Interesting Times

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Edits: My theology is rapidly changing from what I have here. It will still be Gods with people worshiping Avaters of them, but fleshing out the ideas have changed it somewhat. Also, the Kenku and Xeph entries are changed to show that they come from the west, not the east.

First Pass at a new game world. So, here is the first enstallement of things about my new gameworld. I'm hoping to drum up some interest and see who is into it and who isn't. I've done quite a bit of mucking about and changing things but I couldn't help it. It all just kind of got stuck in a my head and wouldn't come out until I put it all on paper.

Basic Outline:

This is a high magic fantasy world, with a small amount of steampunk added in. Magic is prevalent and affects most aspects of life, from trade, healing, warfare. Many races have carved our countries of their own across the main continent, but a few are far newer arrivals. Human’s have only occupied this prime-material plane for about 1000 years. They escaped their dieing world and used up great magics to find their way here. They popped up all over the world. In Elf lands, Dwarf lands, Orc lands, and even in less hospitable places, like the middle of the ocean, needless to say, many died just due to were they ended up. Because of the nature of the spell, they appeared with nothing, except a few divine magic items that could make the journey as well. This gave them nothing to start their new lives with, and they had to hard time finding a place for themselves, thrust into other races countries.

1000 years later Humans have no countries of their own, but they have integrated in many different ways into their new found homes. They are slaves in Orc lands, serfs in Gnomelands, and tolerated well in Elf lands. This has had an interesting effect on opening borders far more than expected. A Xeph looks out of place in a dwarf city, and everyone would notice a Halfling in a Goblin city, but Humans are everywhere.

One of the major threats will be the Tyranids (converted from Warhammer 40K) They are an extradimentional menace that sneak in from the astra plane and try and gain a foothold on this plane. If you know of them, great, if you don't, you won't have to know them to play this game.

I have set up the game so there are many races and an abundance of class’. To make things a bit easier, these are the books that can be considered “Core” for my game. PHB, PHB2, DMG, Complete Adventurer, Complete Warrior, Complete Arcane, Complete Divine, Expanded Psionics, and Complete Psionics and Spell Compendium. The exception is some of the classes are not being used. I am also using parts of other books, but in general these will be very specific (usually classes) and will listed elsewhere.

I’m not saying you should go out and get these books, or download them, or read them, or that I have any expectation of you ever referencing these books. I’m just telling you what books I looked at when designing my game so you don’t waste time flipping through the Book of Vile Darkness in an attempt to find that perfect spell or feat.


Magic Overview:

There are 3 types of magic in my game. Arcane, Divine and Psionic. Arcane pulls magic in from the world around you. Shaping it either through skill, or instinct. Arcane casters feel magic swirling around them, and they must navigate it skillfully or be pulled apart by the tides. Divine magic comes from the gods, and I’ll go into that more detailed later. Psionic magic is based on creating powerful channels in the mind to allow energy to flow. Some psionics channel this energy through the intellectual mind, other through a baser, more emotional part of the mind. Psionicists feel the power coming from within them. One change in my game is that Arcane magic is linked to the Ethereal plane and Psionic magic is linked to the Astral plane. Some spell lists will change to reflect this.


Gods and Clerics:

Gods and Clerics: Gods are alien and powerful beings that live in other dimensions. Their power is not based on worshipers, nor can a mere mortal reach godhood. They are the only beings that can grant divine spells (but Druids gain their power in a special way I’ll talk about later.), and they are a constant throughout the multiverse. This means that there are not gods specific to a given race, or even to a specific prime material plane. There are a finite number of gods, but no mortal knows of them all. However, because gods are complex beings, it is hard to worship them as a whole. Therefore clerics devote themselves to an aspect of a God, called an Avatar.

To most lay people the term “God” and “Avatar” are synonymous. They don’t not know the complexities of their religion, to them the Avatar is the deity that they know and draw comfort from. Those that delve deeper in theology come to realize things are far more complex. For the purposes of this section I will try and use “God” to mean the higher being and “Avatar” to mean the aspect that attracts worshipers.

I haven’t decided how many of the Gods I will reveal out of game but I’m going to use the God of Conflict as an example of how things work. Some of this may be subject to change, and as always, I really want players input into this.

Interesting Times: Theology

Races

For the races, I’ve made some changes from the descriptions in the books. For example, elves are not a chaotic race. They value personal freedom, but not at the expense of the whole. I’ve put the average alignment at the end of each description, but people of all alignments can be found among all races.

Humans: Found in many other countries, but have not countries of their own. Some have adapted well to their new homes, others are jaded outsiders. NG

Elves: Long lived and highly magical, the elves live in harmony with nature, as well as being close friends with the halflings. Thousands of years ago the Elves and dwarves were at war, but that time is over now. LG

Dwarves: Hardy and militaristic, the dwarves have been trying to expand their territories. Out of all the races (save perhaps the Dromites) they take the Tyranid threat very seriously. LN

Gnomes: Ingenious and wealthy. They welcomed the humans into their lands, but mainly as laborers and workers. They are a democracy, and like to have votes on things, but only Gnomes can get the vote. They are the only race that uses firearms to any great extent. CG

Proudfoot Halflings: The Proudfoot Halflings are jovial and friendly. They are a partly nomadic people that have defended themselves more with diplomacy than with weapons. NG

Ghostwise Halflings: (from Forgotten Realms setting) More savage and aggressive than the proudfoots, the Ghostwise occupy a great wood that stands on the edge of Halfling territory. They have a very symbiotic relationship with their Proudfoot cousins. CG

Orcs and Half Orcs: Both are allowed. Humans and Orcs are the only two species that can interbreed. This came as quite a shock to everyone and even led some Elves to conclude that Humans must be a type of “semi-civilized” Orc. Orcs are cruel and believe that the right to rule is won in combat. Many Half-Orcs follow this philosophy, but others have rejected it completely. CE for Orcs, CN for Half Orcs

Goblins: Goblins and quick of body and mind and can be quite ruthless. They are constantly trying to steal technology or magic from other races. They have a natural tendency to a “pack” mentality, and will often be quite subservient to a more powerful master. This has allowed Goblins to gain employment outside Goblin lands, as bodyguards, sneak thieves and servants. NE

Lizardfolk: (I have toned down lizardmen so they are a +0 level adjustment with no racial hit dice.) A primarily see fairing people. They are not known for great intellect, but have a cunning that serves them well. There only major country is the Island Draconis. A volcanic tropical island ruled by a powerful red dragon. CN

Kobolds: They have a close kinship to Lizardfolk, sharing rights on the Island Draconis. They are meticulous but somewhat cowardly. They have been enslaved by the Orcs in the past, but found freedom under there new Dragon leader. Some of them even go so far as to worship the dragon as a God, becoming Divine Minds. N

Dromites: (I have lowered the bonus’ on Dromites so they are a +0 level adjustment.) They are a small hardworking people. The only other race to come to this plane from another, although it was so long ago that the reasons why have been lost. They live in underground hives. Some hives are only connected to the surface world via psionic portals. They are not a very populace race, and tend to be discounted by other races. But they are a powerful psionic race. LN

Xeph: They Xeph and the Kenku come from across the western ocean. The largest concentration of Xeph close to this continent live in the shadow of a great mountain on a peninsula of the western coast. Nocturnal by nature, Xeph are used to warm arid climates. Quick to laugh, and always full of movement, the Xeph admire subtle beauty and finesse. CG

Kenku: The Kenku are seen as polite race. Quick to apologize even when its not there fault. But this isn’t really the case. Politeness and appearances are very important to them, but deep inside the can be quite devious. The original spellthieves they prefer to remove an foes ability to do harm, than to harm the foe out right. N

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