players chew through that and are ready for something new. I generally prefer Homebrewing since most mainstream fantasy campaign settings tend to be very ... rote? By the numbers? Very much anglo-christians save the world campaigns and re-writting them to be more palatable to a racially-diverse table is exhausting when tacked onto the end of a 60-hour night-shift work-week, along with other duties.So I'm tossing this out so people whose brains haven't been reduced to grilled cheese can have a look and point out any problematic issues my fatigued brain may have missed.
Currently, the setting is based around small, self-sustaining Demi-Planes. 12 'Core' Worlds, and each Core World has 5 'Rim' Worlds. A Core World is about the size of two continents and an equal amount of water (fresh and/or salt). A Rim World is about the size of an Australia-sized land-mass and an equal amount of water (fresh and/or salt). Core Worlds have 5 biomes (arctic, tundra, jungle, forest, plains, etc) while Rim Worlds only have 2 or maybe 3 at most.
Each Rim World is connected to each other and their Core World by two Lesser Gates that only open 3-4 times a year, and will only open to other specific Lesser Gates. So, for example, a Rim World could connect to another Rim World only once a year, and maybe to the Core World twice a year. It might even be possible for the Lesser Gates to 'cycle' between which of the other Rim Worlds they'll connect to, but they will always connect, at least once a year, to the Core World. Core Worlds have 5 Lesser Gates and 2 Grand Gates. Core Worlds can connect to Rim Worlds whenever they want via their Lesser Gates, but cannot prevent Rim Worlds from their 'auto-connection', and their Grand Gates allow access to other Core Worlds, which themselves only open 4 times a year, and each time to a specific Core World. Lesser Gates can be open for a maximum of two weeks, while Grand Gates may be open for two months. There is no limit to the amount of mass that can travel through, and the Gates are all made of Orihalcum, an alloy of Adamantine that no metalurgist has been successful in replicating, that absorbs magic and uses that to self-repair. Since most Rim and Core Worlds depend upon trading within their own systems and, to a lesser extent, between systems, it is a universal taboo to harm a Gate, so there's just massive fortresses built around most of them to contain and drive back invaders.
There are 6 Elements, Solid (Earth), Energy (Fire), Liquid (Water), Gas (Air), Light (Positive Energy) and Dark (Negative Energy). Each of the six remaining Core Worlds embodies one of these Elements, and their Core Worlds represent a combination of this 'Dominant' Element and the remaining five Elements. The Core Worlds are surrounded by two opposing forces that form the Astral Plane, Pure Magic (Force) and Spiritual Energy (Psychic), in which the 'Gods' are said to dwell. So a Core World based on the Element of Earth would have Rimworlds of Fire/Earth, Air/Earth, Water/Earth, Light/Earth and Dark/Earth. No Gate, Lesser or Greater, can open up between any world of opposing elements, with the only exception being the Rimworld of the opposing Element within that 'System'.
For Example, The Rimworld of Fire/Earth could not open up to the Rimworld of Water/Earth, but could connect to any of the other three Rimworlds. Likewise, the Core World of Earth could not connect to the Core World of Air. For a person to reach the 'opposing' realm, they have to detour to another world, then wait for the gate for that world to open up and take that one, which helps prevent the players, when they get to higher levels, from just teleporting and bypassing the Gates. High level spells like Dream of the Blue Veil might be able to bypass this, but will be difficult to come by and prone to high risk of either failing or having some other issues, such as requiring specific locations or unique conjunctions, or even sending people backwards or forwards in time or stranding them in the Astral Plane.
Long story short, trying to jump from 'System' to 'System', or even within targets within the same 'System', is extraordinarily dangerous and not suitable to transmit large numbers of people, hence why the more powerful factions are stuck using Lesser and Grand Gates along with everyone else.
The rough back-history is that the Gods went to war in an unspecified time, but long enough that knowledge of who actually won or who built the Gates has long since been lost, and the remaining 6 Core World Systems are all that remains, the other 'Systems' either destroyed or cut loose during the madness of Gods waging direct war upon each other. It was also responsible for spreading Races across each of the Worlds and that's why you've got generic evil Orcs in one Rim World and peaceful farming Orcs in another Rim World attached to a different Core World, hence allowing my players to make whatever they want without invoking the Drizzt effect.
The remaining Gods either will not speak of the events that sundered the system, or cannot, having been raised to Divinity in the period of history afterwards. Primary Gods are the Five Dragon Gods:
Asgoroth is the Neutral Evil God of the Sun and has the Domains of Light, War and Unity, and is commonly depicted as a Wyvern-like Dragon with brilliant golden and red plumage instead of scales on his back and wings, a charismatic but ultimately selfish and narcissistic God who desires to be the most beloved God in existence and is a continuous embarrassment and antagonistic force to the rest of the Dragon God Pantheon. His overwhelming ego and sense of entitlement leads the Peacock Wyvern to constantly harass the other members of his Pantheon and to lead crusades against the other Pantheons, causing no end of chaos and destruction, and as such his followers tend to be either highly secretive or, in the places where Asgoroth reigns supreme, crush the worship of any other God whenever and however they find it.
Shumon is the Lawful Neutral Dragon God of Death, and also the patron of judges, grave-keepers and necromancers. Depicted as an immense green, black and blue genderless Wyrm adorned with elegant frills and a crown of golden horns, Shumon possesses control over the Order, Grave and Death Domains. Uncontrolled Undead are taboo to Shumon and their followers, and Clerics of Shuman tend to uphold laws that protect the greater good, even if they oppress the masses or tear down the mighty. Shumon works alongside their sister to uphold society without over-harvesting the bounty of nature, and to hold back Asgoroth's constant petulant rampages from doing damage to the Systems, and is the closest confidant of their father and creator, Knrol.
Yhismere is the Chaotic Neutral Dragon God of Life, and also the patron of physicians, performers and farmers, and has control over the Domains of Life, Trickery and Nature. Depicted as an elegant and noble-looking wingless Drake adorned with flowering plants in place of the scales and horns normal for her kind. The bounty of nature and the balance of the seasons is Yhismere's charge, and the Green Watcher takes her duties with a seriousness belied by her playful and whimsical nature. Alongside her kin, especially the stoic and even-tempered Shumon, Yhismere struggles to keep the Systems working as intended, often having to spend her time driving back Asgoroth and other arrogant Gods from doing even more damage to the already-strained divine system that keeps the Systems functional.
Yeth is a True Neutral God and the last, and least, of Khrol’s children and she and the other Dragon Gods know it. When Khrol was creating the other Dragon Gods, Asgoroth attacked his creator, demanding a greater share of the ancient and weary God's powers since the Wyvern believed he alone should rule the Systems, and in doing so ruined the creation of his sister, Yeth. Not Wyvern nor Drake nor Wyrm, Yeth’s form was ugly and repulsive, six-limbed like her creator but warped in shape due to Asgoroth's interruption of her creation. Despite her warped form, Yeth's love for the mortal children of the Gods remains boundless, and both Shumon and Yhismere are equally fond of and protective of their 'little sister'. Only Asgoroth earns Yeth's ire, both for his his part in her deformation, and the cost of lives from his endless crusades. Yeth commands the Domains of Blood, Twilight and Arcana, and watches over children of all races, midwives and the outcasts of most societies.
Finally there is Khrol, a Neutral Good God depicted as a massive, shimmering six-limbed Dragon bearing aspects of Wyrms, Wyverns and Drakes in his form, amd is the patron of Kings, Champions and Martyrs. Khrol can grant access to the Protection, Twilight and War Domains, and teaches his followers to be noble, self-sacrificing and virtuous, both to lead by example and avoid corruption from within. Badly weakened by the creation of his 'children', Khrol rarely takes the lead anymore, relying heavily upon Shumon and Yhismere to enforce his doctrines and spending his time trying to heal Yeth and cajole Asgoroth away from his selfish goals. As such, Khrol's priests tend to be a part of the temples of his childrens' flocks, acting as advisors and mediators rather than temple leaders in their own right.
Other gods are still in the works, but I'm aiming more for a handful of 'Old Gods' who survived the Godwars, and a smattering of Ascended Mortals who are screwing things up because they're still too heavily tied to one nation or faction to tend to their duties properly.
Part of the campaign will focus on stopping factions from inciting race-wars since two of the six Core Worlds harbour a very 'Deus Vult' attitude to anything not of their dominant race (A faction of Humans from the Positive Core World and a faction ofDragonborn from the Fire Core World) to the point they're willing to invade and attempt genocide on their ancestral enemies, despite the fact that the people they're attacking only share a heritage from thousands of years ago with the 'targets'.
Your thoughts on this *very* rough outline?
A futile bump?
Anyone see any issues at a glance?
Been tapping away at this for a few weeks but between 60+ hour shifts and a lung infection I've been stalled a bit.