I recently saw a video on >popular short video browsing app< in which someone was explaining about their homebrew world, and how the elves were different there (the world was polluted, their connection to the feywild was damaged and the elves had to wear masks or risk becoming "feral elves").
This made me curious - what is there in your campaign worlds which is different from the "normal"?
Mine is also Elves -
Elves of Arenstar
The Elves of Arenstar bear several distinctions from their conventional kin in other lands. In appearance they are very similar, being perhaps disposed to slightly stockier builds, closer to those of humans. Their ears are slightly longer than other elves, and by appearance they remain clearly distinct to humans, both in appearance and attitude.
Immortality
The agelessness of the elves of Arenstar was affected long ago by the fracturing of the weave, when the Kingdom of Aren was plucked from the path of the wrath of the gods. The elves of long ago preserved their life force, their longevity, in beautiful shards of pure light. These they wove into jewellery, and always wear about their person. These jewels are bound to the Elf who carries it, and it can never be taken from them, only ever passed on. Should an elf in possession of one of these jewels die, the jewel instantly disappears, reappearing in the hands of someone of their bloodline, or being lost forever to the weave should they die without descendants.
For as long as an elf is bound to a life crystal, they do not age, and can live for many thousands of years should they choose to. Very few elves choose this, however, and fewer still achieve it, for the price the elves paid for maintaining their immortality was a dear one indeed, and has led to many a bloody battle fought over immortality.
Passing On the Light
There are only a fixed number of life crystals in the world - the magic needed to create them has fragmented and is lost to the world. As such, when two elves have a child, they must one day make a decision - to see their child age and die as they live on eternal, or to pass on the life crystal ot their children, that they may have of life as much as they wish. Most elves do not have children until they have decided that they are ready to die, and their lives are thus well thought out.
The Light of an Elf is often considered to provide a link to all those elves who have posessed it previously. Bound to the bloodline of the family, it is a physical reminder of all those who have come before them, and have died to allow them to have lived.
The Third Child
To be the third child in an elvish family is a cursed existence. however much their parents love them, the third child knows that they will never have a life crystal passed to them, and must come to terms with the trappings of mortality. Unfortunately, few elves are able to cope with this inevitability, the lack of choice over when they are ready to die, and they take things into their own hands. It is not uncommon, among elven families with three or more children, for some of those children to suffer unfortunate and fatal "accidents", bringing the number of children back down to two, such that each of them can recieve the gift of immortality from their parents.
This practice, which has been continuing for many thousands of years, has shaped the elves towards ruthlessness. The Elves of Arenstar are a cold and calculating people, capable of anything if it achieves their own ends. Very few are benevolent, and whilst many seek to strengthen the forces of good in the world, they do so exclusively for their own gains. Elves of Arenstar do not find thinking of others to come as naturally as most races - not because they are evil, but because almost every elf family that has survived has done so through fierce competition, pre-emptive assassination, and excessive paranoia. These days, is a third child is born to an Elf household, they are usually sent away by their parents to protect them from their older siblings, who may seek to stifle the competition before it can even walk.
Parricide
Sometimes, an elven couple will have children before they are truly ready to pass on their light, and such conditions often result in fatal conflict with their offspring. The jilted children of selfish parents have often conspired to be rid of their parents, that they can inherit immortality. The deposing of an elder is commonplace within elven families, though it is neither legal nor considered acceptable. Most assassinations of this kind take place subtly, with the parents either disappearing, presumed to have absconded together, or dying of tragic accidents.
Theoval the Warlord
Theoval was an elven warlord of prodigious skill, and was said to have fathered no less than a hundred children in his 2,212 year life. He deigned to never pass on his light willingly, and brought up each of his children to fight, training them from as soon as they could walk. On their 20th birthday, he would challenge them to a duel to the death - giving them one, and only one chance to achieve immortality by besting him in combat. He was eventually slain by his daughter Aeanna, who went on to rule one of the most peaceful ages of her family as Matriarch, passing her light onto her own son, Olbanor, willingly, at the age of just 386.
Twilight Elves
Twilight elves are families which have formed from the third children of the elves, and they have flourished. Not for them the Light of the Elves, but neither do they seek the darkness of the Drow, the Twilight Elves live mortal lives amongst the other races, happily living without immortality or fear of parricide.
A Twilight Elf, separated from the Light of immortality, reaches old age at around 100 years old, and can live up to 130. This is the fate which awaits any elf who does not receive the Light from their parents, and for many, the dread of what they consider an impending death can lead to great levels of excess - Twilight elves lack the restraint and reverence of typical Elves, instead living life to the fullest, revelling in every festivity and celebration they can find. It is not uncommon for a Twilight Elf to travel the world seeking out new experiences, in an effort to life as much as possible in what they consider a short time.
Twilight Elves seldom apply themselves to the flawless perfection usually attributed to their immortal counterparts. They do not consider themselves to have time to learn every instrument or to cook every dish, and instead have a tendency to flit between their hobbies, always keen to start something new and often leaving a trail of half finished projects in their wake.
Playing a Twilight Elf
Twilight elves are identical to normal elves in every respect except for their age, which is generally much lower. They reach maturity aged 20, and live until they are around 110 years old.
Playing a Half Elf
Half Elves seldom recieve the Light from their parents, though it has not been unheard of. A Half Elf with the Light will live significantly longer, up to 600 years, whilst one without will live perhaps a little longer than an average human, up to 100 years old.
Playing an Elf of Arenstar
An Elf of Arenstar is the same as a Twilight Elf unless it has the Light. An elf with the Light does not age, and is functionally immortal, though this offers no protection from danger, only from time!
In all cases, the only difference is the maximum age of the character. All other aspects remain the same, including variants and types of Elf, such as Sun Elves of Arenstar, Drow of Arenstar, Wood Elves of Arenstar, etc.
Everything. In my homebrew world everything is different except the players. They are open to use everything from official content. I homebrew everything they come across.
Some people have played a lot of dnd. So if they come across a group of goblins they know what's up. They can meta have that. So I change every mob a tiny bit to throw players off. An ancient black dragon is actually good. A goblin that can cast true polymorph. Simple bandits that are changeling vampires.
It's fun when they have no idea what a mob can do. Keeps them on their toes and wondering if the lone trader on their path is a simple merchant or the bbeg interacting with them. Chaos is fun.
There are quite a few things different about my world of Salvera. One of the differences is the fact that the plane has been severed from all of the Outer and Inner Planes except for the Ethereal Plane, which has been altered from energies from the Astral Sea and Elemental Chaos that have been slowly leaking from planar scars left over from the Creator Wars. This place now has the ability to create massive Demi-planes that can expand far beyond the normal limits, allowing the beings that have replaced the Creator Gods to create their own realms to reside in and house the souls of their devout followers. When anyone on the plane tries to travel off the material plane, instead of traveling to one of the Inner or Outer Planes, they instead will either end up in the Ethereal plane or one of these being’s Demi-Planes.
Another difference that is connected to the severing from the other planes is that souls don’t travel to the Outer or Inner Planes upon death, nor can souls travel from the Outer or Inner Planes to Salvera to imbue new life with a soul. So the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth are maintained by one of the beings that took over in the God’s absence. His name is Letheus, Guardian of the Boundless, and he is a giant undead serpent with a massive head at each end of his long body. The front head is nothing but a ghostly skeleton while the back head is a beautiful white snake. This being guards the Wellspring of Souls, an ancient and massive artifact responsible for creating new souls. He himself also acts as a vessel for reincarnation, the front head breathing in to absorb the souls of those who’s faith was not strong enough to allow them the ability to travel to their godling’s plane, or those who had little to no faith at all. All souls no matter their species or alignment are brought to the serpent for rebirth, until a time where the soul finds its true afterlife. The souls are purified inside the massive creature, before being breathed out of the back head and return to the world as new life.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"Meddle not in the affairs of dragons, for thou art crunchy and taste good with ketchup."
The drow rule benevolently over the other elves, who live a peaceful pastoral life while the drow deal with all the dirty work of defending against outsiders.
In one continent, aarakocra reign supreme and humans and other land-bound humanoid races are subjugated.
The cosmology is totally different. Instead of the great wheel, there is a Plane of Air / Celestial Plane outside the spherical Material Plane, and a Plane of Water / Abyssal Plane inside the sphere (like the continents float on the ocean). The Material Plane is divided like a tetrahedron into the ordinary material plane and the three Dream Planes: the Plane of Smoke, the Plane of Mist, and the Plane of Death. These can be reached by ordinary travel over the Outer Ocean, although few have gone that way and returning. More commonly you'd use normal planar magic to travel to them.
Instead of four elements, I have three: Thunder, Sun, and Earth (plus a fourth: Dreams). They don't have their own planes. Instead each of the four material sub-planes has a combination of three of the four elements. The ordinary material plane lacks Dreams. The Plane of Mist lacks Earth. The Plane of Smoke lacks Sun. The Plane of Death lacks Thunder.
Ethereal and Astral planes work pretty much as normal. There aren't really any alignment planes, except that the Abyss / Plane of Water is connected with chaos, and the Plane of Air / Celestial Plane is associated with law / order. If there is any plane associated with good, it's essentially the material plane, as good is defined relative to the material plane in my world. That which is good for the inhabitants of the material plane is good. The major deities are all neutral or evil, as they are indifferent to the fate of the material plane and only care about conflict against their opposite plane. The material plane is used as a buffer zone between the warring deities.
Let's see, just listing some of the random things I've come up with for my homebrew world of Avem that are definitely unorthodox:
Dragons are extinct (dragonborn and kobolds as well) and their bones are mined because of their magical properties. Some of their bones also liquified into an oil called ichor, which is prized as airship fuel. The only survivors of the extinct dragons are the elite Archdrakes, powerful deities with the ability to assume human form. Most have gone into hiding or are in hibernation. One secretly rules a country and wants to eliminate the others.
A metaphysical bubble surrounds the material plane of my world, which is like a separate plane in itself. Anything that wishes to travel to or from the material plane passes through it. I call it the Plane of Abstraction. People who physically travel through it are altered in form to resemble the contents of their soul. If you know A Link To The Past and how Link turned into a rabbit person in the Dark World, it's pretty much the same concept. The form a mortal takes when traveling through the Plane of Abstraction is based on alignment. Neutral Good would be bunny, while Chaotic Neutral would be wolf, and so on.
Druids are anarchists . . . you know what, you aren't getting any context on this one unless you ask specifically why :P
Especially random stuff: Trees are herded. Shellfish are raised in seaside ranches. Pears are used to make cider which is the most common alcohol in my world, rather than wine or mead. Giant otters are a more common mount than horses in some regions. Gods don't have names, only titles, and if you discover one's true name, they must grant you a wish. In truth, there are kobolds which still exist after the deaths of the dragons, but they are all chameleon kobolds, capable of turning invisible to keep themselves a secret. There's a church which worships technology called the Domain of Artifice, and it actually has more sway than some of the real religious organizations. Last, but absolutely not least, goblins: they have an irrational fear of sheep. Don't ask me why, because I don't know; I just thought it'd be a hilarious and obscure detail.
Bunch of little cosmetic stuff. A LOT of high level cosmological things, but on the ground it's largely just standard fantasy.
As an example, my drow look less...goth, or fetishy... and more like 90's raver kids. Just a whole gang of eternally young cliquish ultra-dramatic fashion types glowing psychedelic colors in the blacklight, completely out of their minds. Also, they do go on slave raids, but for demons. They ride their spiders down into the Abyss and capture demons and drag them back to serve them eternally. But, otherwise, they act pretty much the same as the drow anywhere else. For the drow campaign I'm doing, I just kind of hang a lampshade on that and say there's a whole meta reason that sets up Lolth as the level 20 bad guy
On the macro side, there are seven elemental planes. Air, Water, Earth, Fire, but also Metal and Void and Prime. This is going to be the background for the second half of my druid campaign, where any given druid's obligation is to try to keep the peace between all these other 6 parties so as to preserve the balance required for Prime to exist. Prime is the plane of Life. It needs each of these other six. Without any one of them, Life can't exist. So that's what upper-level druids spend most of their time on. Trying to wrangle Djiinnis and Efreets, sometimes with diplomacy, sometimes not. I just need a good storyline.
- As “the world the multiverse forgot”, the Lands Unspoken has only been inhabited by more than a handful of beings for brief periods of time. Now, in the Third Civilization, with the largest population it’s ever had, about have of its inhabitants arrived from Sigil or a spelljammer rather than by birth.
- “Portal Leak” is a phenomenon where teleportation or planar summoning leaves behind an imperceptible opening at the site of the spell, meaning small objects or the least powerful outsiders can go through. So if you summon a balor in the wilderness, that area will likely continue to spawn manes for some time. This is theorized to be because the world is at the edge of the Prime Material.
- Many of the new nations of the Third Civilization are based on a grand idea their founders wanted to prove would work. E.g. Jubilate is a mortal country where culture and governance is modeled after the Upper Planes, Ain-Sha exists partially in communal dreamworlds, and so on. Basically it took Sigil’s “philosophers with clubs” idea and modifies it to “philosopher kings with clubs”.
- Most of the nations have a Geneva Convention-like agreement the regulates, among other things, the use of undead in warfare. The country of demons and the country of Gultheas trees are not part of this agreement, so groups of undead can be sent to keep the demons in check even if it’s not something they particularly like doing.
- There are also outposts of celestials and devils in the Prime on this world.
Yeah, basically everything is different in my homebrew world (which is linked in my signature if you want to check it out). The only race that isn't really changed at its base is the Humans, and that's just because they're exactly like humans in every other world.
Dwarves have split into more diverse and unique cultural subraces. Duergar have conquered the Underdark and have enslaved all of the races that remained down there (so, the Drow that didn't escape to the surface had their souls trapped to keep them as eternal slaves that are grotesquely mutilated and tortured both physically and mentally, Derro have tapped into their insanity to channel the powers from the Far Realm and contact the powers beyond it, and Duergar that use their Enlarge power while mounted on a Female Steeder turn their mount into a Huge siege-spider). Mountain Dwarves have built giant strongholds on the side of mountains that have wheels in case an enemy comes by, in which case they can just pick up their "anchors" and roll away down the side of the mountain. Hill Dwarves have become the blacksmiths for a group of celestials, becoming "warped" by their angelic power through spending centuries near each other, granting them clerical magic (they're basically Dwarven Aasimar).
Wood Elves fled to the Arctic after their forests were conquered by Minotaurs who chopped and burned down their home forests. Their quickly-adapting forms turned them into Arctic Elves that build giant igloo-like Snow Fortresses, where they domesticate Giant Snow Owls, Polar Bears, and Snowy Owlbears that serve as their mounts (they're also primarily carnivorous now, due to a lack of flora that high north). The drow that fled to the surface are nocturnal, lost their sunlight sensitivity, and began to worship the stars (believing that they're the souls of gods that are yet to be born, hoping that if enough of them worship the stars, they'll awaken in their newfound divinity to come back and fix/save the world). High Elves live in giant library-towers filled with magical books that return to the library if they're ever burned, being nigh-impossible to damage, as they want the world to remember its history to prevent future calamities (they're strong believers in "those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it"). Shadar-Kai entered into an endless war with the followers of Vecna that live in the Shadowfell's Underdark, and fight huge hordes of undead commanded by Vecna's chief followers (in order to combat this, the Raven Queen will occasionally convert her top followers into Shadar-Kai Angels that have black-raven-wings and necrotic-damaging-effects that work on undead, as well as founding orders of Paladins that hunt down and destroy undead; See the Oath of Souls in this link for more).
Halflings have split into various sub-cultures, all of which focus on being the best agriculturists around (nearly magically so). Lightfoot halflings focus on apiary and flowers, with pet giant bees that they ride into combat if ever threatened. The bees also make magical honey (called "Golden Nectar") that functions as a potion of healing that can cure a disease that the consumer is under the effects of, and the flowers that they pollinate grow to giant sizes (the largest being Large) and also have small, minor magical auras that do things like grant creatures within 5 feet of the flower advantage on saving throws against poisons or being charmed/frightened, and stuff like that. The Stout Halflings are rural country farmers that raise giant livestock (like [Tooltip Not Found] for their milk, giant goats for cheese, Giant Chickens for their huge eggs, and so on) and grow quasi-magical crops (like super-sweet Beets, super strong cotton, huge, bright-yellow pumpkins, potatoes that never rot, etc). Lotusden Halflings grow the best orchards (apples, pears, cherries, olives, nuts, etc), and vine-based-fruit (melons, grapes, kiwi, cranberries, tomatoes, etc), and make the best wines and fruity foods. There's even a Halfling-Supremacist culture that mandates happiness, are xenophobic to outsiders (but are super passive-aggressive about it), and insist upon being polite and cheerful around others, even if they're trying to kill them.
Gnomes are, well, gnomes, but more magipunk than ever. The Deep Gnomes that fled to the surface (called "Surfneblin") use earth-elemental-based magic to build cities and do manual labor, Forest Gnomes are more scared of outsiders and recluse than ever (many of them even fleeing to the Feywild once the Minotaurs conquered the forests), and the Rock Gnomes are working together with Dwarves to become masters of artifice, creating Golem-Folk (called Golmeng, which are basically my world's version of Warforged, but with a subrace for Golmeng made of Gemstone, Glass/Crystal, Steel/Adamantine, Stone/Obsidian, and Alchemical Clay) and a race of psionic, bio-engineered, and multicolored psionic folk (called the Felshen). They also have their own magic version of the internet.
Orcs are more "wise" and nature-based, practicing druidic magic and often being monks, rangers, oath of the ancients paladins, and nature clerics.
Goblinoids worship magic, are ruled by mages and arcane-divine casters (Arcana Clerics, Divine Soul Sorcerers, Celestial-Patron Warlocks, etc), and absolutely hate psionics and aberrations (causing them to have multiple wars with them trying to exterminate the Felshen).
I could go on, but you probably get the idea. Most of the D&D tropes are either turned on their head, or taken up to 11, which I am quite fond of. There's no kill like overkill, afterall.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Please check out my homebrew, I would appreciate feedback:
Here's the idea for one of my countries in my world (heads up its super long)
Stuff you need to know before you read:
Domovar is one of my countries, similar to a tyrannical rule, although the society is rich enough that people who are higher up enjoy living there. Alkeilie is Domovar's neighbor, and does not like them at all. Domovar has a historic hatred of elves, and Alkeilie was founded by elves, who in part were responsible for this tension. The two countries have not been at open war yet, but tensions are rising.
North and South Valen are border countries, with North Valen under rule by a dwarf military leader. South Valen is a sort of wild west, a lot of thieving gangs and mob rulers. The country is overseen loosely by a warlord, but mostly it exports it's mercenaries for hire to other countries.
Elves in my world are shorter than the average human, but maintain their other characteristics. they are unliked in some parts of the world, but this makes them more accepted in others, as intelligent and charismatic rebels.
Dwarves are largely secretive and reclusive. There is one main Dwarf country, where most of them dwell in a hollowed out city underground. Most surface dwarves are either greedy or opportunists. Very few are evil, but few are true good. They are rare to see but do have their virtues.
Hobgoblins have a militaristic and martial arts based society in the cold mountain region of Halvorfast. While the name isn't exactly a clue, this culture is largely influenced by Asian history and culture. They have a strict honor system and are very skilled warriors. Most are neutral, but are good allies if you earn their respect.
Countries
Domovar
Population: 7 million
Dominant races: 51% human, 28% elf and half-elf, 11% drow, 10% other
Government: Domovar is run by a house system/aristocracy headed by an imperial monarchy system.
Defense: Domovar has a large force of guardsmen, as well as security provided by the Inquisition. In addition, they hire Southern Valenese mercenaries to protect their borders.
Commerce: With the exception of magical items and components, the exports and imports of which are heavily taxed in Domovar, most businesses and goods can be found within its walls. Due to the richness of the country itself, exotic goods can be found with little trouble, as can most basic weapons and armaments.
Organizations: The Iron Assembly, instituted by Xenalia Thalmir, maintains a strong presence within Domovar.
Although rarely seen by the common people, the Assembly breathes underneath the surface of regular city life in Domovar. It is tasked with tracking down individuals in possession of or using illegal magic items, or spells, such as illegal combat spells. The Assembly uses task forces headed by men known as High Inquisitors, to track down and subdue citizens who have broken the laws in regards to magic.
High Inquisitor's themselves are rarely seen by the common people. However, the Assembly has many bases set up throughout the major cities as hubs for magic detection, through the usage of their unique spells and abilities.
Certain parts of the Assembly also serve on a lower level as private police, helping to maintain order in the cities and keeping their eyes on higher level crime.
The Most secret duty of the Assembly is to watch over the aristocrats and prevent destruction from within. The High Inquisitors are given permission to observe, report, and if necessary, remove leaders in the houses who are becoming too much trouble.
The current leader of the High Inquisitors is Juler Caruso, a cunning and ambitious man, and also a known warrior from the Caebian rebellions. Juler is a vicious leader, and Catia’s right hand man, who fully supports her rule, as well as her campaigns against the elves.
Thalmiran Empire
The Thalmiran Empire has ruled over Domovar for hundreds of years. The rule of each emperor or empress is maintained through military superiority, a strong political presence, and uniquely, leadership over the people. Domovar has maintained its ironclad aristocratic political system, which was only recently tamed by the ancient empress Xenalia Thalmir.
For many years, the houses ran wild, with scandalous affairs and violent house wars bloodying their reputation. Many thought the house war would never end, and that it would mean the destruction of the Empire forever. All that changed when the ruthless empress Xenalia Thalmir rose to power in 4037 AC, completely changing the corrupt system. Xenalia instituted the Iron Assembly, which started as her own private police force and has transformed into the group tasked with uprooting all illegal magic in the city. Xenalia began her reform swiftly, and started by quietly rooting out and executing the nobles who were causing trouble, and replacing them with her own men. This time was known as “The Reckoning”, and is looked upon as a dark period in both noble and royal history.
Since then, Domovar has maintained its iron willed form of government, and has seen the rise and fall of many emperors. Currently holding the seat of power is Empress Catia Thalmir, a direct descendent of Xenalia Thalmir, or so she claims. Catia’s rule has been marked by heavy taxation on exports and imports, especially those going to and from Alkeilie. Although many do not favor her, Catia’s rule has provided comfort and prosperity to many of her people, despite the extremity of some of her methods. Those that disagree with her rule and her policies are quietly silenced, or find their positions suddenly removed.
Domovaran society is a rigid institution, in which the middle classes, such as merchants, mercenaries, and artisans fight for favored positions among the noble houses. While magic is highly scrutinized in Domovar, those talented enough in it are prized in high society. In the aristocracy, those who have great skill in magic keep it secretive, so that the other houses won’t gain an upper hand. Those with minor skill in magic gain jobs as performers or specialized workers. The society is formed of the lowest class, made up of thieves, beggars, the homeless, and indentured servants. These usually include elves, or half elves. The middle class is mostly formed out of soldiers, mercenaries, artisans, and merchants. From then on, the high classes are split into three tiers: The Iron Assembly, The Houses, and The Imperial Nobility.
The Iron Assembly is the lowest of the three by rank, but has certain powers that allow it to supersede its normal jurisdiction, especially in cases involving the houses. The Houses, on the other hand, have a very rigid place in Domovaran politics. The Houses function like an aristocratic system, ruled over by the rich major houses. If one in the noble system shows enough prowess and cunning, they may be adopted into one of the Great Houses, or they may choose to start their own. The Houses vary in their responsibilities, though most have a trade or some sort of resource that is valuable. Finally there is the Imperial Nobility. This consists of the Highest ranked officials in Domovar, the Emperor (or Empress), and his men. These are usually chamberlains, advisors, generals,all of which make up the King’s council.
Local governments in Domovar are ordinarily run by barons or governors, officials chosen by the government who work directly under the Emperor’s council, and report to them. These are charged with overseeing the collection of taxes, as headed by local tax collectors, religious proceedings, local defense, economic infrastructure, and courts. Additionally, those barons situated on border territories oversee the pay and board of any Valenese mercenaries they may have employed, overseen by the local coinmaster.
Domovar’s full military force stands at about 40,200 well trained soldiers, as well as 1,800 Valenese mercenaries, hired to protect the borders and fill in for soldiers where there are no more replacements. Although many soldiers act as guards throughout the cities, groups of them are deployed to barracks for training. In addition, the Empress maintains a force of about 1,000 royal guards, which are assigned specifically to Corceus, the capitol.
In Domovaran history, there have been few uprisings, almost all of which have been quelled quickly and efficiently. One of those that got out of hand was known as “the Caebian rebellion”. This rebellion happened about 30 years prior to present day, when a group of rebel sympathizers in Alkeilie funded a group within the city to instigate a large attack on the governor's mansion. Through working with the governors servants to smuggle in explosives, the rebels attempted to blow up the governors mansion. However, the operation was compromised, and the rebels ended up facing the full brunt of the Inquisition. They fought with law enforcement, in a short lived battle. However, during the battle, the bombs were triggered, causing a disastrous explosion, and injuring several Inquisition members. Although the Inquisition was never able to directly prove Alkeilie's involvement, they have long been suspected in the attack, and relations have not been the same between the two countries since.
My Underdark (the Middledark in particular) is a loose confederation of multicultural city-states that are huge players in the global economy and arcana trade. While drow are the most common subterranean race, they are fairly republican and do not worship Lolth. (I don't do evil races in general.) But probably most uniquely...
Drow are not the ones in charge, either. Deep dragons (pulled from 2e) run the place, often shapeshifted as drow. They were nearly hunted to extinction above ground and found refuge in the Underdark. Their natural immunity to psychic damage allowed them to fight off an invasion of mind flayers from the Lowerdark. After securing the borders, they took control of the region and lived as drow to prevent another genocide. Only a handful of trusted people currently alive know the truth.
My Underdark (the Middledark in particular) is a loose confederation of multicultural city-states that are huge players in the global economy and arcana trade. While drow are the most common subterranean race, they are fairly republican and do not worship Lolth. (I don't do evil races in general.) But probably most uniquely...
Drow are not the ones in charge, either. Deep dragons (pulled from 2e) run the place, often shapeshifted as drow. They were nearly hunted to extinction above ground and found refuge in the Underdark. Their natural immunity to psychic damage allowed them to fight off an invasion of mind flayers from the Lowerdark. After securing the borders, they took control of the region and lived as drow to prevent another genocide. Only a handful of trusted people currently alive know the truth.
I read "deep dragons" and got hooked. that sounds super cool.
Also, "theology of bagels" sounds like my kind of religion
* Elves are fading back into the realm of the fae from which they came, after an agreement to disperse to the biomes of the world as avatars and defenders of nature, in retreat from the harsh worlds of the other races, and then, refreshed, return to create a new Elven kingdom to solve the longest term problems that shorter lived races don't think about often. This agreement was called the Avariandre. Oh, and the dark elves did such heinous things at the end of an Age that elves were never forgiven.
* Elves have always become physically different over time depending on the biome that they inhabit. This is a great elven secret, as no elf wants the World to know that they can become Dark underground. Thus, there are multiple elf races, based on biome. In this way, elves take the place of sylphs, nymphs, dryads and others. All of these are in fact elves now, just buried deeper within their biome, by choice or by time.
* All elves have the innate power, with great effort, to attune the surrounding biome and animals nearby to THEM. This is kind of a Disney moment where winds twirl around them, small animals appear, and the elf in question gets some communal yet vague status of the surrounding area. This exhausts the elf completely, and they go into reverie.
* Elves do not sleep. They reverie. They must engage in these long meditative states consciously to refresh their short and long term memory. Elves are surrounded by necessary keepsakes to act as touchstones, or they even forget who they were.
* Since Elven time is distorted over a much longer term, elven language and music is stretched out to include nuance and information coiled around the main line. As such, elven writing is a Celtic type of corded mass around a central line. That central line is straight to most other viewers, but is subtly wider or narrower in a way the elf can read, like amplitude. In this same way, elven music surrounds a droning note that subtly changes to sing the actual meaning while faster melodies flit around it.
* Any PC elf in my world is disconnected from all biomes and is likely in wanderlust or is an emissary to remind other elves that they have a base form to return to. Very few "OG" elves are left, and the entire race is under strain of fracturing extinction, extermination by other races, or systematically forgetting what they were, as all elf cities have been magically camouflaged into the wilds and left to decay... elegantly. Most Elf PCs are lore hunters of their own kind.
* All Dwarves are united in one Army, both in response to Dark Elf shenanigans, and the fact that this Dark Elf race wanted nothing to do with the Avariandre plan, as they had already accepted the darkness as an independent society. So the Great War is still going on underground, and it's a multifaceted contest at tenuous truce. The Dwarves aren't innocent either, as they have unearthed the Beetle Lord Rhioleth and are trying to keep it quiet as the Dark Elves seek to claim it for themselves.
* Gnomes are the gemstone experts, and this secretive mercantile race is a gold mine of world lore, as the source of all ancient magics are embedded within crystals and gemstones, particularly engraved ones. The most powerful of these grow with the engraving included in the design and colored nodes of power within them. The most powerful wizards left on my world are among the gnomes, who are never seen, as they believe that the surface world and especially the Sky is Hell that will suck them up into the clouds, never to be seen again.
* Magic has been badly fractured on my world as the result of a Wizard War to end a different Age, and only one class of magic user is permitted to operate by law in civilized lands as a result. Wild magic patches of land still exist, and the worst of these is Arcanus, where the last chess match of wizarding high stakes was played out between White and Black. Now called Orcannus, the checkerboard white and black towers and surrounding earth, colored the same way, is ruled by necromancers and their worshipping orcish hordes that guard all the old magic towers, both Good and Bad, so that the standard spells never make it back into the wild.
* Large crystal structures are rarely found that both radiate unstable magic anf mutate the surrounding areas. Most, but not all of these are caverns related to old Elven magic that the Elves have partially forgotten, but still feel responsible for.
* Centaurs are a major race in my world, dominating the plains and meadows beyond human spread, and they have been mutated into three "breed" races that don't trust each other.
* Existing magic use is executed differently between wizardly and clerical magic. Wizardly magic requires the classic concentration and elegant patterns, sigils, components and sequences. Clerical magic is requires passion and great calls for aid from the patron god. In my world, I encourage players to write clerical prayers, and I provide a phonetic table to translate English to a spoken "magical moonspeak". Announcing the casting of a spell via recognizable mumbo jumbo is powerful at the table.
* A lot of classes and races were made intentionally tougher to play with major lore hooks, and many are banned outright in my world in favor of much deeper depth, lore and role for that race and class for the lesser number that remain, as the world is being whittled down over the Seven Ages and the Seven Great Wars of prophecy.
The prophecy does not end well. Introducing the players to slowly realize what's going on and break these cycles within cycles and discover SOME of the truth. Much of it is now lost to time, mystery, and the decay of mere imperfection.
There is a set of true gods above the pantheons of dnd. These gods are eldritch beings that are to the canon gods as gods are to ants. The normal pantheons are still worshipped and in existence, but they are downgraded to merely very powerful examples of other creature types or whatever else makes sense.
For example Tiamat and Bahamut are just incredibly ancient dragons. Helm and Shar are great celestials The Raven Queen and Eilistraee are Fey Apep and Umberlee are Fiends Tyr and Gruumsh are Giants Lolth and Cthulhu are Abberations Bane and Myrkul are Undead
Also fun mention: The gods of Theros are actually Constructs as they were forged as the masters of the Anvilwrought and Warforged.
Also below for those interested, the pantheon of the true ethereal gods:
God
Epithet
Appearance
Domain
Main Alignment
Ceacirus
The Dozenborn
A twelve-headed dragon with a scorpion's tail and pincers
Life
Neutral Good
Eviscua
The Dark Horse
A giant black horse with a snaketail, glowing red eyes and boney structures growing from its shoulder blades.
Death
True Neutral
Mens Kilanor
The Flayed Lord
A giant bloody mass of muscles wearing its skin as a cloak.
Healing
Chaotic Good
Mogap
The Bloated Fly
A gigantic fly with a bloated and rotting body and eyes that bleed pus.
Decay
Chaotic Evil
Kisnert
The Burning Wheel
A giant wheel of blue fire with green flame wings on every spoke.
Fire
Chaotic Good
Jilbalil
The Drowned Serpent
A giant green serpent sweating litres of water from its many holes.
Water
Lawful Good
Suma Ores
The Crumbling
A giant mass of bleeding stone that breaks and settles with every move.
Land
Lawful Neutral
Ravaren
The Neverlanding
A twisted mass of winged clouds folding in onto itself.
Sky
Chaotic Neutral
Salbator
The Everglowing
Seven balls of light orbitting eachother in an eleborate dance.
Light
Neutral Good
Mindera
The Duskwalker
A seven-legged goat with a thousand tendrils of oozing fur.
Darkness
Lawful Evil
Graphorios
The Omnipotent
Three great tomes bound by a chains of a thousand colors.
Wisdom
Chaotic Neutral
Tommex Krang
The Crimson Mist
A bloody haze of swirling air carrying countless voices.
Madness
Chaotic Evil
Abarrun
The Bloodletter
A hulking armoured boar with six bladed tusks and fifty spear-tipped tails.
War
Neutral Evil
Lemarn
The All-Grasping
A swirling black mass with a thousand emerald eyes and ten-thousand desperately clawing hands.
Love
Chaotic Evil
Rexius Orlas
The Hound of Order
An immaculate silver armor with four large hound's heads facing in opposing directions.
Law
Lawful Neutral
Bamhurst
The Patternless
A mass of hundred-colored bubbling slime, constantly splitting and consuming itself.
Chaos
Chaotic Neutral
Kos
The Horned Wasp
A massive black and yellow insect with six clawed legs, a magic-dripping stinger and white curling ramhorns.
Magic
Lawful Neutral
Lethar Morris
The Grey Cat
A giant grey-striped feline with a wide grinning face.
Natural
True Neutral
Miraklos
The Self-Weaver
An endless tapestry with an infinite amount of threads weaving patterns.
Fate
Lawful Evil
Sana Brimba
The Soaring Wind
A dark shapeless levitating void with golden dragon wings.
Freedom
Chaotic Good
Bet Balor Damnos
The Silver Tree
A massive grey-metal oak tree growing its countless branches.
Change
Chaotic Neutral
Diastrova
The First and Last
A frozen dodecahedron bathed in an ethereal stillness.
Entropy
Lawful Good
Irrin Max
The Abhorrant Machine
A giant mass of electircity, clockwork, steamengines and assembly lines folded into impossible ways, performing a million tasks.
Creation
True Neutral
Kallum
The Ashen
A pile of smoldering white ash shaped into a mockery of the dreams of whomever looks upon it.
There is a set of true gods above the pantheons of dnd. These gods are eldritch beings that are to the canon gods as gods are to ants. The normal pantheons are still worshipped and in existence, but they are downgraded to merely very powerful examples of other creature types or whatever else makes sense.
For example Tiamat and Bahamut are just incredibly ancient dragons. Helm and Shar are great celestials The Raven Queen and Eilistraee are Fey Apep and Umberlee are Fiends Tyr and Gruumsh are Giants Lolth and Cthulhu are Abberations Bane and Myrkul are Undead
Also fun mention: The gods of Theros are actually Constructs as they were forged as the masters of the Anvilwrought and Warforged.
Also below for those interested, the pantheon of the true ethereal gods:
God
Epithet
Appearance
Domain
Main Alignment
Ceacirus
The Dozenborn
A twelve-headed dragon with a scorpion's tail and pincers
Life
Neutral Good
Eviscua
The Dark Horse
A giant black horse with a snaketail, glowing red eyes and boney structures growing from its shoulder blades.
Death
True Neutral
Mens Kilanor
The Flayed Lord
A giant bloody mass of muscles wearing its skin as a cloak.
Healing
Chaotic Good
Mogap
The Bloated Fly
A gigantic fly with a bloated and rotting body and eyes that bleed pus.
Decay
Chaotic Evil
Kisnert
The Burning Wheel
A giant wheel of blue fire with green flame wings on every spoke.
Fire
Chaotic Good
Jilbalil
The Drowned Serpent
A giant green serpent sweating litres of water from its many holes.
Water
Lawful Good
Suma Ores
The Crumbling
A giant mass of bleeding stone that breaks and settles with every move.
Land
Lawful Neutral
Ravaren
The Neverlanding
A twisted mass of winged clouds folding in onto itself.
Sky
Chaotic Neutral
Salbator
The Everglowing
Seven balls of light orbitting eachother in an eleborate dance.
Light
Neutral Good
Mindera
The Duskwalker
A seven-legged goat with a thousand tendrils of oozing fur.
Darkness
Lawful Evil
Graphorios
The Omnipotent
Three great tomes bound by a chains of a thousand colors.
Wisdom
Chaotic Neutral
Tommex Krang
The Crimson Mist
A bloody haze of swirling air carrying countless voices.
Madness
Chaotic Evil
Abarrun
The Bloodletter
A hulking armoured boar with six bladed tusks and fifty spear-tipped tails.
War
Neutral Evil
Lemarn
The All-Grasping
A swirling black mass with a thousand emerald eyes and ten-thousand desperately clawing hands.
Love
Chaotic Evil
Rexius Orlas
The Hound of Order
An immaculate silver armor with four large hound's heads facing in opposing directions.
Law
Lawful Neutral
Bamhurst
The Patternless
A mass of hundred-colored bubbling slime, constantly splitting and consuming itself.
Chaos
Chaotic Neutral
Kos
The Horned Wasp
A massive black and yellow insect with six clawed legs, a magic-dripping stinger and white curling ramhorns.
Magic
Lawful Neutral
Lethar Morris
The Grey Cat
A giant grey-striped feline with a wide grinning face.
Natural
True Neutral
Miraklos
The Self-Weaver
An endless tapestry with an infinite amount of threads weaving patterns.
Fate
Lawful Evil
Sana Brimba
The Soaring Wind
A dark shapeless levitating void with golden dragon wings.
Freedom
Chaotic Good
Bet Balor Damnos
The Silver Tree
A massive grey-metal oak tree growing its countless branches.
Change
Chaotic Neutral
Diastrova
The First and Last
A frozen dodecahedron bathed in an ethereal stillness.
Entropy
Lawful Good
Irrin Max
The Abhorrant Machine
A giant mass of electircity, clockwork, steamengines and assembly lines folded into impossible ways, performing a million tasks.
Creation
True Neutral
Kallum
The Ashen
A pile of smoldering white ash shaped into a mockery of the dreams of whomever looks upon it.
There is a set of true gods above the pantheons of dnd. These gods are eldritch beings that are to the canon gods as gods are to ants. The normal pantheons are still worshipped and in existence, but they are downgraded to merely very powerful examples of other creature types or whatever else makes sense.
For example Tiamat and Bahamut are just incredibly ancient dragons. Helm and Shar are great celestials The Raven Queen and Eilistraee are Fey Apep and Umberlee are Fiends Tyr and Gruumsh are Giants Lolth and Cthulhu are Abberations Bane and Myrkul are Undead
Also fun mention: The gods of Theros are actually Constructs as they were forged as the masters of the Anvilwrought and Warforged.
Also below for those interested, the pantheon of the true ethereal gods:
God
Epithet
Appearance
Domain
Main Alignment
Ceacirus
The Dozenborn
A twelve-headed dragon with a scorpion's tail and pincers
Life
Neutral Good
Eviscua
The Dark Horse
A giant black horse with a snaketail, glowing red eyes and boney structures growing from its shoulder blades.
Death
True Neutral
Mens Kilanor
The Flayed Lord
A giant bloody mass of muscles wearing its skin as a cloak.
Healing
Chaotic Good
Mogap
The Bloated Fly
A gigantic fly with a bloated and rotting body and eyes that bleed pus.
Decay
Chaotic Evil
Kisnert
The Burning Wheel
A giant wheel of blue fire with green flame wings on every spoke.
Fire
Chaotic Good
Jilbalil
The Drowned Serpent
A giant green serpent sweating litres of water from its many holes.
Water
Lawful Good
Suma Ores
The Crumbling
A giant mass of bleeding stone that breaks and settles with every move.
Land
Lawful Neutral
Ravaren
The Neverlanding
A twisted mass of winged clouds folding in onto itself.
Sky
Chaotic Neutral
Salbator
The Everglowing
Seven balls of light orbitting eachother in an eleborate dance.
Light
Neutral Good
Mindera
The Duskwalker
A seven-legged goat with a thousand tendrils of oozing fur.
Darkness
Lawful Evil
Graphorios
The Omnipotent
Three great tomes bound by a chains of a thousand colors.
Wisdom
Chaotic Neutral
Tommex Krang
The Crimson Mist
A bloody haze of swirling air carrying countless voices.
Madness
Chaotic Evil
Abarrun
The Bloodletter
A hulking armoured boar with six bladed tusks and fifty spear-tipped tails.
War
Neutral Evil
Lemarn
The All-Grasping
A swirling black mass with a thousand emerald eyes and ten-thousand desperately clawing hands.
Love
Chaotic Evil
Rexius Orlas
The Hound of Order
An immaculate silver armor with four large hound's heads facing in opposing directions.
Law
Lawful Neutral
Bamhurst
The Patternless
A mass of hundred-colored bubbling slime, constantly splitting and consuming itself.
Chaos
Chaotic Neutral
Kos
The Horned Wasp
A massive black and yellow insect with six clawed legs, a magic-dripping stinger and white curling ramhorns.
Magic
Lawful Neutral
Lethar Morris
The Grey Cat
A giant grey-striped feline with a wide grinning face.
Natural
True Neutral
Miraklos
The Self-Weaver
An endless tapestry with an infinite amount of threads weaving patterns.
Fate
Lawful Evil
Sana Brimba
The Soaring Wind
A dark shapeless levitating void with golden dragon wings.
Freedom
Chaotic Good
Bet Balor Damnos
The Silver Tree
A massive grey-metal oak tree growing its countless branches.
Change
Chaotic Neutral
Diastrova
The First and Last
A frozen dodecahedron bathed in an ethereal stillness.
Entropy
Lawful Good
Irrin Max
The Abhorrant Machine
A giant mass of electircity, clockwork, steamengines and assembly lines folded into impossible ways, performing a million tasks.
Creation
True Neutral
Kallum
The Ashen
A pile of smoldering white ash shaped into a mockery of the dreams of whomever looks upon it.
Destruction
Neutral Evil
Why is the god of love LE?
Actually the god of love is CE,
and as to the reason, love causes a lot of problems. And while love is seen as a good thing for the individual, it also causes pain, violence and envy. The god behind love is seen as a bringer of evil chaos, as if love was more reasonable and easy, a lot of problems in the world would be solved.
It's not just the beautiful mutual love. Its also the one-sided unrequited love, the love of a stalker for their victim, the twisted love of an abuser.
Another major difference to my plane is that Devils are no longer evil scheming backstabbers that love to corrupt souls, but instead dark protectors of law and order that preserve the more pure and honorable of the multiverse from truly chaotic and destructive forces like demons or the denizens of the Far Realms. The Arch-Devils are revered as paragons of many facets of civilization, representing things that can be utilized by good, neutral, and evil societies. Some are even viewed as legit heroes of the mortals of my plane, and Paladins, Clerics, and Warlocks that serve them are considered respected members of the Devil Hierarchy.
That depends, which world do you want to learn about?
Valeros (main difference it's a modern fantasy.), Heiphestomatchy (that one has a lot of robots), Durninis (this one had a magical apocalypse of unknown origin.), Arcanos (main difference is the magic system), the pact worlds (mainly this one has space).
I created a world for my players that didn't include a select group of races. I then had them choose FROM the omitted group, as they were being transported to this world. This means they are one of a kind in the new world, which allows for a TON of interesting RP opportunities. Also, in the new world, Orcs, Goblins and a few other "evil" races, work and live alongside Humans and the rest, just another dude on the street. They recently encountered a Hobgoblin Enclave (Hobgoblins were a race that "didn't exist" in this new world) whicha gain, created some interesting exchanges.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Talk to your Players.Talk to your DM. If more people used this advice, there would be 24.74% fewer threads on Tactics, Rules and DM discussions.
Let's see, just listing some of the random things I've come up with for my homebrew world of Avem that are definitely unorthodox:
Dragons are extinct (dragonborn and kobolds as well) and their bones are mined because of their magical properties. Some of their bones also liquified into an oil called ichor, which is prized as airship fuel. The only survivors of the extinct dragons are the elite Archdrakes, powerful deities with the ability to assume human form. Most have gone into hiding or are in hibernation. One secretly rules a country and wants to eliminate the others.
A metaphysical bubble surrounds the material plane of my world, which is like a separate plane in itself. Anything that wishes to travel to or from the material plane passes through it. I call it the Plane of Abstraction. People who physically travel through it are altered in form to resemble the contents of their soul. If you know A Link To The Past and how Link turned into a rabbit person in the Dark World, it's pretty much the same concept. The form a mortal takes when traveling through the Plane of Abstraction is based on alignment. Neutral Good would be bunny, while Chaotic Neutral would be wolf, and so on.
Druids are anarchists . . . you know what, you aren't getting any context on this one unless you ask specifically why :P
Especially random stuff: Trees are herded. Shellfish are raised in seaside ranches. Pears are used to make cider which is the most common alcohol in my world, rather than wine or mead. Giant otters are a more common mount than horses in some regions. Gods don't have names, only titles, and if you discover one's true name, they must grant you a wish. In truth, there are kobolds which still exist after the deaths of the dragons, but they are all chameleon kobolds, capable of turning invisible to keep themselves a secret. There's a church which worships technology called the Domain of Artifice, and it actually has more sway than some of the real religious organizations. Last, but absolutely not least, goblins: they have an irrational fear of sheep. Don't ask me why, because I don't know; I just thought it'd be a hilarious and obscure detail.
I love this world so much. It's a genius idea to add so many useless funny little details.
I recently saw a video on >popular short video browsing app< in which someone was explaining about their homebrew world, and how the elves were different there (the world was polluted, their connection to the feywild was damaged and the elves had to wear masks or risk becoming "feral elves").
This made me curious - what is there in your campaign worlds which is different from the "normal"?
Mine is also Elves -
Elves of Arenstar
The Elves of Arenstar bear several distinctions from their conventional kin in other lands. In appearance they are very similar, being perhaps disposed to slightly stockier builds, closer to those of humans. Their ears are slightly longer than other elves, and by appearance they remain clearly distinct to humans, both in appearance and attitude.
Immortality
The agelessness of the elves of Arenstar was affected long ago by the fracturing of the weave, when the Kingdom of Aren was plucked from the path of the wrath of the gods. The elves of long ago preserved their life force, their longevity, in beautiful shards of pure light. These they wove into jewellery, and always wear about their person. These jewels are bound to the Elf who carries it, and it can never be taken from them, only ever passed on. Should an elf in possession of one of these jewels die, the jewel instantly disappears, reappearing in the hands of someone of their bloodline, or being lost forever to the weave should they die without descendants.
For as long as an elf is bound to a life crystal, they do not age, and can live for many thousands of years should they choose to. Very few elves choose this, however, and fewer still achieve it, for the price the elves paid for maintaining their immortality was a dear one indeed, and has led to many a bloody battle fought over immortality.
Passing On the Light
There are only a fixed number of life crystals in the world - the magic needed to create them has fragmented and is lost to the world. As such, when two elves have a child, they must one day make a decision - to see their child age and die as they live on eternal, or to pass on the life crystal ot their children, that they may have of life as much as they wish. Most elves do not have children until they have decided that they are ready to die, and their lives are thus well thought out.
The Light of an Elf is often considered to provide a link to all those elves who have posessed it previously. Bound to the bloodline of the family, it is a physical reminder of all those who have come before them, and have died to allow them to have lived.
The Third Child
To be the third child in an elvish family is a cursed existence. however much their parents love them, the third child knows that they will never have a life crystal passed to them, and must come to terms with the trappings of mortality. Unfortunately, few elves are able to cope with this inevitability, the lack of choice over when they are ready to die, and they take things into their own hands. It is not uncommon, among elven families with three or more children, for some of those children to suffer unfortunate and fatal "accidents", bringing the number of children back down to two, such that each of them can recieve the gift of immortality from their parents.
This practice, which has been continuing for many thousands of years, has shaped the elves towards ruthlessness. The Elves of Arenstar are a cold and calculating people, capable of anything if it achieves their own ends. Very few are benevolent, and whilst many seek to strengthen the forces of good in the world, they do so exclusively for their own gains. Elves of Arenstar do not find thinking of others to come as naturally as most races - not because they are evil, but because almost every elf family that has survived has done so through fierce competition, pre-emptive assassination, and excessive paranoia. These days, is a third child is born to an Elf household, they are usually sent away by their parents to protect them from their older siblings, who may seek to stifle the competition before it can even walk.
Parricide
Sometimes, an elven couple will have children before they are truly ready to pass on their light, and such conditions often result in fatal conflict with their offspring. The jilted children of selfish parents have often conspired to be rid of their parents, that they can inherit immortality. The deposing of an elder is commonplace within elven families, though it is neither legal nor considered acceptable. Most assassinations of this kind take place subtly, with the parents either disappearing, presumed to have absconded together, or dying of tragic accidents.
Twilight Elves
Twilight elves are families which have formed from the third children of the elves, and they have flourished. Not for them the Light of the Elves, but neither do they seek the darkness of the Drow, the Twilight Elves live mortal lives amongst the other races, happily living without immortality or fear of parricide.
A Twilight Elf, separated from the Light of immortality, reaches old age at around 100 years old, and can live up to 130. This is the fate which awaits any elf who does not receive the Light from their parents, and for many, the dread of what they consider an impending death can lead to great levels of excess - Twilight elves lack the restraint and reverence of typical Elves, instead living life to the fullest, revelling in every festivity and celebration they can find. It is not uncommon for a Twilight Elf to travel the world seeking out new experiences, in an effort to life as much as possible in what they consider a short time.
Twilight Elves seldom apply themselves to the flawless perfection usually attributed to their immortal counterparts. They do not consider themselves to have time to learn every instrument or to cook every dish, and instead have a tendency to flit between their hobbies, always keen to start something new and often leaving a trail of half finished projects in their wake.
So, what's different in your world?
Make your Artificer work with any other class with 174 Multiclassing Feats for your Artificer Multiclass Character!
DM's Guild Releases on This Thread Or check them all out on DMs Guild!
DrivethruRPG Releases on This Thread - latest release: My Character is a Werewolf: balanced rules for Lycanthropy!
I have started discussing/reviewing 3rd party D&D content on Substack - stay tuned for semi-regular posts!
Everything. In my homebrew world everything is different except the players. They are open to use everything from official content. I homebrew everything they come across.
Some people have played a lot of dnd. So if they come across a group of goblins they know what's up. They can meta have that. So I change every mob a tiny bit to throw players off. An ancient black dragon is actually good. A goblin that can cast true polymorph. Simple bandits that are changeling vampires.
It's fun when they have no idea what a mob can do. Keeps them on their toes and wondering if the lone trader on their path is a simple merchant or the bbeg interacting with them. Chaos is fun.
There are quite a few things different about my world of Salvera. One of the differences is the fact that the plane has been severed from all of the Outer and Inner Planes except for the Ethereal Plane, which has been altered from energies from the Astral Sea and Elemental Chaos that have been slowly leaking from planar scars left over from the Creator Wars. This place now has the ability to create massive Demi-planes that can expand far beyond the normal limits, allowing the beings that have replaced the Creator Gods to create their own realms to reside in and house the souls of their devout followers. When anyone on the plane tries to travel off the material plane, instead of traveling to one of the Inner or Outer Planes, they instead will either end up in the Ethereal plane or one of these being’s Demi-Planes.
Another difference that is connected to the severing from the other planes is that souls don’t travel to the Outer or Inner Planes upon death, nor can souls travel from the Outer or Inner Planes to Salvera to imbue new life with a soul. So the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth are maintained by one of the beings that took over in the God’s absence. His name is Letheus, Guardian of the Boundless, and he is a giant undead serpent with a massive head at each end of his long body. The front head is nothing but a ghostly skeleton while the back head is a beautiful white snake. This being guards the Wellspring of Souls, an ancient and massive artifact responsible for creating new souls. He himself also acts as a vessel for reincarnation, the front head breathing in to absorb the souls of those who’s faith was not strong enough to allow them the ability to travel to their godling’s plane, or those who had little to no faith at all. All souls no matter their species or alignment are brought to the serpent for rebirth, until a time where the soul finds its true afterlife. The souls are purified inside the massive creature, before being breathed out of the back head and return to the world as new life.
"Meddle not in the affairs of dragons, for thou art crunchy and taste good with ketchup."
Characters for Tenebris Sine Fine
RoughCoronet's Greater Wills
The drow rule benevolently over the other elves, who live a peaceful pastoral life while the drow deal with all the dirty work of defending against outsiders.
In one continent, aarakocra reign supreme and humans and other land-bound humanoid races are subjugated.
The cosmology is totally different. Instead of the great wheel, there is a Plane of Air / Celestial Plane outside the spherical Material Plane, and a Plane of Water / Abyssal Plane inside the sphere (like the continents float on the ocean). The Material Plane is divided like a tetrahedron into the ordinary material plane and the three Dream Planes: the Plane of Smoke, the Plane of Mist, and the Plane of Death. These can be reached by ordinary travel over the Outer Ocean, although few have gone that way and returning. More commonly you'd use normal planar magic to travel to them.
Instead of four elements, I have three: Thunder, Sun, and Earth (plus a fourth: Dreams). They don't have their own planes. Instead each of the four material sub-planes has a combination of three of the four elements. The ordinary material plane lacks Dreams. The Plane of Mist lacks Earth. The Plane of Smoke lacks Sun. The Plane of Death lacks Thunder.
Ethereal and Astral planes work pretty much as normal. There aren't really any alignment planes, except that the Abyss / Plane of Water is connected with chaos, and the Plane of Air / Celestial Plane is associated with law / order. If there is any plane associated with good, it's essentially the material plane, as good is defined relative to the material plane in my world. That which is good for the inhabitants of the material plane is good. The major deities are all neutral or evil, as they are indifferent to the fate of the material plane and only care about conflict against their opposite plane. The material plane is used as a buffer zone between the warring deities.
Let's see, just listing some of the random things I've come up with for my homebrew world of Avem that are definitely unorthodox:
Dragons are extinct (dragonborn and kobolds as well) and their bones are mined because of their magical properties. Some of their bones also liquified into an oil called ichor, which is prized as airship fuel. The only survivors of the extinct dragons are the elite Archdrakes, powerful deities with the ability to assume human form. Most have gone into hiding or are in hibernation. One secretly rules a country and wants to eliminate the others.
A metaphysical bubble surrounds the material plane of my world, which is like a separate plane in itself. Anything that wishes to travel to or from the material plane passes through it. I call it the Plane of Abstraction. People who physically travel through it are altered in form to resemble the contents of their soul. If you know A Link To The Past and how Link turned into a rabbit person in the Dark World, it's pretty much the same concept. The form a mortal takes when traveling through the Plane of Abstraction is based on alignment. Neutral Good would be bunny, while Chaotic Neutral would be wolf, and so on.
Druids are anarchists . . . you know what, you aren't getting any context on this one unless you ask specifically why :P
Especially random stuff: Trees are herded. Shellfish are raised in seaside ranches. Pears are used to make cider which is the most common alcohol in my world, rather than wine or mead. Giant otters are a more common mount than horses in some regions. Gods don't have names, only titles, and if you discover one's true name, they must grant you a wish. In truth, there are kobolds which still exist after the deaths of the dragons, but they are all chameleon kobolds, capable of turning invisible to keep themselves a secret. There's a church which worships technology called the Domain of Artifice, and it actually has more sway than some of the real religious organizations. Last, but absolutely not least, goblins: they have an irrational fear of sheep. Don't ask me why, because I don't know; I just thought it'd be a hilarious and obscure detail.
Bunch of little cosmetic stuff. A LOT of high level cosmological things, but on the ground it's largely just standard fantasy.
As an example, my drow look less...goth, or fetishy... and more like 90's raver kids. Just a whole gang of eternally young cliquish ultra-dramatic fashion types glowing psychedelic colors in the blacklight, completely out of their minds. Also, they do go on slave raids, but for demons. They ride their spiders down into the Abyss and capture demons and drag them back to serve them eternally. But, otherwise, they act pretty much the same as the drow anywhere else. For the drow campaign I'm doing, I just kind of hang a lampshade on that and say there's a whole meta reason that sets up Lolth as the level 20 bad guy
On the macro side, there are seven elemental planes. Air, Water, Earth, Fire, but also Metal and Void and Prime. This is going to be the background for the second half of my druid campaign, where any given druid's obligation is to try to keep the peace between all these other 6 parties so as to preserve the balance required for Prime to exist. Prime is the plane of Life. It needs each of these other six. Without any one of them, Life can't exist. So that's what upper-level druids spend most of their time on. Trying to wrangle Djiinnis and Efreets, sometimes with diplomacy, sometimes not. I just need a good storyline.
- As “the world the multiverse forgot”, the Lands Unspoken has only been inhabited by more than a handful of beings for brief periods of time. Now, in the Third Civilization, with the largest population it’s ever had, about have of its inhabitants arrived from Sigil or a spelljammer rather than by birth.
- “Portal Leak” is a phenomenon where teleportation or planar summoning leaves behind an imperceptible opening at the site of the spell, meaning small objects or the least powerful outsiders can go through. So if you summon a balor in the wilderness, that area will likely continue to spawn manes for some time. This is theorized to be because the world is at the edge of the Prime Material.
- Many of the new nations of the Third Civilization are based on a grand idea their founders wanted to prove would work. E.g. Jubilate is a mortal country where culture and governance is modeled after the Upper Planes, Ain-Sha exists partially in communal dreamworlds, and so on. Basically it took Sigil’s “philosophers with clubs” idea and modifies it to “philosopher kings with clubs”.
- Most of the nations have a Geneva Convention-like agreement the regulates, among other things, the use of undead in warfare. The country of demons and the country of Gultheas trees are not part of this agreement, so groups of undead can be sent to keep the demons in check even if it’s not something they particularly like doing.
- There are also outposts of celestials and devils in the Prime on this world.
Yeah, basically everything is different in my homebrew world (which is linked in my signature if you want to check it out). The only race that isn't really changed at its base is the Humans, and that's just because they're exactly like humans in every other world.
Dwarves have split into more diverse and unique cultural subraces. Duergar have conquered the Underdark and have enslaved all of the races that remained down there (so, the Drow that didn't escape to the surface had their souls trapped to keep them as eternal slaves that are grotesquely mutilated and tortured both physically and mentally, Derro have tapped into their insanity to channel the powers from the Far Realm and contact the powers beyond it, and Duergar that use their Enlarge power while mounted on a Female Steeder turn their mount into a Huge siege-spider). Mountain Dwarves have built giant strongholds on the side of mountains that have wheels in case an enemy comes by, in which case they can just pick up their "anchors" and roll away down the side of the mountain. Hill Dwarves have become the blacksmiths for a group of celestials, becoming "warped" by their angelic power through spending centuries near each other, granting them clerical magic (they're basically Dwarven Aasimar).
Wood Elves fled to the Arctic after their forests were conquered by Minotaurs who chopped and burned down their home forests. Their quickly-adapting forms turned them into Arctic Elves that build giant igloo-like Snow Fortresses, where they domesticate Giant Snow Owls, Polar Bears, and Snowy Owlbears that serve as their mounts (they're also primarily carnivorous now, due to a lack of flora that high north). The drow that fled to the surface are nocturnal, lost their sunlight sensitivity, and began to worship the stars (believing that they're the souls of gods that are yet to be born, hoping that if enough of them worship the stars, they'll awaken in their newfound divinity to come back and fix/save the world). High Elves live in giant library-towers filled with magical books that return to the library if they're ever burned, being nigh-impossible to damage, as they want the world to remember its history to prevent future calamities (they're strong believers in "those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it"). Shadar-Kai entered into an endless war with the followers of Vecna that live in the Shadowfell's Underdark, and fight huge hordes of undead commanded by Vecna's chief followers (in order to combat this, the Raven Queen will occasionally convert her top followers into Shadar-Kai Angels that have black-raven-wings and necrotic-damaging-effects that work on undead, as well as founding orders of Paladins that hunt down and destroy undead; See the Oath of Souls in this link for more).
Halflings have split into various sub-cultures, all of which focus on being the best agriculturists around (nearly magically so). Lightfoot halflings focus on apiary and flowers, with pet giant bees that they ride into combat if ever threatened. The bees also make magical honey (called "Golden Nectar") that functions as a potion of healing that can cure a disease that the consumer is under the effects of, and the flowers that they pollinate grow to giant sizes (the largest being Large) and also have small, minor magical auras that do things like grant creatures within 5 feet of the flower advantage on saving throws against poisons or being charmed/frightened, and stuff like that. The Stout Halflings are rural country farmers that raise giant livestock (like [Tooltip Not Found] for their milk, giant goats for cheese, Giant Chickens for their huge eggs, and so on) and grow quasi-magical crops (like super-sweet Beets, super strong cotton, huge, bright-yellow pumpkins, potatoes that never rot, etc). Lotusden Halflings grow the best orchards (apples, pears, cherries, olives, nuts, etc), and vine-based-fruit (melons, grapes, kiwi, cranberries, tomatoes, etc), and make the best wines and fruity foods. There's even a Halfling-Supremacist culture that mandates happiness, are xenophobic to outsiders (but are super passive-aggressive about it), and insist upon being polite and cheerful around others, even if they're trying to kill them.
Gnomes are, well, gnomes, but more magipunk than ever. The Deep Gnomes that fled to the surface (called "Surfneblin") use earth-elemental-based magic to build cities and do manual labor, Forest Gnomes are more scared of outsiders and recluse than ever (many of them even fleeing to the Feywild once the Minotaurs conquered the forests), and the Rock Gnomes are working together with Dwarves to become masters of artifice, creating Golem-Folk (called Golmeng, which are basically my world's version of Warforged, but with a subrace for Golmeng made of Gemstone, Glass/Crystal, Steel/Adamantine, Stone/Obsidian, and Alchemical Clay) and a race of psionic, bio-engineered, and multicolored psionic folk (called the Felshen). They also have their own magic version of the internet.
Orcs are more "wise" and nature-based, practicing druidic magic and often being monks, rangers, oath of the ancients paladins, and nature clerics.
Goblinoids worship magic, are ruled by mages and arcane-divine casters (Arcana Clerics, Divine Soul Sorcerers, Celestial-Patron Warlocks, etc), and absolutely hate psionics and aberrations (causing them to have multiple wars with them trying to exterminate the Felshen).
I could go on, but you probably get the idea. Most of the D&D tropes are either turned on their head, or taken up to 11, which I am quite fond of. There's no kill like overkill, afterall.
Please check out my homebrew, I would appreciate feedback:
Spells, Monsters, Subclasses, Races, Arcknight Class, Occultist Class, World, Enigmatic Esoterica forms
Here's the idea for one of my countries in my world (heads up its super long)
Stuff you need to know before you read:
Domovar is one of my countries, similar to a tyrannical rule, although the society is rich enough that people who are higher up enjoy living there. Alkeilie is Domovar's neighbor, and does not like them at all. Domovar has a historic hatred of elves, and Alkeilie was founded by elves, who in part were responsible for this tension. The two countries have not been at open war yet, but tensions are rising.
North and South Valen are border countries, with North Valen under rule by a dwarf military leader. South Valen is a sort of wild west, a lot of thieving gangs and mob rulers. The country is overseen loosely by a warlord, but mostly it exports it's mercenaries for hire to other countries.
Elves in my world are shorter than the average human, but maintain their other characteristics. they are unliked in some parts of the world, but this makes them more accepted in others, as intelligent and charismatic rebels.
Dwarves are largely secretive and reclusive. There is one main Dwarf country, where most of them dwell in a hollowed out city underground. Most surface dwarves are either greedy or opportunists. Very few are evil, but few are true good. They are rare to see but do have their virtues.
Hobgoblins have a militaristic and martial arts based society in the cold mountain region of Halvorfast. While the name isn't exactly a clue, this culture is largely influenced by Asian history and culture. They have a strict honor system and are very skilled warriors. Most are neutral, but are good allies if you earn their respect.
Countries
Domovar
Population: 7 million
Dominant races: 51% human, 28% elf and half-elf, 11% drow, 10% other
Government: Domovar is run by a house system/aristocracy headed by an imperial monarchy system.
Defense: Domovar has a large force of guardsmen, as well as security provided by the Inquisition. In addition, they hire Southern Valenese mercenaries to protect their borders.
Commerce: With the exception of magical items and components, the exports and imports of which are heavily taxed in Domovar, most businesses and goods can be found within its walls. Due to the richness of the country itself, exotic goods can be found with little trouble, as can most basic weapons and armaments.
Organizations: The Iron Assembly, instituted by Xenalia Thalmir, maintains a strong presence within Domovar.
Although rarely seen by the common people, the Assembly breathes underneath the surface of regular city life in Domovar. It is tasked with tracking down individuals in possession of or using illegal magic items, or spells, such as illegal combat spells. The Assembly uses task forces headed by men known as High Inquisitors, to track down and subdue citizens who have broken the laws in regards to magic.
High Inquisitor's themselves are rarely seen by the common people. However, the Assembly has many bases set up throughout the major cities as hubs for magic detection, through the usage of their unique spells and abilities.
Certain parts of the Assembly also serve on a lower level as private police, helping to maintain order in the cities and keeping their eyes on higher level crime.
The Most secret duty of the Assembly is to watch over the aristocrats and prevent destruction from within. The High Inquisitors are given permission to observe, report, and if necessary, remove leaders in the houses who are becoming too much trouble.
The current leader of the High Inquisitors is Juler Caruso, a cunning and ambitious man, and also a known warrior from the Caebian rebellions. Juler is a vicious leader, and Catia’s right hand man, who fully supports her rule, as well as her campaigns against the elves.
Thalmiran Empire
The Thalmiran Empire has ruled over Domovar for hundreds of years. The rule of each emperor or empress is maintained through military superiority, a strong political presence, and uniquely, leadership over the people. Domovar has maintained its ironclad aristocratic political system, which was only recently tamed by the ancient empress Xenalia Thalmir.
For many years, the houses ran wild, with scandalous affairs and violent house wars bloodying their reputation. Many thought the house war would never end, and that it would mean the destruction of the Empire forever. All that changed when the ruthless empress Xenalia Thalmir rose to power in 4037 AC, completely changing the corrupt system. Xenalia instituted the Iron Assembly, which started as her own private police force and has transformed into the group tasked with uprooting all illegal magic in the city. Xenalia began her reform swiftly, and started by quietly rooting out and executing the nobles who were causing trouble, and replacing them with her own men. This time was known as “The Reckoning”, and is looked upon as a dark period in both noble and royal history.
Since then, Domovar has maintained its iron willed form of government, and has seen the rise and fall of many emperors. Currently holding the seat of power is Empress Catia Thalmir, a direct descendent of Xenalia Thalmir, or so she claims. Catia’s rule has been marked by heavy taxation on exports and imports, especially those going to and from Alkeilie. Although many do not favor her, Catia’s rule has provided comfort and prosperity to many of her people, despite the extremity of some of her methods. Those that disagree with her rule and her policies are quietly silenced, or find their positions suddenly removed.
Domovaran society is a rigid institution, in which the middle classes, such as merchants, mercenaries, and artisans fight for favored positions among the noble houses. While magic is highly scrutinized in Domovar, those talented enough in it are prized in high society. In the aristocracy, those who have great skill in magic keep it secretive, so that the other houses won’t gain an upper hand. Those with minor skill in magic gain jobs as performers or specialized workers. The society is formed of the lowest class, made up of thieves, beggars, the homeless, and indentured servants. These usually include elves, or half elves. The middle class is mostly formed out of soldiers, mercenaries, artisans, and merchants. From then on, the high classes are split into three tiers: The Iron Assembly, The Houses, and The Imperial Nobility.
The Iron Assembly is the lowest of the three by rank, but has certain powers that allow it to supersede its normal jurisdiction, especially in cases involving the houses. The Houses, on the other hand, have a very rigid place in Domovaran politics. The Houses function like an aristocratic system, ruled over by the rich major houses. If one in the noble system shows enough prowess and cunning, they may be adopted into one of the Great Houses, or they may choose to start their own. The Houses vary in their responsibilities, though most have a trade or some sort of resource that is valuable. Finally there is the Imperial Nobility. This consists of the Highest ranked officials in Domovar, the Emperor (or Empress), and his men. These are usually chamberlains, advisors, generals,all of which make up the King’s council.
Local governments in Domovar are ordinarily run by barons or governors, officials chosen by the government who work directly under the Emperor’s council, and report to them. These are charged with overseeing the collection of taxes, as headed by local tax collectors, religious proceedings, local defense, economic infrastructure, and courts. Additionally, those barons situated on border territories oversee the pay and board of any Valenese mercenaries they may have employed, overseen by the local coinmaster.
Domovar’s full military force stands at about 40,200 well trained soldiers, as well as 1,800 Valenese mercenaries, hired to protect the borders and fill in for soldiers where there are no more replacements. Although many soldiers act as guards throughout the cities, groups of them are deployed to barracks for training. In addition, the Empress maintains a force of about 1,000 royal guards, which are assigned specifically to Corceus, the capitol.
In Domovaran history, there have been few uprisings, almost all of which have been quelled quickly and efficiently. One of those that got out of hand was known as “the Caebian rebellion”. This rebellion happened about 30 years prior to present day, when a group of rebel sympathizers in Alkeilie funded a group within the city to instigate a large attack on the governor's mansion. Through working with the governors servants to smuggle in explosives, the rebels attempted to blow up the governors mansion. However, the operation was compromised, and the rebels ended up facing the full brunt of the Inquisition. They fought with law enforcement, in a short lived battle. However, during the battle, the bombs were triggered, causing a disastrous explosion, and injuring several Inquisition members. Although the Inquisition was never able to directly prove Alkeilie's involvement, they have long been suspected in the attack, and relations have not been the same between the two countries since.
Updog
My Underdark (the Middledark in particular) is a loose confederation of multicultural city-states that are huge players in the global economy and arcana trade. While drow are the most common subterranean race, they are fairly republican and do not worship Lolth. (I don't do evil races in general.) But probably most uniquely...
Drow are not the ones in charge, either. Deep dragons (pulled from 2e) run the place, often shapeshifted as drow. They were nearly hunted to extinction above ground and found refuge in the Underdark. Their natural immunity to psychic damage allowed them to fight off an invasion of mind flayers from the Lowerdark. After securing the borders, they took control of the region and lived as drow to prevent another genocide. Only a handful of trusted people currently alive know the truth.
I read "deep dragons" and got hooked. that sounds super cool.
Also, "theology of bagels" sounds like my kind of religion
Updog
* Elves are fading back into the realm of the fae from which they came, after an agreement to disperse to the biomes of the world as avatars and defenders of nature, in retreat from the harsh worlds of the other races, and then, refreshed, return to create a new Elven kingdom to solve the longest term problems that shorter lived races don't think about often. This agreement was called the Avariandre. Oh, and the dark elves did such heinous things at the end of an Age that elves were never forgiven.
* Elves have always become physically different over time depending on the biome that they inhabit. This is a great elven secret, as no elf wants the World to know that they can become Dark underground. Thus, there are multiple elf races, based on biome. In this way, elves take the place of sylphs, nymphs, dryads and others. All of these are in fact elves now, just buried deeper within their biome, by choice or by time.
* All elves have the innate power, with great effort, to attune the surrounding biome and animals nearby to THEM. This is kind of a Disney moment where winds twirl around them, small animals appear, and the elf in question gets some communal yet vague status of the surrounding area. This exhausts the elf completely, and they go into reverie.
* Elves do not sleep. They reverie. They must engage in these long meditative states consciously to refresh their short and long term memory. Elves are surrounded by necessary keepsakes to act as touchstones, or they even forget who they were.
* Since Elven time is distorted over a much longer term, elven language and music is stretched out to include nuance and information coiled around the main line. As such, elven writing is a Celtic type of corded mass around a central line. That central line is straight to most other viewers, but is subtly wider or narrower in a way the elf can read, like amplitude. In this same way, elven music surrounds a droning note that subtly changes to sing the actual meaning while faster melodies flit around it.
* Any PC elf in my world is disconnected from all biomes and is likely in wanderlust or is an emissary to remind other elves that they have a base form to return to. Very few "OG" elves are left, and the entire race is under strain of fracturing extinction, extermination by other races, or systematically forgetting what they were, as all elf cities have been magically camouflaged into the wilds and left to decay... elegantly. Most Elf PCs are lore hunters of their own kind.
* All Dwarves are united in one Army, both in response to Dark Elf shenanigans, and the fact that this Dark Elf race wanted nothing to do with the Avariandre plan, as they had already accepted the darkness as an independent society. So the Great War is still going on underground, and it's a multifaceted contest at tenuous truce. The Dwarves aren't innocent either, as they have unearthed the Beetle Lord Rhioleth and are trying to keep it quiet as the Dark Elves seek to claim it for themselves.
* Gnomes are the gemstone experts, and this secretive mercantile race is a gold mine of world lore, as the source of all ancient magics are embedded within crystals and gemstones, particularly engraved ones. The most powerful of these grow with the engraving included in the design and colored nodes of power within them. The most powerful wizards left on my world are among the gnomes, who are never seen, as they believe that the surface world and especially the Sky is Hell that will suck them up into the clouds, never to be seen again.
* Magic has been badly fractured on my world as the result of a Wizard War to end a different Age, and only one class of magic user is permitted to operate by law in civilized lands as a result. Wild magic patches of land still exist, and the worst of these is Arcanus, where the last chess match of wizarding high stakes was played out between White and Black. Now called Orcannus, the checkerboard white and black towers and surrounding earth, colored the same way, is ruled by necromancers and their worshipping orcish hordes that guard all the old magic towers, both Good and Bad, so that the standard spells never make it back into the wild.
* Large crystal structures are rarely found that both radiate unstable magic anf mutate the surrounding areas. Most, but not all of these are caverns related to old Elven magic that the Elves have partially forgotten, but still feel responsible for.
* Centaurs are a major race in my world, dominating the plains and meadows beyond human spread, and they have been mutated into three "breed" races that don't trust each other.
* Existing magic use is executed differently between wizardly and clerical magic. Wizardly magic requires the classic concentration and elegant patterns, sigils, components and sequences. Clerical magic is requires passion and great calls for aid from the patron god. In my world, I encourage players to write clerical prayers, and I provide a phonetic table to translate English to a spoken "magical moonspeak". Announcing the casting of a spell via recognizable mumbo jumbo is powerful at the table.
* A lot of classes and races were made intentionally tougher to play with major lore hooks, and many are banned outright in my world in favor of much deeper depth, lore and role for that race and class for the lesser number that remain, as the world is being whittled down over the Seven Ages and the Seven Great Wars of prophecy.
The prophecy does not end well. Introducing the players to slowly realize what's going on and break these cycles within cycles and discover SOME of the truth. Much of it is now lost to time, mystery, and the decay of mere imperfection.
There is a set of true gods above the pantheons of dnd. These gods are eldritch beings that are to the canon gods as gods are to ants. The normal pantheons are still worshipped and in existence, but they are downgraded to merely very powerful examples of other creature types or whatever else makes sense.
For example Tiamat and Bahamut are just incredibly ancient dragons.
Helm and Shar are great celestials
The Raven Queen and Eilistraee are Fey
Apep and Umberlee are Fiends
Tyr and Gruumsh are Giants
Lolth and Cthulhu are Abberations
Bane and Myrkul are Undead
Also fun mention:
The gods of Theros are actually Constructs as they were forged as the masters of the Anvilwrought and Warforged.
Also below for those interested, the pantheon of the true ethereal gods:
I am also here.
Am snek.
Why is the god of love LE?
I am an Arachpriest, Cat Cultist, Sauce Monk, Angel of Death, and First Spinjitzu Master.
I play Thirteen the necromancer elf, Timber the tabaxi child, and more at the tavern. Hope you like yams!
Oh yeah, don't forget to be kind and loving and stuff. Not on during weekends.
Actually the god of love is CE,
and as to the reason, love causes a lot of problems. And while love is seen as a good thing for the individual, it also causes pain, violence and envy. The god behind love is seen as a bringer of evil chaos, as if love was more reasonable and easy, a lot of problems in the world would be solved.
It's not just the beautiful mutual love. Its also the one-sided unrequited love, the love of a stalker for their victim, the twisted love of an abuser.
I am also here.
Am snek.
Another major difference to my plane is that Devils are no longer evil scheming backstabbers that love to corrupt souls, but instead dark protectors of law and order that preserve the more pure and honorable of the multiverse from truly chaotic and destructive forces like demons or the denizens of the Far Realms. The Arch-Devils are revered as paragons of many facets of civilization, representing things that can be utilized by good, neutral, and evil societies. Some are even viewed as legit heroes of the mortals of my plane, and Paladins, Clerics, and Warlocks that serve them are considered respected members of the Devil Hierarchy.
"Meddle not in the affairs of dragons, for thou art crunchy and taste good with ketchup."
Characters for Tenebris Sine Fine
RoughCoronet's Greater Wills
That depends, which world do you want to learn about?
Valeros (main difference it's a modern fantasy.), Heiphestomatchy (that one has a lot of robots), Durninis (this one had a magical apocalypse of unknown origin.), Arcanos (main difference is the magic system), the pact worlds (mainly this one has space).
My homebrew content: Monsters, subclasses, Magic items, Feats, spells, races, backgrounds
I created a world for my players that didn't include a select group of races. I then had them choose FROM the omitted group, as they were being transported to this world. This means they are one of a kind in the new world, which allows for a TON of interesting RP opportunities. Also, in the new world, Orcs, Goblins and a few other "evil" races, work and live alongside Humans and the rest, just another dude on the street. They recently encountered a Hobgoblin Enclave (Hobgoblins were a race that "didn't exist" in this new world) whicha gain, created some interesting exchanges.
Talk to your Players. Talk to your DM. If more people used this advice, there would be 24.74% fewer threads on Tactics, Rules and DM discussions.
I love this world so much. It's a genius idea to add so many useless funny little details.
I am an Arachpriest, Cat Cultist, Sauce Monk, Angel of Death, and First Spinjitzu Master.
I play Thirteen the necromancer elf, Timber the tabaxi child, and more at the tavern. Hope you like yams!
Oh yeah, don't forget to be kind and loving and stuff. Not on during weekends.