Worldbuilding thread: 2nd Edition
What is the purpose of worldbuilding threads?
To help and encourage creative writing and the formation of table top settings.
Previous thread:
>>44216497
ITT: Post your maps, setting ideas, or setting descriptions that you have already set in stone. Brainstorming is highly encouraged. Post some inspirational art as well!
Offer constructive critisicm to your fellow fa/tg/uys and ca/tg/irls.
Optional worldbuilding question: What historical events have occured in your world? How do these events still affect your setting? (Note: does not have to be the biggest historical event, also focus on small happenings that have had large impact. Get creative!)
Bonus thread: refer to this thread for a neat worldbuilding prompt: >>44295295
>>44311620
Also, if you could, I'd like some material to use for header images. My collection isn't very suited for "worldbuilding" themed images.
So I'm working on a setting similar to Necromunda and Dark Age miniatures. The idea is a human megacity on a colonized alien world after sudden radio silence from the rest of the galaxy. The megacity descends into chaos as gangs take over, converting construction mechs into war machines.
The basis would be centered around a mech and the gangs supporting it.
I'm still in early stages, I have the idea that the rich portion would be protected by the remains of the military, while the rest of the city would be fought over by gangs, scrappers and psychos that have gone "native" and ride native megafauna instead of mechs.
Here is map for part of my World, i would want some feedback on it, i think there is something wrong with the rivers but i cant get on my head what it is, but its too late to chance it now as i have already showed it to my players.
also if anyone has time and wants to then come up with why the tiny ruin island is named Island of dreams and not balgorthorn or something
>>44313335
The reason why the rivers look weird is because they are branching off from the source, which I presume is that lake there. Rivers only join together from various water tables, they only very rarely branch off.
>>44313529
This. Unless you go full delta, rivers only join. Also the number of lakes you have is a bit fucking silly
This is more of an aesthetics question than a world building question, but what do you think of this map stylistically?
>>44313602
I think the map itself looks nice, and the factions plus circles are an interesting add. Doesn't really give you a good idea about the borders or anything though.
Fiddling around with my apocalypse scenario to see what you think. Essentially, the global financial system collapses and everyone hits each others critical infrastructure (power grid, for example) with cyber attacks. In paranoia, sea borders are shut down and global trade quickly grinds to a halt.
The story takes place about a century into this dark age where the US has splintered dozens of separate nations, which are typically some form of junta or neofeudal governance.
I was kinda thinking of writing about a kingdom on the Gulf Coast getting into a fight in the Gulf of Mexico with a Mexican pirate kingdom.
>post in the prompt thread as it nears death
damn it
>>44314191
Mines near the top and nobody cared about it either. So don't worry.
>>44314191
>mfw when I made the prompt thread
Suffer mortal
>>44314251
>>44314191
Which prompts were yours?
Having been doing some world building, I figure I should write it down.
No idea how I should format it. Just using word seems bit weak. HTML-files, maybe...
Anyone have any books/pdfs on Herbalism? Either actual science or homeopathic level quackery.
>>44311620
New setting I'm working on. Largely an East-Asian inspired setting like Rokugan. Current Geographic map. Races inculde:
>Human
>Half-Oni
>Kenku
>Nezumi (maybe other Hengeyokai from Oriental Adventures)
>Asura
>Deva
>Ifrits
>Oreads
>Sylphs
>Undines
>Kitsune (for once actually fitting in a setting as opposing to ruin it with weeb shit)
World is high-magic, high-spirit, war torn as shit.
What race would you play? Which would you like more info on?Pathfinder's Eastern Armor is shit but I have no other option please help.
>>44314430
Forgot fucking pic.
>>44314459
Would you like me to photoshop that shit, Anon? Not the best by any means, but I can give it a shot.
>>44314332
Mine was >>44296871
>>44314430
Sounds like the races have huge race overlap.
>>44314459
Step it up on that map senpai, it means nothing right now.
>>44314332
the candy one
>>44312693
I'm kinda pissy, worldbuilding general.
I don't know what to build.
I have multiple settings and like to try new things. I have some generic fantasy, modern fantasy, post modern fantasy-ish, post apocolyptic ish, tribal fantasy... But I only feel like writing about monsters and magicians now, I only care about magical fantasy worlds with their crazy gods and such.
Does anybody else feel the same way? Even if its derivative that's just what I want right now.
>>44314534
What did you wanna photoshop? It's still preliminary at the moment.
>>44314561
>Sounds like the races have huge race overlap.
Not too bad actually. I've been going through their bonuses and diversifying them a tad. You got Humans for those who like dat extra feat (Pathfinder by player request). You got Half-Oni (Half Orcs with Fey magic replacing weapon familiarity), Kenku for your trickster types (gnomes with more language, tricks, and mimicry), Nezumi for the furrys (ratfolk are underrated imo, should I add the other beast races they used to come packaged with?), Asuras and Devas for people who like Planetouched (Aasimars and Tieflings with major alt-ability usage) as well as the Genasi races (again, modified as shit), and Kitsune (goddamn weeaboo but it fits too well in an Oriental adventure).
Shit. I forgot the Vanara (monkey guys).
>Step it up on that map senpai, it means nothing right now.
Will do. I'll see if I can add some names or something. Still working out what to call everything.
So which race would you play?
>>44314858
I know nothing about the world you're just asking which is my favorite based on my existing preconceptions of each of them.
>>44314858
I meant like this, in case you weren't so good with digitalizing or drawing... Good art assets attract people attention and I was bored.
Also, >>44314947 is right. Tho I like the idea of Kenku as long as you make them truly eccentric and different.
>>44315060
Lower that saturation bruh.
see
>>44313602
for a map that doesn't rape your eyes.
>>44314947
>I know nothing about the world you're just asking which is my favorite based on my existing preconceptions of each of them.
Yes. This is what I was doing. I just wanted to know what people thought of these races on their own merits.
>>44315060
Oh hey that's neat. It isn't quite the right direction (I was aiming for something that looks like an in-universe map) but it's pretty cool what you've done. I really appreciate it, even if you were just bored.
Making mountains/ and plateaus is always my bane, so if you had any advice for making some that weren't ass (see: my other map), I'd be most appreciative.
Pic is one way I've tried to do mountains, and I've been told this looks like shit.
>>44314036
Here's my /k/ thread about it
>>>/k/28274530
>>44313529
>>44313582
ok i tried to fix it a little, does it look better? Riverend´s rivers are mostly man-made so thats why i kept the branching there, Also the land shown on the map is about the size of Finland and its due to their size that there are multiple rivers coming from the same lakes (i dont know if that is how it actually works in real life).
>>44314402
I think saveing it all in word files is a good start. Really the key to all encompassing worldbuilding is to break down the entire world by everything that makes up your setting and slowly chisel it down to the fine details.
Ex: Inhabitants>flora/fauna>monsters/animals/intelligent species/plant life/sentient plant life
and then eventually you will have to branch off and kind of create a 'tree' graph.
If you think a series of HTML files will be more organized, go for it. The branching method also works for HTML, because links leading to indexes containing more links to indexes and then informative entries can be very organized and helpful. Almost like you are a stranger to the setting, and you can easily search for something in the setting by sifting through categories.
>>44314817
I feel you. Maybe consider some creative writing as a personal project? It sounds like you're pretty backed up creatively, you need to let that out. Even though it's fantasy, table top isn't always the best creative channel for what you want to express. Express yourself my man, even if it feels stupid or new, it might be a fun pass time for you. I encourage you to try some writing, and see if it's for you.
>>44315127
I don't know, I think that maybe the map feels a bit more in place with the setting than the map you provided. I think for an oreitnal and eastern setting, maybe the traditional hand drawn enlightened explorer inspired maps wouldn't quite fit a map used for a Japanese setting. Sure it could work, but maybe a semi-realistic geographical map might work better.
>>44316293
True, I appreciate the advice but the problem comes from not really knowing what I want to do.
I do like post-apocolypse and I have kind of like 3 proto concepts floating around for it but I have a problem because it always feel extremely derivative to me. Any post-apocolypse setting you make is going to feel either like Fallout or Mad Max and nothing you do can change that, at least how I feel.
>>44316394
I'm talking about the style, I'm talking about just the saturation.
your sat is 100% all the way through, at most it should be 80
>>44316741
not talking about the style. I fugged it
>>44316609
You can make it as creative as you like friend. Numenera is post apocalypse. Forgotten realms is post apocalypse. It dosen't have to be "everything's radioactive and all shit" is can be "there was a huge magic explosion and now everything's crazy and metal as fuck"
Speaking of post apocalypse, I had a concept for one that I wanted to share. Please do tell me if its too cliche or stupid.
The idea is that, in the future, the absolutely huge number of humans on the Earth break some kind of psychic barrier that unleashes huge amounts of mystical energy into the world as well as general waves of energy that make people go crazy and stuff. Essentially it ends the world.
Then, left over in its wake, gigantic fields of mist and fog exist out there that seem to sap people's will to live. If you enter the fog the longer you stay the more mentally strained and weakened you feel, but out there is unused scrap metal and raw materials for the great cities being built in the safe zones.
Would it be interesting to have people go around these areas in great mechs? Built much from scrap metal and wood, these huge walkers or 'striders' as they are called safeguard explorers from the dangers of the fog, which is both the fog itself as well as the dangerous mystical fiends that arouse from the lost people, some of which have developed psychic powers.
Additionally; some HUMANS have developed psychic powers and are actually strengthened by the fog, but still hurt by it. Many of them hunt for spiritual sites out in the fog that they can absorb into themselves; to increase their psychic potential.
Most guns are black powder. The great mech-guns are all rusted shut and useless now, so mech fights are usually done at a slow and ponderous pace with catapults, black powder cannons, and eventually boarding.
This sound interesting to anyone? I'm really not a fan of psychic stuff being used as an alternate to magic in most games but in this sort of setting I think it works if you tie it in.
>>44317273
http://g.e-hentai.org/g/383893/4d3897789b/
Yes
>>44317337
Christ. Looks like it is back to the drawing board.
>>44314459
>>44314858
>>44315060
>>44315244
Me again. New map. Wondering if anyone from before is still around to critique?I know the mountains look like poop sempai, and I'm sorry-desu.
>>44317638
S-sorry for killing the thread guys.
>>44313335
I look at this map, and I think, "What fired an orbital bombardment at the Castle of Great Kings?"
>>44312973
Bumping for this. What kind of time lapse would be good to get from the fall after peak to where scarcity and wear and tear is starting to have a big effect on equipment? Like, there's still production, but it lacks greatly in efficiency and innovation is dead.
So I've been working on this secret order of Mages. They believe in a concept called the "Mage Soul" or "Soul of the Mage" which basically states that only Wizards have souls. This is their discriminatory viewpoint that most, but not all of them share.
Essentially because a Mage retains their magic powers when they switch bodies (ruling out the magic being totally physical) and also can still have magical power even if they get amnesia (ruling out the mind/memory), therefore they believe it must be tied to a person's conscious soul.
Does this seem plausible? I personally think it makes good sense and sets them up to be unlikable heroes or logical villains.
>>44313602
might i ask what program you used to make this?
what is generally a good program (preferably free or something with a free trial) for world and town building? i'm not looking for anything too complex but something get get started.
Post your favorite map projection
>>44318483
It largely depends on what everymen think a soul is for. Do souls govern conscience? Are souls partially responsible for emotion, like the body and mind are? If stories and lore in the setting have non-mages going to heaven or doing all or part of the things a soul is associated with, then the mages can only claim that they have superior souls.
You can still get some discrimination out of this, such as saying that only mage souls are fit to govern because the layman soul is horribly corrupt or prone to selfishness/idiocy/nation destroying.
>>44318544
Any program can be used, even ms paint
If you've got photoshop, use that. If you can't get photoshop, use gimp
>>44318513
Photoshop.
I'll write a short rundown of the process if you want me to.
>>44317638
Your map is accomplishing little but telling me the names of nations and their approximate locations.
You're also falling into the good ol trap of over saturated colors and shit fonts.
>>44318544
Photoshop for cartography, word for writing. I don't condone piracy, but pirate them.
>>44318483
Sounds like it could be done in a neat way depending on how mages exist in the setting.
>>44319106
pic realted senpai
>>44319194
i would appreciate that quick rundown
>>44319566
1.draw a quick outline of your intended landmasses
2.make a new file. This is your coastline farm. Render black and white clouds and then add a threshold layer. This will generate nice shapes you use as coastlines, chop em up and paste em over the rough sketch. When you're done you should have a black and white water/land mass map. Copy paste that to a new alpha channel. Should have something like pic related.
3.Erase the map and fill the background with your desired water color.
4.load the alpha selection and fill in your landmass color on the new layer.
5.Put that thing through the ringer with giant ink stain bushes to generate color variation
6.Add strokes to the coast line and maybe a slight inner glow if you're so inclined
7.Draw in forests and mountains, or use symbols if that's to your taste.
8.Draw in the rivers. Make sure they work.
9.Add cities and point of interest marker. Name everything. Give all that a nice subtle glow to make it stand out a tad.
10.Add the border, compass rose, scale, that sort of thing.
11. Slap on a paper texture and you're ready to rockerooni.
>>44319689
thanks anon!
screen caped for later. this will definitely help
So I'm currently still trying to codify a magic system.
The basic idea is that humans learned magic from great meditating giants that live under or above the earth and by living and especially dreaming or meditating nearby them humans can peek into their dreams and learn strange arcane secrets and lore, eventually leading to magic.
Whatever strange magical force that this knowledge let people understand, it eventually let them do magic. Note that still not everyone can do magic, most cannot learn any spells besides a few acolytes that train their whole lives to cast just one spell; Wizards come from special bloodlines or are born with special power to be able to actually make use of this stuff.
The problem I am running into is what exactly this knowledge is and secondly how does this knowledge transfer such so that people must be genetically gifted to actually use it? If the original arcane spells were learned this way that makes more sense but at the same time I don't really know if they should still be around because otherwise they'd be important areas for empires to control to get mages there which I'm not a huge fan of either.
>>44311620
>ITT: Post your maps, setting ideas, or setting descriptions that you have already set in stone. Brainstorming is highly encouraged. Post some inspirational art as well!
I've become a little more motivated than usual and have begun to DRAW the setting I've been working on and so forth:
Today was entirely devoted to my settings "lowest-level" generic enemies- the Vegimites & Fungimites.
Pic related are the Vegimites: they basically bury themselves during the day while absorbing nutrients through their butts and feet. Dusk, dawn and when the moon is full, they like to dig themselves out of the ground and just sort of waddle about and socialize with others of their kind.
Vegimites can be quite tough little customers if they have to defend themselves- they're more than capable of kicking the shit out of a goat or a child who accidentally plucks their leaves trying to make a grass whistle.
I've been building a world for a couple years now but I feel like if I shared it I'd just get told it's horrid lol
>>44320371
Aaaand here are the Fungimites.
Fungimites belong to a slightly higher-pay-grade than the Vegimites as Fungimites often have a wider variety of defense mechanism at their disposal including: releasing irritating spores as well as just being toxic.
That isn't to say Fungimites aren't familiar with their share of kicking and headbutting any mistaken mushroom hunters trying to "pick them".
Cooking instructions can vary wildly since they're both really diverse "vegetables", but the main rule to always follow is to cut their "butts" off. The butts, legs and feet of these creatures are tough, woody, and rubbery- very unappetizing and no good at all for eating.
Vegimites and Fungimites are often the first low-level sort of creature Monster Hunters and Newbie Adventurers often encounter. They're excellent beginner combat experience due to their cocky die-hard attitudes and fantastic eating for the penny-less newbie.
((oh, uh, Art blog link if anybody is interested: http://spaghettiart.tumblr.com/ ))
>>44320405
Should I post to keep thread alive? Or has it been abandoned
>>44320478
Just do it you faggot don't ask for attention.
>>44311620
I'm writing a story to illustrate details of the world I'm currently building, and also because I miss playing RPGs with a group of friends (not enough free time).
The protagonists are pioneers to a newly discovered continent, a continent where magic is still wild and immensely powerful. The party is made of three men currently disembarking off of an imperial transport, taking in their first sight of the New World.
We have:
Torag val Dol: A monster hunter tattooed with the magical markings of his organization. He has a freakish appearance having had various monster parts and organs grafted onto his body via magic. His mouth juts forward with massive tusks, his eyes are yellow and lupine, his fingers are host to retractable talons. His tattoos cover him head to toe, thick blue lines of stylized flame. His accent lisps due to the tusks, much to the amusement of his companions. He is exploring the New World to update the Bestiary with any new threats that he might find in addition to serving Glaucon as an adviser as to how best tame the wilderness.
Glaucon: A former gladiatorial champion, Glaucon hungers to be more than a famous has-been, and has set his ambitions upon securing political power. He has sunk the majority of his fortune into funding a private colony on the coast of the New World and has hired several experts and worthies to make his dreams come true. Glaucon hopes to exploit the virgin territory and establish himself as a powerful figure, able to influence or even join the ranks of Imperial nobility.
Moritius: A traveling Cthonic monk, Moritius belongs to an enigmatic religious order who believes that there is more to magic than it being a form of energy, they believe that magic stems from the mythical 'Cthons', a race of divine beings who forged the world and later abandoned it. A studious young man, he comes to assist Torag in assembling new entries for the Bestiary while simultaneously investigating the strange magic of the New World.
my world is the same world I use for most any fantasy setting game I play, namely DnD and a game of my own creation that is mostly narration (I just alter the names slightly to accommodate). The"world" is actually a series of worlds, all connected:
Asteris: The main world, this is basically the pinnacle of the Prime Material Plane. It's set up to house 8 continents all based on various locations to provide varied gameplay whenever players travel or start a new campaign. I'll go into detail later. It's by far my most fleshed out world setting.
Zastius: Basically Zastius was created alongside Asteris but forgotten when the Gods and Primordials went to war. This world was left incomplete. Only recently did the Gods take interest again, some of them almost totally abandoning Asteris in favor of restarting here. Zastius is a primitive world, sort of a caveman setting. Fun little side project I worked on for a campaign. Pretty small world compared to Asteris and impossible to map as the concept of a village doesn't really exist outside of a small nomadic tribe of cavepeople. Weapons are also toned down a lot because of no metalworking.
Sauru: Sauru is a living world. It has all the power of a God and creates and destroys life on a whim. He generally lets his creatures have free will, but occasionally a portal will open to Asteris and he will pluck adventurers to bring to him, half for amusement and half to help a favored race without making him get involved.
Larkantum: My steampunk world. Lot fewer monsters, lot more tech. Ruled by sprawling nations and empires that are almost always at war.
Fasalvania: My horror setting. Players are usually pretty weak on Fasalvania and one monster could fuel an entire quest.
>>44320371
>>44320411
adorable
>>44320605
Asteris geography:
Asteris has 8 continents, all of them entirely different from one another. Physics and weather don't work the same way in my world, it was all created and controlled by the Gods and Primordials, so each continent is sort of in its own biome. You have Dalvus, Mestarshan Plains, Crowning Peaks, Droughtlands, Arctic Dales, Far East Marches, Trius, and Nezzurah.
Dalvus: Dalvus is divided into 4 distinct sections by a T shaped mountain range and an extremely dense and dangerous forest north of it. To the northwest you have Arowan, which is based on England, housing two of the Eight Cities of Dalvus. One being Detavion (it was named when my version of Rome ruled the land), and the other being Kal' Bezoah, the last standing Dwarven city. To the northwest you have Havrick, which is sort of a combination of England, Scotland, and Ireland depending where you are. This also houses two of the Eight Cities: Pavella and Coesca. To the southwest you have Edalga, which is based on Spain and houses three of the Eight Cities: Silonius, Qalloph, and Avalon. Then to the Southeast we have Torevelli, my Italy. It houses Zola, the last of the Eight Cities and also the ruins of Octavia, my Rome. The naming of the Eight Cities explains why the names don't sound like the regions they're based on. However, the towns and villages of the land are all directly related to the area.The sprawling Underdark is basically all Dwarven ruins on the top layer and then two kingdoms of Drow and Duergar duking it out on the lower levels.
Mestarshan Plains: The Mestarshan Plains are sort of classic RPG except that forests are more scarce while rolling grasslands sort of step into the "Wilderness" role. The north is based on France, with Pordeux and Listelle being its cities. The south is Germany, with Lamburg and Dunwertz.
Far East Marches: My Asia. this place is huge, the most populous continent but Dalvus is a bit bigger. This is also divided into four distinct parts: Northwest (Zhangji) being Mongolia and the Gobi Desert, the northeast (Pyongkou) being Korea, the eastern islands (Honshu) being Japan, the southeast (Jiangxi) being China and the southwest (Shilao) being Siam. The Six Stars represent each area, making the 6 cities of the Far East Marches: Zhangjiafan (Zhyangji), Sangjinbu (Pyongkou), Xinzhai (Jiangxi), Shiwachi (Honshu), Yamakoshi (Honshu), and Ban Rai (Shilao)
wow ok way to butcher my responses 4chan. I post and half of it is just deleted.
>>44320800
is anyone still here?
This thing is basically a potato not!Africa or not!South America. The two latitudes pictured crossing it are 0 and 30 southern. I need help figuring out the biome(s) that covers the major inland area not circled.
So far I figured White to be extremely arid zones, Purple to be extremely humid (jungles and swamps) and Green to be just plain tropically lush (jungles jungles).
Also, there's that inland sea on the eastern half... Wat do? Make it saltwater, just like the Caspian sea, and call it a day?
>>44320913
I have one idea that I feel I really need opinions on.
What would a society look like where no one needed to eat or drink to survive? (basically theyre ghosts and they only really need to sleep and are naturally immortal beyond that)
I imagine it would be one of people just banding together to follow particular intrests and ideas right? you remove the bottom part of the hierarchy of needs and you are left with stuff like wanting security or fun or freedom or finding out the great secrets of the universe.
Would there even be a monetary system? I mean what would people even buy?
>>44320931
>>44320939
Entertainment, I imagine. Such a society might end up developing outlandishly bizarre as well as insanely niche forms of entertainment.
I've been slowly working on this setting for around 5 months. At the moment I'm running a D&D5E campaign in it that has been going for 4 months. The map displays the main region in which the campaign takes place, but the world is larger of course.
Setting has late medieval / early renaissance vibe, high fantasy low magic. Right now tensions are rising between various nations while the north-eastern lands are being overrun by the legions of the corrupted lands to the north.
I know geography wise things might not work out but gods and other powerful being have reshaped it multiple times and everything was brought into existence by a creator god so I don't care to much.
>>44315817
Thanks for the tips.
>>World is full of dictatorial rulers that start war for the sake of it
>>Abject misery and poverty for the common man
>>Eventually a prodigy is born, never before seen mastery of magic
>>Kills all of the rulers who do not bend the knee to him and subjugates the rest
>>Over the decades, he manipulates the world's countries into become less oppressive, more liberal, and generally better places to live
>>He passes on
>>Council of mages left behind by him begin experimenting with powerful magic in order to try and obtain a fragment of his power
>>Magical apocalypse triggered
>>Mainland uninhabitable by all but the insane (think The Zone from STALKER) - ground zero is the mage's council chambers where the experiment was triggered
>>Some island kingdoms still survive
>>Adventurers are hired by a researcher to retrieve an artifact from the mainland and bring it back for research - well paid since artifact recovery is illegal due to fear of the inhabitants of mainland corruption spreading
Thoughts?
i was thinking about making a program that, given a map and some data across the timeline of a setting, fills the hole automatically.
for example
>you want a starting average middle age world.
>you want to a 200 years economic crisis
>you haven't really thought about the economy of a small nation on a island.
>players really want to know what that small island sell
>the program thinks that for you
do you guys think it can be useful?
>>44321857
Why would the council of mages need his magical powers if the world was already a great place? Also if they're left in charge by him and he wants to make the world a better place I assume his council would want the same?
>>44322045
The only possibilities I can think of are:
>>The world was good but not perfect, and the mages saw an area that could be improved
>>The mages were good but not perfect, and thus were greedy for more power/knowledge
>>The mages were manipulated by an external power that wanted the world to be harmed
>>44322192
>>The mages were manipulated by an external power that wanted the world to be harmed
Sounds like the best option to me, once Almighty McGoodyTwoShoes is gone those former tyrants might try to regain their power.
>>44311620
In all settings there are holy sites and forsaken ruins. What monsters and cults are protecting them in your setting?
>>44322252
Got this idea from a thread I saw a while ago
>>Iron Golem blocking the pathway deeper into the temple
>>Either activates based on proximity to intruders/when keys are inserted into the Golem's chest
>>It then wakes and speaks:
>>Greetings, adventurers! You have traveled far and wide, and now you shall be granted access to the inner sanctum if you can answer my one question:
>>What is smaller than I, and will never leave this temple?
>>DM: The Golem attempts to crush the nearest player between its fists. Roll initative.
>>44322252
Huh. Now that you mention it mine currently only has 2 actual sites and only one outlined so far.
The first site is only mentioned as being the place where the eastern empire empress gained her power. It's part of the territory of a loose enclave of dragons that refugees of other races have piled into a thousand or so years before.
The second site is the main temple to the goddess Anu-Sazorah of the purist elves that is the core of what they claim is their ancestral lands given to them by said goddess. It's called The Temple of Anu-Sazorah and is the center of the capital city of their kingdom(Luwasati). The capital is called the "Everlasting Kingdom", a fortress city constructed from giant living trees and ensorceled granite giving the impression of a city hewn from stone and overgrown with a tended, manicured forest. The city itself is guarded by the army and priests tend the temple itself. I haven't written any detail about it yet because I'm using the Zaharam-Chapelle-Parunas Ethnographical questionare as an outline and it is a bitch to manage.
I guess I also have to make a holy temple or city for the immediate western empire and another for the far west desert empire.
>>44322252
Depends quite a bit on location and whose ruins they are.
In the setting, human and Desw have lot of tombs, ruins and whatnot. Draconian ruins tend to be newer (due having been created later). Varpu and Slaud have some, but not to same extends as the other two.
Human ruins in the Expanse for example? Overrun by flora, wildlife and necrotic gas spewed by the jungle. Maybe some of their thaumaturgic defenses still work, such as soul-powered golems.
Lot of others don't defend theirs so ferociously. Desw in East had lot of temples and lost ruins, with some thaumaturgic creatures of their design set in guard - although they also liked elaborate traps.
Of course, there are chances of cult setting in, but they are usually not very well armed. Depends on the region. Rich cults could have modern guns, while poorer ones might be using pre-war guns. Rural ones might not possess firearms at all.
Plus with cultists usually comes thaumaturges - or devotees of whatever gods.
The lost places in other planes ( ex. Sheol ) are another can of worms. You get demons.Temple City of Xjaal got immersed in Sea of Chaos and filled with Unborn, bit is nigh-inaccessible to anything
However, empire of Desw usually see the historical value in their own tombs and ruins, so they setup guards so passing adventurers/vandals don't spray lizard dicks over their ancient murals. That is only for the found ruins, though.
Human are closer to deserts in sort of no-man's land - but vandals usually get painted on walls by friendly creatures.
>>44322252
>The center of the ancient forest, where redwood ents regularly string up adventurers by their guts as warning.
>The half-empty city of dwarves beneath the largest mountain, where xenophobic short people regularly string up adventurers by their guts as warning
>The pacific rim underwater chasm that has been spewing monsters nonstop for the last two or three hundred years that regularly string up each other by their guts as warning
>The ruined megapolis of humans where raiders and a nerdy dragon string up buildings by their guts as warning
>The exploded continent in the south that has a god strung up across a mountain range, maybe as a warning?
The undead are pretty bro though. They're basically building el Dorado and god help you if you litter.
I've got some knightly order ideas that I've been kicking around for a while. I'd love to hear what you all think.
>Lantern Knights
Also known as the Order of Monkfish, lamp-heads, or chum-buckets, the Lantern Knights are a poor order based in the town of Sorrow-By-The-Sea. Generally disliked by the nobility as being 'uppity commoners' that 'exist only because of some stupid loophole', Lantern Knights spend less time being chivalrous and more time putting down bandits, organising education / public work drives and acting as disaster relief.
Their gear is of poor quality, usually rusty chainmail with copper plates, and they are usually equipped with spears and a shortsword. Their helmets are designed after the common (yet nutritious and plentiful) fish from which they derive their namesake, complete with hanging lantern.
(cont...)
>>44324279
(cont...)
>Knights of Yum
Yum is a tropical land, quickly growing rich by its exports. Fruits, spices, honey, chocolate, sugarcane and everything made from these comes from Yum. It's said that the only sad thing in the land is the dentists.
Knights of Yum are a jovial lot, known for their fancy suits of armour, their battle songs, and their unique defences. They're known for wielding shields made of black toffee, that in the heat of battle can trap weapons in its stickyness,
>tl;dr Mesoamerica x fantasy X Willy Wonka
>>44324279
I like the idea of knights that don't come from nobility and protect the common man.
One thing I am not sure about though - how do they know what a lantern fish is? I though those only lived in the deepest depths of the oceans?
>>tfw Christmas captcha
>>44324469
Well it is a fantasy genre.
Also maybe they can be caught relatively easily at that one place, and that's one of the reasons it's called why it is?
"We called it Sorrow-By-The-Sea. Even the fish here are bloody evil-looking"
>>44322252
The old cities are usually infested by Ash beasts, semi-ethereal bear like beasts that would easily reach 20 feet if they were to stand on their hind legs. They usually wander the plains but prefer to make dens within the ruins.
As for those that actively protect, there are your run of the mill xenophobic clans who have make the ruins their home, reclusive arcanists who study in their cavernous halls, and rival looters out to steal the treasures of old from under your nose, but most potentially threatening are the Hermits. Humans who survived the collapse of the world as they knew it and the centuries after it with the aid of the experimental nanite technology flowing through their veins. Over the years though their age, obsession with the past, and exposure to less than healthy forces has turned the vast majority into nigh-unkilliable, fairly unhinged, fleshy abominations. That's not so say some can't be reasoned with, well, not reasoned with as they lost the capacity for that some time ago, but spoken to.
Has anyone here thought of alternative names for a giant collection of states/provinces, besides the typical Empire/Kingdom/etc. Obviously some of probably have, but I just want to know what you've come up with.
I'm trying to think of other names for those kinds of states that are original.
>>44326384
Dominion or Domain is probably my go to.
>>44326384
United Protectorates.
Anybody have a tutorial on Photoshopping up a galaxy map.
Looking to do a better version of Pic Related.
Using Gimp and am a totalnoob at this sort of thing.
How do I laern to write good NPC, setting inhabitants?
some goof book/ advice link?
Humor me, /tg/: I want to introduce a class of warrior-monks with organic armor to a relatively mundane, low-magic setting. They're basically able to grow a second skin on top of their own and manifest a beetle-like carapace on top of that, that can be broken off with enough force or willingly shed. Because this is seen as a bad omen, children who begin to exhibit these traits are either quietly disposed of or taken to the Convent, the monasteries where these people live and learn not to go into full armor mode every time they have a boner or get the hiccups etc.. And of course because this is a fantasy world, they have to make a living by taking jobs as bodyguards or hired mercs for military campaigns.
Now from a gameplay point of view, would giving them a heavy DEX penalty, a CHAR penalty (because people think their presence is mocking the Elder God), low max HP (because sustaining the armor puts a strain on their bodies), and additional armor restrictions (because you can't wear steel plate or leather gloves over your own bug plates) be enough to counterbalance the fact that they hit really hard with their bare fists and can cast what amounts to Leech Life?
What's the most noteworthy place in your setting?
>>44328033
A hole in the universe that let's you walk to the moon if you're so inclined.
>>44328033
Altair
>>44328033
The Eye of the Wyrm. The island located in the western bight of the Ash Fields is a small and unassuming piece of land at first glance but contain the last few shreds of magic in the world. It is said that long ago a star fell from the skies and landed on the small island raising the interest of lore keepers and nobles. But alas their research was to be their undoing. As soon as one of the cabals were able to master the ancient incantations and runes magical fire, and their own hubris, destroyed the land; cursing it for ages to come.
The island and the surrounding lands are littered with ruins and remains of the once great cities but few dare to venture there since many believe that whatever the lore seekers awoke still rests there.
>tldr: only magical place in low fantasy setting
>pic related (names are borrowed from kodp as placeholders)
>>44327311
I'm not an expert on DnD but couldn't you just fuck their char? It seems much more interesting that the warriors have an extremely hard time getting accepted (ostracized good guys are always fun).
>>44328215
>map designed to fit rectangular space
>>44328307
..is it a bad thing?
Also, any programs that texture a rectangular map like this around a sphere
I'd love to see what my world looks like as a planet
Here's my current map in progress, for the known continent of my world. The continent itself is called Sevek Hilam, by one of the races. It's populated by 8 distinct races, and there is one race from another continent that occasionally visits.
The problem is, I have no idea what this other race should look like.
I have humans, quasi-sapient spider-ant people, lightly bird/serpentine folk, a golem race, some burly yellowish dudes that mold their own bones into weapons and armor as rough or sharp growths, some lightly batlike guys, some elegant dusky skinned people with bioluminescent bands across their bodies.
The other race is very lightly Chinese/Thai inspired, and are the best sailors, in setting. No idea what they should look like. I have drawings of all the rest of the races, if anyone's interested.
>>44328215
I wanna do something like this.
Tutorial?
>>44328605
Sounds interesting, post
>>44328638
Eh, what exactly do you want to know about?
I know this might sound silly but what do you guys think about an undead race?
Ive been thinking about adding one to my game, heres what i have so far.
Undead are the product of a wizard, Lord Leonardo Ozsen who used the power of a relic from the goddess of light to return the soul of his dead wife back to her body by the relic to pull souls from the afterlife back to the living. In doing this it changed the balance of the realm and caused him and everyone within his city to be afflicted with a curse, this curse stopped people from dieing, giving them a mark written in a language no one could understand. At first he was seen as a hero by the people around him but slowly this came with a cost. Food and drink came with no pleasure as it all tasted of dust, people would not die from wounds unless their bodies turned to ash, and time had no effect on their bodies. A century later the curse was translated as, “Find your Purpose on the wheel of fate.” The translator of this curse was restored to life as he translated it, inferring that the only way this could have happened was because he fulfilled his purpose to the world. So then undead set out to find their purpose, dubbed Remniase after the city in which the undead come from. Some persuing to be the best in their proffession, others to be adventurers. As undead go threw life if they lose hope on their Remniase they start to look older and become more insane, until they become ghoulish and feral. The way undead look are they all have the same couple of traits white hair, pale skin, and grey eyes. They all look the same age as when they got they curse. Undead recover from wounds but when it recovers it leaves a scar no matter how bad the injury. Leonardo retreated to a tower to the far south and has set up protection so he can not be disturbed as he trys to complete his Remniase.
I feel like it needs some help so they dont look like a race of edgefags.
>>44328662
Pretty much a photoshop/gimp/whatever noob.
I guess the main things are the continent shapes, the borders and the filter.
>>44328682
First off, stop caring if people think your stuff is edgy, it's gonna stifle your creativity.
Secondly, I think this concept's cool. I don't know what I'd add. They remind me of the vampires from that movie Daybreakers where if they didn't drink blood, they became Nosferatus. I guess you really just gotta flesh out more or less what these purposes that these undeads have to fulfill are
>>44320496
Go on...
>>44328723
Hoo boy, alright I'll do my best.
I used Photoshop. For the land shapes, I downloaded several different land brushes that you can easily find by googling, they're mostly on deviant art and such, really easy to install. With these brushes, I changed the settings of the brush so that it would rotate and scatter as i drew, making random crusty shapes, and just drew big blobs on the map. Then I took an eraser with similar settings, and cut around the edges, making sure lots of the coasts had islands, studying our own world map (look at areas like greenland and iceland) for reference.
In Photoshop, when you click on layers you have border options and color options which make it really easy to do what i did.
The filter is a scanline tutorial I looked up http://photoshopcafe.com/tutorials/scanlines/scan.html really easy to follow
And then i just downloaded fonts i liked, and did the glow effects.
>>44328351
What I'm saying is your geography looks like it was designed to fit on a map. You drew for the space and not for reality.
>>44328876
Well, yeah, that's exactly what I did. I used the Strangereal map as a reference.
I understand the differences in distance as the map goes up and down, and that continents as they look on my map are not actually going to be that size relative to others, much like our own map where africa is actually way bigger than it looks compared to the states.
But it's a map, it's the best I can do. What else could I have done?
>>44328723
Just make fractal lines in PS (there are guides online) or use programs to generate random continents. The borders are (again) just slightly fractal lines and the filter seems to be one of the standards in PS (I might be wrong on this one.) If the filter is custom there's bound to be a guide or something on how to create something similar online.
tl;dr Just DL PS and get going! :)
>>44328682
Sounds similar to Hollowing and DS (which is cool) and this seems decent as well. What happens when they have found their fate? Is it possible or is it like Golconda in nWoD?
The way undead look are they all have the >same couple of traits white hair, pale skin, and grey eyes
This. the only thing i would consider ''edgelordy'' (and i dislike the term) in your post is these traits.. Why not just let them look normal but stink of rot? or simply identifiable by their inability to feel pain/pleasure? It's much cooler with a PC that turns out to be undead (making the party reevaluate what they believe) then it being clear from the beginning. Removing the traits would also make the undead closer to humans and therefore more relate able and tragic.
>>44328924
>Maps are not created to fit with the geography
>>44328968
what do you want from me
>>44328644
Here you go.
>>44328993
Ah shit sorry.
>>44328968 was meant for >>44328876
Not sure if this guys is stupid or just trolling....
>>44313335
What's the site for this map design app again?
>>44328924
It looks very strange, like wherever an empty area of ocean was a land massed was placed.
The best example are the islands in the south east. They look like they were put there just to fill space.
>>44329071
Ooooh I get what you're saying now.
Like the world looks too perfectly designed, rather than random right?
Yeah I totally see that I did that without even thinking.
But ah, whatevs, it's still totally plausible imo.
>>44329132
It's plausible, it just, like so many fantasy maps, has geography that looks like a rectangle. Because that's the shape of the canvas it was first drawn on.
I'm working on a spookemon type game and this is how the typechart flows:
Fiendish > Unhallowed > Eldritch > Draconic > Sanguine.
Now I need to justify them. Eldritch is the secret type that doesn't show up for a bit.
>>44329152
I'm sorry..
>>44329190
forgot picture.
>>44329198It's not that big of a deal it's just a pet peeve
The colors and font and such look quite nice. But why do you have no many archipelagos?
>>44329190
>>44329203
I dont know how you would justify them, because I don't really understand what those types are save for eldritch and draconic.
Also, if eldritch is a secret type, doesn't that kind of ruin the perfect star type chart you have for at least the beginning of the game
>>44329241
Thank you thank you
Because.. I haven't added them in yet. Yeah, that's it. No but really, there's more I want to do to that map. It's clear that some areas are more defined than others, like the allied states barely has any islands off the coast that I need to add,
and yeah I do want to add more archipelagos, and maybe cut into the land some more to add more ocean.
>>44328999
Cute, I like your ayylmao style
Qerdama is an island similar to coastal Iran. Their rituals involve stepping into 3 feet long, 2 inch deep tubs for prayer in which, they drown themselves and mumble their prayers into the water. The Qerdamans worship the Sea God-king Alhantiz. The island is well-known for their odd fauna such as the Seahound, a creature with the head of a Labrador and body of a seal with flippers instead of legs. Giant Aquamels pull their boats from port. Think giant sea turtles with the heads of camels.
How do you people go about building religions?
>>44330562
I start with how NPCs act or how I want them to act an then build a religion from that. Otherwise you can use the http://bethisad.com/conculture/questionnaire.htm if you like to go the other way.
Is there a simple guide for throwing together conlangs?
Slapped this together real quick.
I really like it, especially compared to the hand-drawn version I based it on.
Setting is a lot like Star Wars in a lot of ways. I think this map really captures the feel me and the other writers are after.
>>44330748
Is this one better or worse?
What are your dead civilizations like?
>>44331538
In this case I can safely say; 'nobody knows'.
But really, the tribal savages that moved into pick up the pieces of a fallen empire and live in its ruins and try to pretend to be civilized have no real idea what happened to them. Nobody does. Essentially, they were 'raptured' by something, and now everyone picks through their old castles and halls and great bathhouses and pretends to be just as noble, even though the cracks show through the stucko.
I've made some changes from the last time I posted this. I'm at almost 5000 words now.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1SK_-qpqMJ6p7467U8Oa2Rkm2ySwmma5xaLVu3Z2lQzE/edit?usp=sharing
How might you go about building a setting focused entirely on a Tower of Babel like mega structure?
Time period is middle to late medieval with a focus on European exploration in the east. Taking inspiration from Clive Barkers:Jericho, Vagrant Story and the short story 'Down Satan'
According to ancient scripture, His Great Work was built by [KING NAME UNDECIDED] on what he believed was a holy task informed by prophetic dreams. It was to be the greatest building in the world, the pinnacle of all human achievement and an eternal wonder to the world. The king descended into madness, his dream-informed decrees spiraling from the decadent and perverse to that of pure sin. His Great Work became an accursed place, its evil never before seen on earth. Outwardly it looked to be paradise but inside it was most surely Hell.
The edifice was cursed by God, and the great builders and architects that worked upon it were transformed into demonic creatures and their descendants and The Great Work itself banished from the earth to reside in a different dimension.
The Great Work has reappeared in all its glory, allowing access to its fortunes and those worthy the chance to find its wonders.
The Pope has funded a grand exploration of this megastructure, the kings of the world adding their vast funding and manpower to the campaign hoping to retrieve long lost relics from the ruins and in turn favour with the Pope. Some religious texts indicate the knowledge found there will lead to the 'sacred language' the word of god with the power over all things.
Thoughts and ideas?
>>44322222
Hmm, so would that be the descendents of tyrants or some of the tyrants themselves? I'm struggling to think of ways that these antagonists could influence the mages in such a way that would end in the creation of a magical apocalypse. Either the mages know what they are doing, or they have been misled. Perhaps the people doing the misleading would be of the extraplanar variety, and be directing the mages towards a goal that will have consequences unknown to the mages? I don't see how petty extortion by a mundane crook or warlord would be enough to cause them to destroy that which they are responsible for.
>>44332214
Sounds pretty solid for a Legend of Grimrock sort of game. Definitely not something you could pull of in just one or two sessions. Start from the bottom, work your way up, fighting increasingly more powerful monsters and discovering puzzles/mysteries.
I like it alot actually.
>>44314036
>modern non-rusted satellite dish on top of the bridge
That wreck is disguising the entrance to a supervillain's underwater lair, right?
I'm not an artist and I have no.computer for photoshop but this is my map, I am new to being a DM but I am trying, the history of my world is a worl in.progress, each major city governs itself and neighboring farming towns, they worl together to.defend the sheild wall from orcs, this war has been going.on.for a long time now. The main quest is to stop this man named issac, he ised to be a wixard but sacraficed his mortality and his whole guild to this old god for power and now he has been working to bring back his god. The Abyssle is where his guild of wizards tower was but it was destroyed which is why magic is so rare. Other then that I've been trying to work on it more. Any advice or criticism is wanted.
>>44332214
That's fantastic
>>44332214
>[KING NAME UNDECIDED]
Habanesh. My goto name for kings without a name.
How old is civilization on your world?
When I started on my pet project it was a three section map for aScienceFantasy Post Apocalyptic setting focused on more exploring ancient mega-structures, urban exploration, dungeon delving, and everything in between. Immediately afterwards I decided to work on the multiverse. It was originally going to be a demiplane drifting in the Ethereal Plane, created by a disillusioned alchemist from earth, frustrated that the multiverse didn't match his tomes. Then I read some anons idea for 27 elemental planes, since it was unfinished I swapped some things around, added some of my own, and finalized my version. It eventually evolved into taking everything I'd worked on so far and turning it into the Transcendent Plane.
That's all that's set in stone so far. I ha(d/ve) a list of races but with how things turned out I might change it. Any ideas? Criticisms?
>>44318483
I think that's an interesting idea. The discriminatory doctrine really feels like a good hook. Rather than the mages discriminating against non mages because they aren't mages, you got really creative with it. I think that could really work for a setting, but try to give the order some more defining characteristics.
>>44335614
This is another version of the image, if it's any better.
>>44319106
After chopping that up abit, it ain't half bad as a map! Who woulda thunk.
>>44335952
surely a player would notice, right? I know I wouldn't ever be able to avoid constant comparisons to real world places (as in, my players would use "mexico" instead of the name of whatever kingdom I put over there)
>>44320371
I love when people draw their settings. Even if it isn't as good as your drawings, I still love to see these ideas made visual. It can be a very good visual tool for yourself, and any possible players/readers/players that might take part in your interactive settings. Also, it helps me feel like I've accomplished something when I'm worldbuilding and it starts to feel like a grinding process putting everything in writing, small little pictures help keep me going. Also, they're fun to look at! I like your vegimites, Along with the little cooking instructions.
>>44320405
Of course you might get some backlash, but feedback can be good, no matter how negative. Settings should always be works-in-progress.
On the other hand, it isn't your job to please everyone with your setting, as long as it is enjoyable for you and others who can share your enjoyment, I'd say your setting is alright. Nothing has to be perfect.
To summarize, go ahead and post, feedback is good, even if it's harsh. If you want, just use that feedback to better your setting.
>>44335614
Terra: Balanced, it will either be the aforementioned setting or another setting
Lapis: Barren world of caves and subterranean ecosystems, think Waking Mars.
Metalli: Mechanical world, scavengers, raiders, and what not. Based loosely on the "Miasmapunk" thread a while back.
Puluis: Desert world, Mad Max meets Dark Sun. Sorcerer kings and what not.
Ignis: Inhospitable world of volcanoes, constantly spewing magma that covers the surface. Natives are fire based creatures you might find in Dwarf Fortress magma and the elemental plane of Fire. World hoppers built a massive forge city on stilts here, trading with the natives for rare minerals found under the magma.
Cinis: A world of volcanoes long dormant, covered in endless layers of ash. Inspired loosely by Morrowwind.
Ventus: World of floating islands and no core, it's the only world that doesn't resemble the example given. Lot's of airships and flying races.
Naturam: Living world of plants and fungus, with creatures made up of the same stuff. The only law here is the rules of nature.
Caro: Living world of sinew, flesh, bone, blood, and other things found in humans. Everything is made of these things, plants included.
Glacies: World of endless ice age. Largely inspired by the Ice Age block in MTG.
Solis: World of salt and salt crystals. Water not included. Only one race lives here, and they're made of salt.
Aqua: Water world with very little amounts of land mass. Very sailing focused with early industrial technology and little to no magic.
Shamayim: The city built atop the Transcendent Gods husk of a body, long since split into 12 aeons. Ruled over by 12 worldly dictators. The fiery water flows from the city and anyone seeking to escape the Sphere of Neutrality has to start here and take a boat to the edge of reality. Largely inspired by previous ideas, K6BD, and Gnosticism.
>>44321924
This would be pretty useful, I think it would be especially utilized by some "one session setting" games. DMs who might not have enough time to fully flesh out their settings if they are suddenly thrown into the DM role by the group, and need to come up with a setting quickly might use it as well. It could possibly be used for giant detailed settings spanning the entire globe. I would use it even.
However, there would be some difficulties creating a program like this. I assume it would be more like a "generator" type programs, stringing together attributes, historical events and anecdotes to fill in the history of specific regions. It would take a lot of work, but I could see this coming to fruition. I encourage you to go for it, and focus on the program itself. When you need actual writing to fill in the gaps themselves, turn to /tg/ when you're ready and you'll probably get some people willing to help out and write scenarios.
>>44336183
Within the Plane of Transcendence everything works differently than it would in the Prime Material or even other inner planes. It's especially apparent in magic. Magic here is based on concepts, steal the edge off a sharp insult and you could slit his throat, take the weight of a feather and fall slowly, or even the strength of a giant to throw a man. The only limit to magic is what's available and your skill. Many a young mage over has exerted themselves in a prolonged encounter. Some concepts are harder to grasp than others, and some are too weak in certain things to take. An apprentice might be able to take the edge of a knife, but a master could take the edge off a word or a blade of grass.
Basically instead of learning spells you learn concepts and master your concepts, the more you've mastered a concept allows you to take concepts from even weaker sources.
Magic cannot destroy the truths of the world however, truths are 'anchors', souls, concepts, time, and blanks. Truths are things that don't exists on the AEtheric plane. A blank is a person who has no soul. Concepts cannot be destroyed by magic but can be altered. Same with the other truths except for Blanks and Anchors, which cannot be affected by magic at all.
>>44326579
The problem with galactic maps, is that planets are constantly revolving around the sun or mass that the planets orbit around. You should specify that these are how the planets are aligned every 7,000 years or something.
(Sorry this is just my pet peeve, I might even make a tutorial on how to make a .gif showing revolving planets around a star.)
I keep struggling with the logistics of food in a settlement in a planet-sized castle. I want stable, running settlements, but I'm not sure how to create a stable supply of food running.
What do you guys think?
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1HAvraGCMMtafoigcWxOmWwmg49krMvjQ_kyF7qp_SvY/edit?usp=sharing
>>44332214
'Mirin those triple dubs. The idea of a single 'mega-dungeon' has been used more commonly in jrpg and eastern-created settings. See the Castlevania franchise. This will definitely work.
Ideas for encounters:
gotta have some cultists. Maybe they worship the Great Work itself, and ambush adventurers seeking treasure and glory; protecting and preserving the glorious structure.
An army of an opposing nation tries invading the structure in a final encounter-like event.
People, shopkeeps, and trading caravans have established small pockets of blooming civilization within the structure
Organization/religious group worked to create the Great Work, didn't get caught in it and turned to Demons, and secretly knew it would return. They have patiently waited for its return, to continue the mad King's cursed vision and begin construction again. Maybe there is a surprising amount of people supporting the continuation of construction, who have all been waiting and biding their time to continue while lurking and planning in secret societies. Perhaps this is supported by some rich and powerful clans/nobles who see the current excavation of the Great Work as a temporary bubble of commerce, while continuing the building's construction after ridding it of it's demons can benefit society and the economy much more, so they support the construction efforts. The Pope and current government might be against this is in superstitious fear.
Maybe some innocent people got caught in the structure before it was banished, and somehow managed to survive/repopulate. The few survivors have no doubt adapted to their constant life of danger. Think a small family of 'Tarzan's. They are sought after for their knowledge.
I think giving the structure it's own ecosystem due to its extreme size could lead to some interesting plot points. Maybe entire forests have developed inside. Lakes even. Imagine the mega dungeon featured in Dungeon Meshi.
>>44336851
Don't vomit so many proper nouns.
>>44336546
Read a bit of Dungeon Meshi. Some of the most enjoyable parts revolve around explaining how dungeon creatures have created a stable ecosystem in a humongous 'mega dungeon'. The whole premise revolves around the party living off of the dungeon and its creatures and relying on it for food and supplies.
>>44337147
Noted
>>44337177
>Dungeon Meshi
I have, its great. Reminding me about it actually gave me a few ideas, thanks
So the thread's dying down a bit, but I just want to let anyone know who's checking in or looking for the next one when this one gets archived, I'm going to wait a bit before uploading new threads.
With other generals, the hobby/franchise they encompass have a lot more discussion going on, due to the sheer number of people engaged or material to discuss. However, with conceptual and creative driven subjects like worldbuilding, people need some time to recuperate and form new ideas. I think some downtime between threads would be helpful to all of us. After all, worldbuilding is merely a single aspect of table top gaming, and maintaining active and productive discussion should be priority with creative subjects like these.
So I'm asking you to wait a day or two between threads, as I am determined to keep these going regularly, but not as frequent as, say the 40k general. I don't think we can really keep healthy and thoughtful conversation going on 24/7 like some other generals try, so don't be surprised if there is not a worldbuilding general around when you look for it in the catalog.
>>44338068
I personally like the prompt threads. I'll probably make them more focused in the future though.
>>44314411
Go ask an elf, you hippie.
So essentially I'm replacing the traditional 'dragon' in my setting (huge monster, has dungeon and minions, hordes treasure, etc.) with gigantic pythons. They are kind of like planet-parasite in a way, but to mortal men they are huge and terrifyingly powerful and dangerous.
But then the question becomes; what do I want to do with my normal dragons?
Both sides of the meme feel antiquated at this point (power hungry demigod dragons / animalistic dragons) but I still want to have them in there somewhere.
>>44338635
Do non power hungry dragons that are friends of men. Protectors, not tyrants.
>>44338658
I still want dragon slayers though. I'd prefer if they could somehow be both, as both humans and dragons are meant to be born from the same God in this world, for the most part.
>>44338689
Have dragons reflect the ideals of the culture they protect. Tyrant kingdoms have tyrant dragons backing the boss. Slayers are those backed by other kingdoms and their good dragons.
In the setting I'm coming up with humans cannot use magic innately. Technology wise they are at around the year 1500. Matchlock rifles and pistols, sometimes wheellock rifles and pistols, greatswords, rapiers, bills, and halberds are the common weapons.
Monsters, demons, and other beings can use magic or are magical in nature.
Humans can acquire the use of magic through one of the following means:
>Be one of six divine chosen ones
>Slay a dragon
>Make a contract with a demon
>Perform foul rituals to invoke a horrible and evil power
>Become a vampire
>Be abducted by aliens
>>44338798
I like it, though my setting has a few rare humans having magic powers from being rare or weird bloodlines and the rest having to find a few other methods to gain magical ability.
>Swallow the black worm
There is a black parasitic worm that exists in special swamps and is very rare. Eating it allows it to grow in your stomach, making you bone thin and weak, but it creates mana that you can then use for spells. Takes years off your life expectancy.
>Religion
A few religions actually give their followers arcane magic, though most are the typical style of divine magic you see in other worlds (you pray for miracles, not cast spells). The religion that does is a star-based cult that believes humans have a great destiny to rise up and become astral-bodies and gods of the cosmos. (We don't.)
>Artifacts of the Sage
The Sage was a once extremely powerful and well knowing Wizardly guy who traveled the world and left a legacy on seemingly everything he touched. Nobody knows if he is dead or what, but he's not around. But a few pieces of his old gear are still around, and each one has a personality. They will grant you magic as long as you wear them, but you will usually need to abide by the item's rules and regulations, and most of them are essentially lawful good (though I don't really use alignments in my game).
I'm not trying to step on your toes, just wondering if any of these might be useful to you too.
>>44338879
I like the idea of parasite based magic, though any parasite capable of granting magical powers to the host in this setting would probably be horrible and not something that would ever be desired regardless of the benefit.
The divine chosen ones don't know why they were chosen and their powers are pretty specific, and different for each one. While most of them believe in one god or another, the source of their power was a different entity altogether.
I was also pondering the idea of geography based magic but I'm not sure on it.
---
There are four continents in the setting. One of them doesn't have a dragon on it and as a result has far less supernatural stuff going on and a denser human population than the others.
That continent instead has a high concentration of a strange indestructible heavy metal that cannot be forged by any known methods. Mostly it appears in large useless chunks but there exists some examples of tools and weapons made from it, so it must have been forged by someone or something.
I haven't settled on how yet, but the metal is tied to a six divines and a few other things in the setting.
>>44335952
One of the greatest things about the dymaxian projection is you can print it out and use it as a globe
Even better, it's 20-sided
>>44338689
Have you ever heard of the monster hunter games? Essentially, its a kind of subtle high fantasy setting, minus the magic. If you aren't paying attention, you won't even notice that some people are of a different race in the hub of the game.
The gameplay, specifically the combat, is solely focused on making grinding fun. Think the souls games, with a little more conventional item use, and more varied playstyles.
Anyways, the series makes a point to create realistic looking dragons and wyverns, and portray them as a natural part of the ecosystem. Dragons are still scary as hell and hard as fuck to kill, but they aren't portrayed as inherently evil. Walking up to one will get your head torn off, but most of them won't directly attack the villages for no reason. In fact, hunting dragons/wyverns is how a lot of villages survive economically. Some traditions are even shared about dragons, like an annual impossible hunt of a huge sand beast, Jhen Moran.
It is viewed as a good profession, but hunters are not superheroes, they aren't trying to slay a dragon to save the world or anything, they're doing it for the excitement of hunting a fucking dragon. It's not the most heroic thing in the world, it's a profession
This translates into your tabletop game through your narration, and how your players will form in their heads based on what you describe to them. For a visual medium, all of this information is displayed through what we see. In a game like Monster Hunter, I can see a dragon just tending to its nest, and realize that it isn't this stereotypical villain trying to kill me and protect its horde of gold and dungeon guarded by an undead army, the beast is just a large predatory animal
However, you are using a medium of storytelling based upon what you narrate to your players, so you would need to make it a point to describe this to them. Otherwise, they'll assume 'dragon=evil monster. Need to kill it, no alternatives'
Be clear and up front.
or do none of that
>>44336472
Well the galaxy is so big that the map marks systems, not planets. Planetary movement on such a huge scale is negligible. We're talking about a map with a diameter of 100,000 lightyears. The movement of planets around their sun at that scale is invisible.
So...
Maybe a bit of a longshot question, but anyone has any experience or recomendations for worldbuilding software?
Recently I came over a realization that I could really, REALLY use some software to help me keep stuff organized and laid out properly. Mapping software in particular: basically, my world building efforts tend to be very map-centric.
Something that would allow me to create interactive maps (that is, "draw" out portions of the map (regions, provinces etc.) so that once you click on them, a window with both text and pictures would pop up would be incredibly useful. Even better if it could further link to other texts and materials. References and stuff.
I would have thought such basic software would be readily available, but it seems that I'm wrong: the closest I can find are WYSIWYG html editors, but they are mostly both expensive as fuck and pretty awful to the boot.
I've fooled around with RealWorks, which is a really neat software, but the particular mapping options are incredibly weak, which is what prevented me from dropping the 50 bucks on it in the end.
Also, some vector editing software that is not as fucking god-awful as Inkscape would be great - one that allows to modify pattern fills on the fly without the nightemareish procedure that Inkscape requires.
Pic sorta related, as it's the kind of stuff I'm now making.
>>44342117
I really, really wish such a thing existed
I've been assembling a setting which seems to have boiled down to a combination of bloodborne, avatar:TLAB and the early British Empire.
Existence is made up of 4 different forces, which under the force of the Harmonium, were melded to form a somewhat stable reality. However high degrees of synchronicity between reality and the primal forces (Large bodies of water, ancient forests, volcanos, ect.) lead to magic powers and things generally becoming unsafe, insane, and very non-consensual.
Britain is allied to mutant fish people and uses their sea powers to maintain naval supremacy. The USA detonated yellowstone as part of a pact with the Chimeral Flame, making it a place of absolute freedom, even from the laws of nature.
Europe is devided between the scientific and highly anti-occult new German state, while the french have fallen back into discrete worship of the Verdant Expance after the fall of the Second Empire. Switzerland has became a clockpunk pseudo-North Korean theocracy. Christianity is still there, being the standard way people venerate the Harmonium, which also gives counter-elemental powers; and also has it's own secret order-based powers based on Celestial Calculus.
Discovered by Newton, it was a short-lived nuke equivalent before Leibniz and Newton fell out and almost collapsed reality before destroying each other.
The start area is going to be a shanty built up around the area where the ruins of the royal society building once was, which is now abandoned by everyone else and only has a very unstable relationship to geography.
Are you building for an RPG system?
If so, how do the rules of the game affect the assumptions of your setting?
>>44344482
The basic classes are important parts of society that you see reflected in the type of people who become adventurers instead of your generic farmer or merchant.
>>44317273
that vehicle looks like a mecha cow
cannot unsee
>>44322252
>>44328033
>>44331538
>>44344482
I like these prompts. Thanks for keeping the thread alive this long.
>>44337089
Thats some great ideas and useful feedback!
The Cult of the King
>Within the Great Work a sprawling city coils and spreads cancer-like. Built by those dedicated to a strange cult that worships the ancient builders they endeavour to reconstruct the Great Work. Wielding blasphemous powers and seemingly the alliance of devils, they perceive others to be invaders upon holy ground.
Cities
>The Great Work is host to many fortified camps that have become small towns, run by former explorers and those that have simply given up hope of returning. These motes of civility, funded by outsider princes offer the supplies, rest and recuperation travelers need at a price, even within these protected garrisons the sin of greed is rife.
The Dusioi
>Not all residents of the Great Work are guilty of the same sin soaked heresies, an innocent cadre of people who were originally simple farmers were also vanished and forced to endure the inter-dimensional horror for generations. With the reappearance of the Great Work the descendants of these strange people are a rare site, practicing rituals that seem to keep the evil of the edifice at bay.
Thaumaturgy & Magi
>Born under a portentous moon, few are gifted with the divine power. Thaumaturgists and miracle men invoke divine will to smite the unworthy and give aid to their fellow travelers. Those born in the inversion of the moon are destined to be Magi, unfortunately gifted with the ability to see the aberrant and malign. By drawing power from this Un-World the magi cast their spells, allowing only the smallest thimble of potential power to channel through them lest it overwhelm their mortal shell.
I need an explanation for how gods work/where they come from that makes sense and has interesting implications as an element of my worlds metaphysics, and I have no fucking clue how I'm going to do it.
The best I have is that gods are made of Dominion, which is a naturally occurring substance that is difficult to notice because it interacts with the rest of the universe so little, but beyond that, I got nothing.
Help?
>>44344482
Honestly, I just create the setting first and come up with system to match. I don't know how anyone manages to compromise their setting to work within the confines of pre-built systems.
>>44326384
Commonwealth
Confederation
Horde
Arche
High/Great Khanate
League
Union
United Provinces of X
Crown
Mukkaribate
Caliphate
United Cities of X
Koinon of X
>>44347591
>yfw Holy Roman Caliphate
>>44322252
>What monsters and cults are protecting them in your setting?
None, really. They are ruins. Poking around them is generally viewed unfavorably, as there are often rumors of curses, and people who visit them are often viewed as unclean or tainted, but there aren't actual monsters, or cults dedicated to protect them. To be honest, ruins of older cultures are so everpresent to the setting that they are frequently viewed as just as a natural part of the landscape most of the time.
>>44328033
>What's the most noteworthy place in your setting?
Tough call. I'd say right now it's Arborea, a floating living island, a organic landmass drifting atop of the sea. It's a remnant of an old ecological experiment - a stunningly beautiful and strange place of incredible fertility, inhabited by some truly strange creatures. I bit like a Garden of Eden crossed with cancer.
>What are your dead civilizations like?
There have been at least dozen of those - the world is very old, and has seen more civilizations raise and fall than anyone could keep a track off.
The last one was pretty curious - technologically highly advanced (in some ways way beyond our current technology), but had an extremely conservative and strict social order, resulting in the fact that most of it's advanced technologies were off-limits to vast majority of the population.
It was also predicated on a system of guilds/casts/corporation-esque "things" (I call them, strictly for working purposes, "Kiiths" after Homeworld), each having a complete monopoly on a specific part of the job market. There were "kiiths" for agrarians, doctors, lawyers, various scientific disciplines, leather-workers etc... Each of these Kiiths were almost like a states within a state, and their strict prevention of competition and mutual co-dependence was the main warrant of social stability. Simultaneously though, they carried some massive problems too.
Bumpin' while I read through the thread.
>>44322252
> What monsters and cults are protecting them in your setting?
Wild animals or minor Monstrous beasts if you're lucky.
Golems if you're unlucky.
Golems are extremely durable and powerful machines of both war and labor, but FERAL Golems have no interest in either of these things and they're the ones you're most likely to encounter.
Feral Golems are created vegetation takes root in their Mana-core engines. The Golem loses it's original programming and completely forgets it's purpose; instead opting out to cover itself in dirt like a big idiot and peacefully tend to the grass, moss, and other foliage that calls it's body home.
Eventually, the golem's original body becomes a skeleton and the gold/electrum wiring inside it's body persists as their Mana-core engines draw energy from the Mana produced by the plants growing on them.
Feral Golems can live for hundreds of years... some even retaining their particle-beam energy weaponry.
So I was thinking story.
It's 2100 something. Humanity is doing WW3. Everything is all fucky. Only half a billion people alive anymore. the other 7.5 billion died in horrible nuclear hellfire or in the ground wars.
The ground wars across all the continents have the most horrendous war machines man could conceive. they're like the big titans from 40k.
basically, the world is fucked.
But then aliens come.
and thats all i got. I want humanity to unite, but I also want the aliens to be friendly. Thinking of going the Macross route(some aliens defect to help humans or whatever)
aka, is like battletech, gundam and macross and the most depressing war movie you can remember.
>>44352814
no, is not good idea?
r8?
>>44354314
That sure is a map
>>44311620
I have two questions....
Which are your favorito fonts to use on the maps.
And
Where can I read about incorporating rivers in a beliavable way? I have being drawing maps for my sessions for many years, but just tried to copy the style of the rivers from real maps. Where can I read about the scientiphically correct way to place them?
>>44354314
Servicable, a little sparse and doesn't make too much sense, but it works, could give the players a nice sense of progression if theyre going northward or southward
Does your setting have highly advanced extraterrestrials/extraplanars?
Why do they only visit and not stick around?
>>44313335
>>44354314
Are both these just photoshop?
>>44357919
Nvm found it, http://inkarnate.com/
Are we doing maps now? I want second opinions about my geography before I figure out political boundaries.
What tools are good for creating of maps?
>>44358214
>What tools are good for creating of maps?
After trying just about ever possible, concievable existing software, including proffessional cartographic tools such as OpenJump and QGIS (not to mention ever Inkarnate, Fantasy Cartographer, Hexographer etc...), I eventually discovered that drawing by hand, then adjusting it in GIMP/Inkscape (or Photoshop/Illustrator if you have the access to them) is the best option.
Pic releated is the result. Still very much early stage though.
>>44358311
You know, truth be told, for when I want a map purely for gameplay/storytelling purposes, I always end up just drawing out something on graph paper. It doesn't need to look good, it just needs to be useful.
>>44352336
friggin neato dude, how about variations? like, depending on the area the foliage is different, stuff like that?
>>44358350
>for when I want a map purely for gameplay/storytelling purposes
Yeah, I "worldbuild for a hobby" so for me it's a bit of a different case. I really do need my map to look decent, and more importantly contain a fairly large amounts of relevant data, including relative elevation and shit like that. For a while I had this crazy plan of building map by using professional software and existing real-world elevation data, cutting it into chunks, then re-arranging it into a new landmass. Sadly, it still turned out a little too complicated. I ended up drawing this and it's, at least for now, sufficient. In future, I seriously anticipate commisioning the map to somebody who has actual experience with cartography.
>>44316764
>cameltoe
throw in the trash
>>44359414
>Hating on cameltoe
You belong in a garbage can.
>>44329190
Hahah, I dig it. What's the difference between sanguine and unhallowed?
>>44341184
In a lot of ways, they strike me more as a mix of a cop and a bounty hunter. Most missions are something like ' this thing is attacking me on trade routes, killit' or ' I need this egg, it would make an excellent hat, or this herb to cure my dying goldfish, fetch it for me and kill if you need to' and not a lot of 'wouldn't it be rad if this thing was dead'. What I'm saying is, they are heroes, if small-town
>>44359414
That isn't camel toe friend, that's a vulva.
Thoughts, feelings appreciated. I'll be running this in 5e.
I'm stealing the backstory from 'A Land Fit for Heroes.'
10 years before the campaign begins a great army of lizardmen, invading from the West, is defeated. During the War much of the western coast was sacked and ruined. The Lizards make it as far in to the central city, destroying most of it.
The centre of the city remains as it was built by a previous civilisation. But is essentially scorched earth.
As time has passed alliances made during the war have broken down, and cities and factions are vying for power. Ideas welcomed.
So in a space opera setting, is there really any reason to maintain large standing armies? Wouldn't a battle be over once the orbital battle was decided? I mean, armored columns and infantry formations don't really mean much when cruisers in orbit can destroy them with impunity
>>44362825
Can't occupy ground objectives with space ships.
Can't occupy ground objectives by wiping them off the map from orbit.
>>44362825
Perhaps not LARGE standing armiesAt least in relation to the overall population of the nation, it'd probably be massive compared to modern standardsbut ground units definitely serve their purpose. Orbital bombardment might not be a viable option when you're planning to retake a sensitive position and, depending on how close you're cutting it to 'realistic', might have a limited space-to-ground capabilities due to effective munitions possibly taking up a sizeable mass of the ship that would be better used for ship-to-ship munitionsand maybe re-entry damage being a facotr?.
>>44362982
>it'd probably be massive compared to modern standards
Wouldn't smaller units that could easily hide in cities ir facilities be better? I can't imagine that you'd be able to hold a position with a large army without losing at least some of it to bombardment
>>44358479
>how about variations? like, depending on the area the foliage is different, stuff like that?
But of course, Anon.
Golems can come in a wide variety of flavors depending on the nearby foliage and so forth.
>>44342117
What kind of font do you use fella?
>>44364814
The font is called "Book: Antiqua". It comes as default with any microsoft font package.
To be honest, it's something I just picked up in haste, I was not really planning on using it long term.
Rate my map please?
I know it's a shitty hexographer but hey it works...
Nothing political on it yet
c'mon don't die on me
>>44365209
Works well enough geographically.
How are your countries named?
>>44369198
>rub accept brother
My world is meant to be part of a melding universe that's crossed between our own and another fictional magic universe. As a result it's basically just Earth, but mashed with various fantastical things and races. Right now no one realizes this, and I've just been describing areas and terrain without providing any large scale or global maps. Eventually I want to have something like pic related show up, and have the fact that they're basically on an alternate Earth be a big surprise, but do you think it can work?
Would you be upset or feel the world was cheapened like this if it was revealed to you?
>>44369198
Why is Kosovo still just Kosovo?
>>44369680
It means blackbird field, so I guess because who ever made the image just got lazy
>>44362825
Not in the current sense of armies. The way I see it is possible space armies would need to be a rather massive and self-sufficient force capable of holding a planet against orbital incursion, not just ground fighting. This means they should have anti-ship equipment and personnel on hand similar to how modern armies are equipped with anti-air and anti-armor capability. Other than full exterminatus it should be actually difficult to just go barging into a dug in army like this. Think more in the lines of large Battletech mercenary companies.
Warships should also have a strong contingent of "marines" especially for anti-planetary actions. Dedicated warships may want to stay clear of retaliation from planetary defenses and this opens a niche for planetary assault forces/armies.
So I'm currently working on a new setting called Night Garden. It's essentially a single city in an endless forest where lost people and things tend to end up. This actually goes across several dimensions and there are more then just humans here.
The problem is I want some interesting races besides the human residents. Currently I have;
>Darklings
Short, small dark creatures with glowing eyes. They have incredible senses in the darkness of the city making them very, very well suited to it, but are smaller and weak.
>Belphegor
Looks like a tall and fat demon person. Their race are adept at being merchants and are good with money, many of them are landlords and tradesmen in the city.
>Vulfer
Large, wolf like people with bat like ears. Essentially giant wolf furries, but their keen sense of smell and strong bodies mean they are formidable in gang wars.
Would love some ideas for this.
>>44369620
>Would you be upset or feel the world was cheapened like this if it was revealed to you?
If your group is very young and doesn't have experience with this it should be okay. If they're older and well aware of the trope I'd think this would be pretty meh tier. Fixating on this reveal, I would set it up so that I would drop major logical hints and evidence all throughout the narrative of the campaign with the linchpin clue revealed to them as they dust off the map so it all clicks in their heads. Hopefully they would be entertained enough by the "Why didn't I see it before/It was so obvious" feeling that they wouldn't just look at me and shake their heads in disappointment. The way Penn & Teller reveal a trick; you know you're being conned the first run but the reveal is so entertaining you look forward to it.
>>44373091
I'd definitely go with an old-school fey race. German folklore fairyfolk, the kind associated deep, dark forests.
