Long story short, while I'm loving being a player again in the Dragonheist Module set in Waterdeep, I have a creative streak and enjoy designing things. And something that bugged me was Eberron is great but it can also feel a bit 'same-y', with Humans in the front seat and everybody else stuck along for the ride, with this world of action and intrigue but 90% of the adventures written (at least the old one, we've yet to get any real 5E modules I believe?) feeling very much the same as modules set in Faerun or Greyhawk but with anachronistic vibes. They were fun, but unless the DM went super hardcore into really setting up the Eberron experience as 'very advanced' and not 'fantasy but with steam-punk', it could fall back into the old rut and players could get bored easily.
So I was sitting there, wondering how to kick off a new setting for my players without re-treading tired old tropes and I was flicking through Netflix, some older concepts I'd never put together, memes, anything to get some neurons firing, and something gelled in my head. TeamFourStar's Natural Oneders, the Sea of Thieves game, the Atlantis animated movie, the general gist of Eberron and the Assassin's Creed: Black Flag game.
What about a setting in a world where magic doesn't work like it does in other worlds? Where magic is neither arcane nor divine, and the world is overflowing with magic, but due to the way the world 'works', spells don't function like normal. A cleric trying to pray for spells would feel all those 'packets' of power being drained away into the world before they could use them, Gods refusing to come anywhere near the world unless in dire need because extended contact could literally see the planet absorb them, outsiders needing phylacteries just to avoid the same fate instantly, etc etc.
Taking a page from Eberron, magical 'technology' advanced considerably, along with alchemical sciences like blackpowder weapons, meaning to cast a spell, a caster required a Cored Weapon (Wands, Rods, Staves) and a Arcane Focus (Ring, Necklace, Holy Symbol), or Fetishes that held the reagents necessary for the spell and held a small trace of power needed to create the spell in the first place. Wizard and Sorcerers all condensed down into a single 'Sage' Class who could unlock the true power of such Cored Weapons, expending the stored power in a Cored Weapon to conjure Elemental servants, scry across vast distances or lob fireballs at the enemy all the while they try to piece together the secrets of the Old World. Druids and Clerics condensed down into 'Shamans' who could draw from the Green (Plants), the Red (Animals), the Grey (Life and Undeath), Dragon Gods (Outsiders and Dragons) and the Elements (Fire, Earth, Water and Air) for their own versions of spells and who functioned as the religious casters in a world where Divine Beings never existed or were. Bards and Warlocks condensed down into Wand-Slingers who know enough about magic to use Wands and Rods to shoot bolts of force or beams of elemental magic, be halfway decent in a scrum and get through on sheer bravado and the skin of their teeth. Alchemists could be a '3/4' caster who uses the innate magic of their ingredients to make potions, bombs and oils they can use to heal, harm or alter themselves and their targets in strange and unsettling ways.
But the world itself had to be different. A world very much like Eberron, where magical 'technology' was the order of the day, the Human race sprawled across the world, arrogant and domineering, enslaving or absorbing the other races until the coming of the 'Dragon Gods', a brood of Chromatic Dragons secreted on the planet by Tiamat as part of a long-running scheme to eventually crack the planet in half and thus be able to absorb all that latent magic, and all the souls, to finally push herself past this stalemate with Bahamut and win their interminable and endless conflict for domination of Dragonkind. Most of Humanity, already of a 'greatest of equals' mindset at best, happily sees the Chromatic Dragons as Gods since the Chromatics are beacons of power and majesty and, with Tiamat's long study of the world's magical devices and the flow of its energies, found a way to work around the planet's draining effects on outside magic and beings able to use magic without needing Cored Weapons or Fetishes must obviously be divine beings. Eventually, Bahamut finds the world as well and sends his own Metallic Children to counter Tiamat, and the world descends into open warfare as the few Humans not down with the whole subjugate every other race as slaves rallies the surviving races of the world in a fight against Tiamat's servants, the ritual to allow Tiamat to absorb the world's energy is put into effect too soon and destabilized by bickering between her servants and the efforts of Bahamut's own feuding armies, and the world instead draws energy from the Elemental Planes that were being tapped to crack the planet.
The Elemental Plane of Water floods the world, drowning millions as the oceans grow dramatically in size and volume.
The Elemental Plane of Earth causes the tectonic plates to swell and shift, causing whole mountain ranges to burst up and sunder the old continents.
The Elemental Plane of Fire causes many of those mountains to turn into volcanoes, spewing ash and fire across the world.
The Elemental Plane of Air causes hurricanes and sea-twisters to ravage and blow survivors around the world and strand them on the newly formed islands and small continents.
Three hundred years pass, and the world teeters back and forth before finding a kind of equilibrium, that unfortunately encourages the more ambitious and selfish of the Dragon Gods to break the Accord that held them all to non-intervention in each other's territories and begin the ancient conflict yet again.
Enough people survived the original devastating that life carried on, Humanity is still the most numerous population but the other races aren't willing to let them get anywhere near being the top dogs again after centuries of being persecuted by them and technology is a hobbled-together hodge-podge of Cored technology, scavenged alchemical know-how and pure survivalist teachings. There's no such thing as sprawling metropolises anymore, most communities are villages or hamlets perched on small islands or on giant floating rafts pulled across the sea by tamed sea-monsters, the 'Dragon Gods' control most of the landmasses and have their own agendas and the continuing side-effects of the Elemental Planes being drained of power causes natural disasters and occasional hints of preserved ruins on the bottom of the sea or consumed within volcanic islands that could hold more knowledge of the Old World that could be used to rebuild the players' home town and defend it against roving bands of raiders, equally desperate survivors, swarms of undead caused by the 'Flood' trapping millions in a state of despair and horror or ravenous monsters.
Tiamat still wants the planet's energies, now bolstered further by massive infusions from the Elemental Planes, and Bahamut is furious at his children for their bickering and the colossal loss of life it caused. Other Gods are also interested, but the nature of the world prevents direct intervention. Outsiders using phylacteries to protect their essences from being consumed appear to try and lead the surviving mortals into the service of these distant Gods, mortal cults revolving around Aboleth and worse, powerful factions of survivors looking to unite the world under their banner by means fair or foul, all of it could be interesting backdrops against the players trying to rebuild their homes or seek their fortunes in a world where you get around either by ship or flying creatures, where spellcasting is inherently tied to having the right kind of magical item in-hand at the time, taking the place of material and somatic components and using the bones, teeth, scales and hides of monstrous creatures to make your ship, your armor and your weapons is as common as the more traditional methods of steel, wood and stone.
So the question, would Tiamat pull a stunt like this? Does this seem in her 'nature' to people who've been more invested in the WotC franchise than I have in the past decade or so? Would Bahamut be willing to go to such lengths to stop her on some ass-backwards planet so far removed from the rest of creation? Does the above seem interesting or does it feel a bit to meme-y and derivative? Would you play a caster class who was heavily built around using wands and staves to cast their spells? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
Tiamat is all about conquest, greed, and chaos.. all of those fit with her mythos for your world lore. Bahamut is about justice, sometimes protection, and wisdom. Here is the thing, the various gods can mean whatever you want them to mean within YOUR world. But IMHO, Bahamut could easily be called to bring Tiamat to Justice for he crimes against the planet. Or protection is his thing, trying to keep her from completing the final stages of destruction of the planet.
In my own world, the two are flip sides of the coin since their separation from each other in the original being of Io, and well... eventually they will be rejoined, or destroy each other, or something...im not quite sure what yet as we are fairly early on in the campaign.
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Something something homebrew something something.
Long story short, while I'm loving being a player again in the Dragonheist Module set in Waterdeep, I have a creative streak and enjoy designing things. And something that bugged me was Eberron is great but it can also feel a bit 'same-y', with Humans in the front seat and everybody else stuck along for the ride, with this world of action and intrigue but 90% of the adventures written (at least the old one, we've yet to get any real 5E modules I believe?) feeling very much the same as modules set in Faerun or Greyhawk but with anachronistic vibes. They were fun, but unless the DM went super hardcore into really setting up the Eberron experience as 'very advanced' and not 'fantasy but with steam-punk', it could fall back into the old rut and players could get bored easily.
So I was sitting there, wondering how to kick off a new setting for my players without re-treading tired old tropes and I was flicking through Netflix, some older concepts I'd never put together, memes, anything to get some neurons firing, and something gelled in my head. TeamFourStar's Natural Oneders, the Sea of Thieves game, the Atlantis animated movie, the general gist of Eberron and the Assassin's Creed: Black Flag game.
What about a setting in a world where magic doesn't work like it does in other worlds? Where magic is neither arcane nor divine, and the world is overflowing with magic, but due to the way the world 'works', spells don't function like normal. A cleric trying to pray for spells would feel all those 'packets' of power being drained away into the world before they could use them, Gods refusing to come anywhere near the world unless in dire need because extended contact could literally see the planet absorb them, outsiders needing phylacteries just to avoid the same fate instantly, etc etc.
Taking a page from Eberron, magical 'technology' advanced considerably, along with alchemical sciences like blackpowder weapons, meaning to cast a spell, a caster required a Cored Weapon (Wands, Rods, Staves) and a Arcane Focus (Ring, Necklace, Holy Symbol), or Fetishes that held the reagents necessary for the spell and held a small trace of power needed to create the spell in the first place. Wizard and Sorcerers all condensed down into a single 'Sage' Class who could unlock the true power of such Cored Weapons, expending the stored power in a Cored Weapon to conjure Elemental servants, scry across vast distances or lob fireballs at the enemy all the while they try to piece together the secrets of the Old World. Druids and Clerics condensed down into 'Shamans' who could draw from the Green (Plants), the Red (Animals), the Grey (Life and Undeath), Dragon Gods (Outsiders and Dragons) and the Elements (Fire, Earth, Water and Air) for their own versions of spells and who functioned as the religious casters in a world where Divine Beings never existed or were. Bards and Warlocks condensed down into Wand-Slingers who know enough about magic to use Wands and Rods to shoot bolts of force or beams of elemental magic, be halfway decent in a scrum and get through on sheer bravado and the skin of their teeth. Alchemists could be a '3/4' caster who uses the innate magic of their ingredients to make potions, bombs and oils they can use to heal, harm or alter themselves and their targets in strange and unsettling ways.
But the world itself had to be different. A world very much like Eberron, where magical 'technology' was the order of the day, the Human race sprawled across the world, arrogant and domineering, enslaving or absorbing the other races until the coming of the 'Dragon Gods', a brood of Chromatic Dragons secreted on the planet by Tiamat as part of a long-running scheme to eventually crack the planet in half and thus be able to absorb all that latent magic, and all the souls, to finally push herself past this stalemate with Bahamut and win their interminable and endless conflict for domination of Dragonkind. Most of Humanity, already of a 'greatest of equals' mindset at best, happily sees the Chromatic Dragons as Gods since the Chromatics are beacons of power and majesty and, with Tiamat's long study of the world's magical devices and the flow of its energies, found a way to work around the planet's draining effects on outside magic and beings able to use magic without needing Cored Weapons or Fetishes must obviously be divine beings. Eventually, Bahamut finds the world as well and sends his own Metallic Children to counter Tiamat, and the world descends into open warfare as the few Humans not down with the whole subjugate every other race as slaves rallies the surviving races of the world in a fight against Tiamat's servants, the ritual to allow Tiamat to absorb the world's energy is put into effect too soon and destabilized by bickering between her servants and the efforts of Bahamut's own feuding armies, and the world instead draws energy from the Elemental Planes that were being tapped to crack the planet.
The Elemental Plane of Water floods the world, drowning millions as the oceans grow dramatically in size and volume.
The Elemental Plane of Earth causes the tectonic plates to swell and shift, causing whole mountain ranges to burst up and sunder the old continents.
The Elemental Plane of Fire causes many of those mountains to turn into volcanoes, spewing ash and fire across the world.
The Elemental Plane of Air causes hurricanes and sea-twisters to ravage and blow survivors around the world and strand them on the newly formed islands and small continents.
Three hundred years pass, and the world teeters back and forth before finding a kind of equilibrium, that unfortunately encourages the more ambitious and selfish of the Dragon Gods to break the Accord that held them all to non-intervention in each other's territories and begin the ancient conflict yet again.
Enough people survived the original devastating that life carried on, Humanity is still the most numerous population but the other races aren't willing to let them get anywhere near being the top dogs again after centuries of being persecuted by them and technology is a hobbled-together hodge-podge of Cored technology, scavenged alchemical know-how and pure survivalist teachings. There's no such thing as sprawling metropolises anymore, most communities are villages or hamlets perched on small islands or on giant floating rafts pulled across the sea by tamed sea-monsters, the 'Dragon Gods' control most of the landmasses and have their own agendas and the continuing side-effects of the Elemental Planes being drained of power causes natural disasters and occasional hints of preserved ruins on the bottom of the sea or consumed within volcanic islands that could hold more knowledge of the Old World that could be used to rebuild the players' home town and defend it against roving bands of raiders, equally desperate survivors, swarms of undead caused by the 'Flood' trapping millions in a state of despair and horror or ravenous monsters.
Tiamat still wants the planet's energies, now bolstered further by massive infusions from the Elemental Planes, and Bahamut is furious at his children for their bickering and the colossal loss of life it caused. Other Gods are also interested, but the nature of the world prevents direct intervention. Outsiders using phylacteries to protect their essences from being consumed appear to try and lead the surviving mortals into the service of these distant Gods, mortal cults revolving around Aboleth and worse, powerful factions of survivors looking to unite the world under their banner by means fair or foul, all of it could be interesting backdrops against the players trying to rebuild their homes or seek their fortunes in a world where you get around either by ship or flying creatures, where spellcasting is inherently tied to having the right kind of magical item in-hand at the time, taking the place of material and somatic components and using the bones, teeth, scales and hides of monstrous creatures to make your ship, your armor and your weapons is as common as the more traditional methods of steel, wood and stone.
So the question, would Tiamat pull a stunt like this? Does this seem in her 'nature' to people who've been more invested in the WotC franchise than I have in the past decade or so? Would Bahamut be willing to go to such lengths to stop her on some ass-backwards planet so far removed from the rest of creation? Does the above seem interesting or does it feel a bit to meme-y and derivative? Would you play a caster class who was heavily built around using wands and staves to cast their spells? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
Tiamat is all about conquest, greed, and chaos.. all of those fit with her mythos for your world lore. Bahamut is about justice, sometimes protection, and wisdom. Here is the thing, the various gods can mean whatever you want them to mean within YOUR world. But IMHO, Bahamut could easily be called to bring Tiamat to Justice for he crimes against the planet. Or protection is his thing, trying to keep her from completing the final stages of destruction of the planet.
In my own world, the two are flip sides of the coin since their separation from each other in the original being of Io, and well... eventually they will be rejoined, or destroy each other, or something...im not quite sure what yet as we are fairly early on in the campaign.