I have four so far, two in poem form. The first is a sailing poem about a sailor who's beloved has perished. The second is about a boy who wants to test his mettle, and finds a worthy threat in a dragon that attacks his village. The third is an actual story about an elven girl who sets out on her own after learning she's adopted. The fourth is an epic about about a legendary artifact, a hero, and a villain.
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All stars fade. Some stars forever fall. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Homebrew (Mostly Outdated):Magic Items,Monsters,Spells,Subclasses ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If there was no light, people wouldn't fear the dark.
I have four so far, two in poem form. The first is a sailing poem about a sailor who's beloved has perished. The second is about a boy who wants to test his mettle, and finds a worthy threat in a dragon that attacks his village. The third is an actual story about an elven girl who sets out on her own after learning she's adopted. The fourth is an epic about about a legendary artifact, a hero, and a villain.
I have four so far, two in poem form. The first is a sailing poem about a sailor who's beloved has perished. The second is about a boy who wants to test his mettle, and finds a worthy threat in a dragon that attacks his village. The third is an actual story about an elven girl who sets out on her own after learning she's adopted. The fourth is an epic about about a legendary artifact, a hero, and a villain.
The fourth is about Bornal?
Yep. I'll give you a hint about the outcome, by the way: the hero dies. Actually, now that I think about it, most of my stories end tragically.
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All stars fade. Some stars forever fall. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Homebrew (Mostly Outdated):Magic Items,Monsters,Spells,Subclasses ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If there was no light, people wouldn't fear the dark.
I throw in references to stories that the characters would know here and there, but I don't tell them in full to the players. The idea that everyone would know about Roland Peere and the Dragon of Mount Rulaine, or the wizard Myrddin trapped in an oak by his apprentice, really adds a feeling of depth to the world without boring the players. (Plus, like the ones I just mentioned, many of my world's characters or legends have real-world antecedents, which lends a sense of familiarity while preserving the strangeness, especially if the players don't realize they know the source material.) It's like in The Lord of the Rings when Aragorn says Gandalf is a better guide in the dark "than the cats of Queen Beruthiel." We never hear more about Beruthiel or her cats, but the assumption that the characters get the reference really lends some texture to the story.
A lot of legends and stories of my world involve the creation and then the stabilization of my world. The Dawn War where the gods and primordials fought. The gods then abandoning the world after seeing all the destruction their war caused. Then the beings that would take the god’s place rising up to stabilize the abandoned world. The mortal cults believing they can some how bring the old gods back, and the doomsayers that say the return of the gods would bring about the end of times.
All sorts of fun early era and creation mythos stuff.
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"Meddle not in the affairs of dragons, for thou art crunchy and taste good with ketchup."
I'm taking the approach of building my world by giving it history and absolutely avoiding writing things that will happen - I intend to work on motives and plans, but absolutely no set outcomes!
The goal is to make the world seem like it existed before the party got involved, and in a big way. I've got the greatest construction in the world, The Tower (which is several miles across an no-one has ever seen the top due to the weather systems it creates) which is featured in a legend of the creation of the world, which I did to emphasise its ancient-ness.
The legend of the creation of the world:
This is a summary as I don't have the official document I wrote up!
At the beginning the moon was in love with the world, and the world was only made of ocean. The Moon wished on a shooting star that she could see the worlds face, and the star granted her wish - everywhere she looked on the world, the water turned to stone. Recoiling in horror at what she had done, the moon realised that her gaze was only causing harm to the world, and so she vowed to turn her back on the world and never hurt it again.
Eons pass and life spreads across the world. Amongst it, 3 titans grow to the heights of power; Of the Air is an almighty Roc Bird, whose wings are miles wide, the beat of which can cause hurricanes. Of the land is a great worm, who's body wraps around the world and who rests his head upon his own tail. Of the oceans is the Kraken, whose movements cause tsunamis.
These great beasts all agree that they reign supreme over their own domains, but cannot agree on who is the ruler of the world. As such, they agree that whoever can claim the moon will claim the world also, and the contest begins.
The Roc laughs, and says that the moon is in the sky and the sky is her domain, and she takes off to fly there. Higher and higher she flies, until the air becomes thin and no matter how hard she beats her wings she gets no higher, and soon she tires and crashes down dead, but not before creating the weather and winds that still swirl around the world.
The Kraken says "Hah! I can feel the moon pulling at my oceans; I shall pull back and bring her to me!". He starts to swill the seas about himself, and the moon itself starts to move with him, but in the end his efforts are not enough, his strength wanes, and he falls below the crashing waves which still wash upon the shores as tides each day.
The Worm looks up to the moon, and then digs down as deep as ever he could before bursting out of the ground, stretching as far as he can. The air gets thin and cold, and still the worm stretches, and at the very limits of his reach, one of his mandibles reaches out and, so gently, touches the moon.
The moon was not expecting this, having turned her gaze outwards, and turns in surprise to see the many eyes of the worm gazing in wonder at her - just as it starts to turn to stone. And there it stands to this day - a great tower reaching into the heavens, for how could anyone claim to have built something so enormous!
(This isn't actually how the Tower was made, it is genuinely just a myth!).
I also have a legend of an elvish hero Olbanor the Traveler, who led his people across the land to the Tower during the last ice age, which is given to the players as a dream which they all suffer at the same time due to reasons. It emphasizes how long the Tower has been there, which is something of an important part of another of the scenarios the players can get involved with! Several features are named after this hero, such as Olbanor's Tears, the saltwater waterfall which pours down from the mountains.
As I said, my main goal is to make the world feel like it has existed for a long time before the players get involved!
I have loads of stories and ballads. I occasionally make references to the LOTR as if it were a legend that most people don't believe is real. I particularly like to use this as something the Bards would sing about. I have written a ballad about my party's encounter with a Black Dragon and his Mate. Playing this party I make references by way of the bard's singing to several other encounters including the slaying of a Hydra.
In my homebrew area I have written a skeleton of a history that goes back three generations when the current ruling family led the people to drive the orcs across the land to the west. The ruling family patriarch was a knight (paladin) that was posted to serve in his father's barony. He distinguished himself by acting bravely and successfully defeating the orcs several times, with one notable victory when he rescued another knight and his band from certain defeat. They were encircled by a larger number of orcs who were then whittling them down. The men were fighting well enough but the numbers were going to lead to an obvious outcome. But the hero heard the sounds of battle and rode quickly ahead and as he crested a rise he could see the situation plainly.
He signaled to his troops to hurry forward and then, along, he rode his war horse down into the fight taking the orcs on his side completely by surprise because they were unaware of his approach over the sounds of battle. As he rode in he killed five orcs with his sword and trampled a few others taking them out of the fight. Inside the orbis the orcs thought they would get their revenge. But watching from his horse he could see the approach of his riders and as they reached the outer edge of the battle, he spurred his horse to fight out of the center, succeeding because of the chaos introduced by the arrival of his mounted troops.
As he reached the outer edge of the fight again his footmen arrived, but the orcs were paying more attention and reacted to the change of fortune on the field. The weakness in the Orc lines opened by the paladin's charge gave the beleaguered forces a chance to escape so they rallied and prepared to break out of their encirclement. The riders, now among the besieged group knew the Paladin would 'rescue them' and they were alert to what he was doing. When the signal was given, his footmen on the outside initiated an attack and the riders convinced a number of the soldiers inside the fight to make an effort on the inside opposite them. The two forces were able to weaken the orcs because in part they lacked cohesion and discipline. When the lines were weak enough, the paladin rode inwards again as his own riders rode out. Together these forces were able to force open a path through the orc lines allowing the besieged forces to escape.
Outside the encirclement, both forces were able to reorganize and face the orcs in battle line. They slowly withdrew over the rise as the day's light began to fade. The other Paladin turned out to be a Baron from a barony not near the border with the orcs. He made great efforts to spread the story of how his bravery and that of our hero allowed his forces to be saved. He became a strong ally to our hero's house and helped him advance politically leading to more fame from his great deeds.
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Cum catapultae proscriptae erunt tum soli proscript catapultas habebunt
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have a legend in your setting that your players to listen to or you just added it for fun? share it with us
I have four so far, two in poem form. The first is a sailing poem about a sailor who's beloved has perished. The second is about a boy who wants to test his mettle, and finds a worthy threat in a dragon that attacks his village. The third is an actual story about an elven girl who sets out on her own after learning she's adopted. The fourth is an epic about about a legendary artifact, a hero, and a villain.
All stars fade. Some stars forever fall.
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Homebrew (Mostly Outdated): Magic Items, Monsters, Spells, Subclasses
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If there was no light, people wouldn't fear the dark.
The fourth is about Bornal?
I have a weird sense of humor.
I also make maps.(That's a link)
Yep. I'll give you a hint about the outcome, by the way: the hero dies. Actually, now that I think about it, most of my stories end tragically.
All stars fade. Some stars forever fall.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Homebrew (Mostly Outdated): Magic Items, Monsters, Spells, Subclasses
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If there was no light, people wouldn't fear the dark.
I throw in references to stories that the characters would know here and there, but I don't tell them in full to the players. The idea that everyone would know about Roland Peere and the Dragon of Mount Rulaine, or the wizard Myrddin trapped in an oak by his apprentice, really adds a feeling of depth to the world without boring the players. (Plus, like the ones I just mentioned, many of my world's characters or legends have real-world antecedents, which lends a sense of familiarity while preserving the strangeness, especially if the players don't realize they know the source material.) It's like in The Lord of the Rings when Aragorn says Gandalf is a better guide in the dark "than the cats of Queen Beruthiel." We never hear more about Beruthiel or her cats, but the assumption that the characters get the reference really lends some texture to the story.
Wizard (Gandalf) of the Tolkien Club
A lot of legends and stories of my world involve the creation and then the stabilization of my world. The Dawn War where the gods and primordials fought. The gods then abandoning the world after seeing all the destruction their war caused. Then the beings that would take the god’s place rising up to stabilize the abandoned world. The mortal cults believing they can some how bring the old gods back, and the doomsayers that say the return of the gods would bring about the end of times.
All sorts of fun early era and creation mythos stuff.
"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
I'm taking the approach of building my world by giving it history and absolutely avoiding writing things that will happen - I intend to work on motives and plans, but absolutely no set outcomes!
The goal is to make the world seem like it existed before the party got involved, and in a big way. I've got the greatest construction in the world, The Tower (which is several miles across an no-one has ever seen the top due to the weather systems it creates) which is featured in a legend of the creation of the world, which I did to emphasise its ancient-ness.
The legend of the creation of the world:
This is a summary as I don't have the official document I wrote up!
At the beginning the moon was in love with the world, and the world was only made of ocean. The Moon wished on a shooting star that she could see the worlds face, and the star granted her wish - everywhere she looked on the world, the water turned to stone. Recoiling in horror at what she had done, the moon realised that her gaze was only causing harm to the world, and so she vowed to turn her back on the world and never hurt it again.
Eons pass and life spreads across the world. Amongst it, 3 titans grow to the heights of power; Of the Air is an almighty Roc Bird, whose wings are miles wide, the beat of which can cause hurricanes. Of the land is a great worm, who's body wraps around the world and who rests his head upon his own tail. Of the oceans is the Kraken, whose movements cause tsunamis.
These great beasts all agree that they reign supreme over their own domains, but cannot agree on who is the ruler of the world. As such, they agree that whoever can claim the moon will claim the world also, and the contest begins.
The Roc laughs, and says that the moon is in the sky and the sky is her domain, and she takes off to fly there. Higher and higher she flies, until the air becomes thin and no matter how hard she beats her wings she gets no higher, and soon she tires and crashes down dead, but not before creating the weather and winds that still swirl around the world.
The Kraken says "Hah! I can feel the moon pulling at my oceans; I shall pull back and bring her to me!". He starts to swill the seas about himself, and the moon itself starts to move with him, but in the end his efforts are not enough, his strength wanes, and he falls below the crashing waves which still wash upon the shores as tides each day.
The Worm looks up to the moon, and then digs down as deep as ever he could before bursting out of the ground, stretching as far as he can. The air gets thin and cold, and still the worm stretches, and at the very limits of his reach, one of his mandibles reaches out and, so gently, touches the moon.
The moon was not expecting this, having turned her gaze outwards, and turns in surprise to see the many eyes of the worm gazing in wonder at her - just as it starts to turn to stone. And there it stands to this day - a great tower reaching into the heavens, for how could anyone claim to have built something so enormous!
(This isn't actually how the Tower was made, it is genuinely just a myth!).
I also have a legend of an elvish hero Olbanor the Traveler, who led his people across the land to the Tower during the last ice age, which is given to the players as a dream which they all suffer at the same time due to reasons. It emphasizes how long the Tower has been there, which is something of an important part of another of the scenarios the players can get involved with! Several features are named after this hero, such as Olbanor's Tears, the saltwater waterfall which pours down from the mountains.
As I said, my main goal is to make the world feel like it has existed for a long time before the players get involved!
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I have loads of stories and ballads. I occasionally make references to the LOTR as if it were a legend that most people don't believe is real. I particularly like to use this as something the Bards would sing about. I have written a ballad about my party's encounter with a Black Dragon and his Mate. Playing this party I make references by way of the bard's singing to several other encounters including the slaying of a Hydra.
In my homebrew area I have written a skeleton of a history that goes back three generations when the current ruling family led the people to drive the orcs across the land to the west. The ruling family patriarch was a knight (paladin) that was posted to serve in his father's barony. He distinguished himself by acting bravely and successfully defeating the orcs several times, with one notable victory when he rescued another knight and his band from certain defeat. They were encircled by a larger number of orcs who were then whittling them down. The men were fighting well enough but the numbers were going to lead to an obvious outcome. But the hero heard the sounds of battle and rode quickly ahead and as he crested a rise he could see the situation plainly.
He signaled to his troops to hurry forward and then, along, he rode his war horse down into the fight taking the orcs on his side completely by surprise because they were unaware of his approach over the sounds of battle. As he rode in he killed five orcs with his sword and trampled a few others taking them out of the fight. Inside the orbis the orcs thought they would get their revenge. But watching from his horse he could see the approach of his riders and as they reached the outer edge of the battle, he spurred his horse to fight out of the center, succeeding because of the chaos introduced by the arrival of his mounted troops.
As he reached the outer edge of the fight again his footmen arrived, but the orcs were paying more attention and reacted to the change of fortune on the field. The weakness in the Orc lines opened by the paladin's charge gave the beleaguered forces a chance to escape so they rallied and prepared to break out of their encirclement. The riders, now among the besieged group knew the Paladin would 'rescue them' and they were alert to what he was doing. When the signal was given, his footmen on the outside initiated an attack and the riders convinced a number of the soldiers inside the fight to make an effort on the inside opposite them. The two forces were able to weaken the orcs because in part they lacked cohesion and discipline. When the lines were weak enough, the paladin rode inwards again as his own riders rode out. Together these forces were able to force open a path through the orc lines allowing the besieged forces to escape.
Outside the encirclement, both forces were able to reorganize and face the orcs in battle line. They slowly withdrew over the rise as the day's light began to fade. The other Paladin turned out to be a Baron from a barony not near the border with the orcs. He made great efforts to spread the story of how his bravery and that of our hero allowed his forces to be saved. He became a strong ally to our hero's house and helped him advance politically leading to more fame from his great deeds.
Cum catapultae proscriptae erunt tum soli proscript catapultas habebunt