Because the worldbuilding thread is apparently only for bad ideas...
>This warrior culture has a certain way to test bravery
>While duels to submission are allowed, they aren't respected
>To settle disputes of honor, you must use the Burning Blade
>You stand on opposite sides of a fire, and stick a sword into the middle of it firmly
>You then wait, ass naked, as the fire burns down
>Whoever grabs the sword and pulls it out is the braver man, and his honor is upheld
>However, if you reach for it, and don't pull it out...
>Or the burning is too great and you drop it before quenching it...
>Then you are the rash idiot and the more patient man has his honor upheld
>It is not particularly uncommon for the men to resolve their differences before it is cool enough to grab
>This ritual has served the warriors well for generations, teaching much
You got any other neat cultural ideas like this /tg/?
>>44925467
Buddhist rakasha firebenders.
>>44925467
Thats...actually a pretty neat idea, anon. If it's yours, nice jobI'm gonna steal it.
In my Post-Robot Uprising/Magical Awakening/Great Plague era Texas/Mexico, the East Texas Empire have a tradition called Night Walking that all individuals who seek to join the clergy of the Imperial Church must undergo.
>Acolyte goes to the edge of the Old Forest (Sam Houston National Park), with nothing but a white robe, a hunting knife, and their faith.
>Given six candles, must stay in forest for six days
>First day is spent traveling on foot as far into the forest as you can.
>At night, you must keep these candles alight all night until the break of dawn, at which point you are permitted to put them out
>The only time you may eat, drink, or rest is during the daytime.
>The problem is that many, many predators and raiders prowl during the day, like wildcats, hogs, and bears, meaning rest for long periods is extremely unlikely.
>At night, even more predators come out to play, and many of them are magical in nature, the primary one being an entity that appears to almost everybody who enters the forest
>No matter how much it tries to talk you at night, no matter how tempting it is, you may not speak to it, or even acknowledge its presence. If you look upon it directly or engage in conversation with you, your soul is forfeit, and at best you are exiled from the Empire for consorting with unholy powers (worst is you disappear to God knows where).
>If you keep your candles alight, and you resist the dangerous and temptations of the forest, you are welcomed into the priesthood wholeheartedly
The candle is the symbol of the acolytes faith in the Lord, and how it must be maintained during even the darkest hour against unknown and terrible evils. Nobody knows what the entity is, but rumor has it that corpses in white robes walk the forests at night and speak insane gibberish...
>>44926442
Thanks man.
Yours is spoopy though. Maybe 2spoopy.
I think a flooded city might be fun.
I built a French kingdom that worships a Sun God that I think is pretty damn nifty, especially since it's got a nice mix of good aspects and bad.
>>44928840
It already happened,we called him Louis XIV
>>44925467
Oh that's smart and fun
I think having a setting were shit already went down and as an effect on the culture of a world really helps it feel a bit more lived in.
>Current campaign takes place on an island
>It's covered with a number of city states
>The old top dog nation was destroyed by a lich
>Would area had all life sucked out becoming a desert
>Other nations can't siege massive fortress due to lack of environment experience
>Traveling band of mercs from a far off desert land use their knowledge to attack fort and sneak an elite unit in
>Desertification is stopped and the large army founds an Outer Heaven style nation on the bones and stolen loot of the lich's fortress/old capital
>Only warriors can become nobility of the new nation
>Trials are held on a yearly bases to give out the title of 'adventurer' to would be nobility
>Licensed adventurers are easy to trust with problems due to their rep being tied to their shot at nobility
And there you have a setting with a clear reason for everyone to be doing the helping people, clearing dungeons shtick. Plus due to the lich being seen as a mage people wit magic keep that shit on the down low. Even if you want to have a high fantasy setting you can have the feel of low fantasy.
The short version of that is start a campaign by joining recent world building events with the players goals or motives.That way as they go about their business they can't help but get a feel for the world.
I have a bad world building idea involving a gender egalitarian kingdom, its pretty awful.
There's two aspects to the kingdom, domestic and military. The queen handles the management of the kingdom's resources, and infrastructure. This is an inherited position traced of course through female lineage, while the king is a position that one is promoted to through merit. The king's duties include maintaining safety in the kingdom, maintaining the borders, and military campaigns outside of the kingdom. The men defend the women, and the women feed the men. There are relatively few women in the military and generally not co-mingled among the men, there are male advisers, ministers and diplomats but are outnumbered by women. Farmers, fishermen, hunters, trappers are mostly men but its not uncommon for women to also fill those positions.
Its all pretty equal if you're a born citizen of the kingdom, if you're a slave well nobody cares especially the female citizens. They seriously prefer the men rape the slave girls instead of them, and will help in raiding and capturing slaves.
>>44925467
If a mighty and honourable man is so insulted, that he must win in order to prevent disgrace to his families name.
Then he can just grab the sword out of the blazing fire from the start, this will no doubt fuck him over so badly that he might lose his hand or even his life.
While the filthy rat walks away without a scratch.
In a normal honour duel, two men risk their lives for their honour. I believe that this is essential for honour disputes.
Yes, patient is a virtue, but it fades in the shadow of honour.
>>44929613
>Other nations can't siege massive fortress due to lack of environment experience
What? Does the desert fuck with the siege? I understand sieges can be difficult, but I think the desert is the smallest problem.
>>44925467
I have a question for you anons about fictional languages.
Is it acceptable to base them off of existing languages? Or is that considered hacky as fuck?
I ask because I'm making up bits and pieces of a language for what's something like a Mediterranean kingdom, and I'd like it to evoke romance languages, especially French. I'm just wondering if that would sound stupid or not; I don't really have a lot of experience with hearing fictional languages and have zero experience writing them
>>44929768
I am no expert on the subject of medieval combat but I'm pretty sure the idea of a siege is to cut off and cities supplies and slowly chip away at them till they're too weak to fight back proper. The idea there being the city is manned by a lich with his undead army. You can't starve out a lich. The attacking forces on the other hand have no idea how to fight in sand and the heat. I imagine it would be logistical nightmare.
>>44929875
I think only a whiny bitch who was looking specifically for things to complain about would complain about that
I'm looking for reasons why mass combat would never really become a thing.
>>44930107
In what kind of context?
>>44929875
My advice is usually people don't care. I mean look at Berserk, it's basically medieval times with anime and demons. But there are plenty of people invested in it.
What makes people really don't care about the world is if it's just Fantasy Mediterranean, or Fantasy Germany.
You'll get the history guys, but most people won't be invested in a world that simple and worldly. Usually it's a good idea to consider factors that would change the culture or even influence the language- it makes things seem more refreshing.
Only thing I never like is seeing E'lara Feis LaCrathviel going to the Rucki'veanian Mountains in the Earldom of Grescaw in search of the nine pieces of Rottergone.
BUT remember that the only fucking thing that matters is the plot and the characters.
If all someone has to say about your work is "the world building is nice" then you've failed as an author.
>>44930107
Mass combat was usually not a thing to begin with. Battles were rare because fighting a pitch battle on equal terms was a bad idea. Usually we'd see far more raiding, maneuvering, and posturing than the battles you see in Hollywood.
As for reasons why it would never be a thing, think of what kinda shit would fuck up a formation of men or a charge of cavalry.
>>44930173
Good points, anon. It's not really Fantasy Mediterranean, but it looks a lot like it: islands, vineyards, olive trees, old cities built on sea cliffs, that sort of thing.
This kingdom is way more "spiritual", I guess you could say, and their various local religions are druidic and dedicated to the sea, where they make their livelihoods. Fishing, trading, shipbuilding, that sort of thing.
>>44930256
I just realized I ended both of these tiny paragraphs with "that sort of thing." I might be a little tired.
>>44929875
>I don't really have a lot of experience with hearing fictional languages and have zero experience writing them
Then don't write them. Making up your own language should only be done if you're a linguist or if it''s not going to be spoken for more than a few sentences/words or the odd conversation.
>>44929439
I know it already happened, which is why I built a fantasy region around it.
I even found a way to include Solaire in it.
>>44930319
>it''s not going to be spoken for more than a few sentences/words or the odd conversation.
It's basically this one. I just need simple words, you know, like "of", so that I could name characters [Name] of [Place], or place names that sound vaguely Mediterranean.
Trust me, I have neither the skills nor the time to write an entire language.
>>44925467
This pic reminds me of two ideas I had, one relating to pyromancy and the other relating to mimics.
> The origin of Mimics in the country is known only to a select few.
> They are actually a creation of the land's thieves' guild
> Each member of the guild has their symbol somewhere on their person
> While this increases their risk of being caught by humans the presence of this symbol protects them from mimics
> When they approach a mimic the creature will open its mouth and offer up any goods taken from those foolish enough to try plundering loot without guild approval
> High ranking members of the guild actually get the ability to beckon mimics to a location of their choice regularly for them to barf up their bloody treasures
Alternatively
> The mimics are exclusively a creation of the head of the thieves' guild
> No other member knows he made them and guild members are regularly killed by mimics
> The head of the thieves' guild does this in order to thin the ranks of the less talented and line his pockets at the same time
> If it ever gets out he is super fucked
>>44930256
Well, my advice on world building is build it around the plot and the characters. A universe that seems vast is one where you have a diverse cast.
Something to consider is if you want to focus on the Mediterranean theme think of a story that includes a fisherman, trader, and ship building company needing to band together for something.
It doesn't have to be evil lords or be anything Dark Souls for it to be good.
Shit I love Berserk and all we have there is well-done cynicism pulled over a hopeless world.
>>44930319
This too. Tolkien was a linguistic master.
Something to always consider is that all the characters can speak English but have different cultural ideas.
I remember reading this book called the Way of Kings where one of the most interesting aspects was that society was split genetically. You had light eyes and dark eyes.
It made it way more interesting than an elf called E'lara Feis LaCrathviel going to the Rucki'veanian Mountains in the Earldom of Grescaw in search of the nine pieces of Rottergone.
>>44930417
And on pyromancy
> The cult of the pyromancer is unusual in that they have no set pantheon
> Instead they worship a multitude of fire deities taken from the pantheons of other people's all across the world
> hearth Goddesses, forge Gods, Sun Gods, War Goddesses,from different often violently opposed peoples all have a home in the hall of flames
> The one original God of the Pyromancer's cult is simply called the scorched seer, the one who gave man the original pyromancy (ie the ability to see the future through the flames)
> Ironically few members of the cult of pyromancy claim to have the talent to divine from flame
> Most of those who do lie
> Instead most pyromancers find use in fire magic inherited from the other gods.
The central part of the setting I'm building is a massive mountain called Heavenward. It's inspiration came from one of those HFY copy pastas about a mountain called the Citidel that was 20 miles up and breached the stratosphere.
In anycase, most of the major aspects of the world tend to revolve around Heavenward such as a a Waterfall that dumps its water into a vast underground water system that one of the settings many enterances into the Underdark.
It also has the dubious reputation of being the "Suicide hotspot" as people for some reason are drawn to leap from it into it's depths and many ghosts and spirits tend to inhabit the area. Even foreigners tend to travel a great way just to die there.
There is a town that sprang up from various religious sects and necromancers all there for their own reasons
>World was written by some higher power.
>It's actually still unfinished, new things getting written in bit by bit. This leaves an actual end of the world
>Higher power made a typo, but decided to leave it in because of a belief that there are no mistakes.
>This typo has become a tree at the edge of the world. It bears magical fruit that's said to grant one's deepest desires and wildest dreams.
Still working on it. Also trying to figure out an excuse to include as much food porn in the setting as possible.
>>44925467
I have a dark fantasy setting where the tone is very much "realistic", and that includes the gender dynamic. Despite having all-male militaries as standard, there *is* an order of female knights, and their story is this:
>A hundred years ago, a certain eastern prince had only one child
>She was the spitting image of her mother, who died young to a plague
>He didn't trust his daughter to the sons of any of his backstabbing asshole neighbors
>So he planned to simply let her inherit the fiefdom
>"better a trustworthy woman than an untrustworthy man"
>Unfortunately for him, his asshole neighbors all wanted his land
>They plotted to kill her and let his fiefdom pass to a distant relative
>So he surrounded her at all times with guards...
>...only for her to be killed while on her chamber pot
>the male guards had been too chivalrous to protect her there
>As a way of saying "fuck you" to his neighbors, he adopted a new daughter
>And he founded an all-female order of bodyguard knights to protect her
>They were mostly orphans or nuns-in-training taken in their teenage years, when it became apparent that they were growing to be especially tall
>The idea caught on, and now it's common among high-ranking nobles to have a score of women from the order in their palace guard
>>44929693
Anon, if the other man doesn't have honor enough to be soiled by this challenge, that's what the duel to submission is for.
Also, in a warrior tribe, burning the shit out of your fighting hand is basically killing yourself.
>>44931085
please tell me your campaign centers around these female knights.
>>44931231
Most I've gotten was using one as a quest giver - she hired the PCs to investigate a threat to her charge. I haven't gotten to GM in a while, actually - it's weird because I was my last groups perma-GM for about 4 years, and now I'm in a group of players who all want to do it!
>>44929685
I think you just summed up Ancient Sparta.
>>44929685
>egalitarian kingdom
you sure "egalitarian" is the word you're looking for?
I got one. It's an Lawful Neutral faction called the Order of Truth. They prioritize Justice and Truth above all. It's interesting because they don't care much about evildoers unless they are lieing or using subterfuge to fulfill their goals. They firmly believe that deception is the main root of evil in the world.
The faction consists of Rogues, Paladins and Truthseers. The rogues are the detectives, investigating leads and chasing down those ever so slippery thieves. They're not too good at fighting though, so they bail whenever shit hits the fan. The truthseers are more interpersonal; they divine the truth from a person's words and punish accordingly. The paladins are the meat of the group. They're cops who aren't afraid to use violence to meet their ends.
There are two ways you could go with this group. You could make them the main investigative force for the local law or you could use them as a kind of vigilante group that hunts criminals on their own.
I don't know if this is the right place to post this but my I'm currently having a bit of a creativity drought with my sci-fi setting. I am desperately trying to keep it as original as possible and not make it a Star Wars/Mass Effect clone but for some reason this is harder than I thought it would be. Give me some ideas guys. I don't care if it's a race, a planet, some cool technology, it doesn't matter. The only thing you need to know is that it's a space opera and there's magic. I'll take anything to get me out of this drought
I had quite a few "Spacer culture" things for my scifi setting. Landlubbers all differ from planet to planet because they're isolated like that. But Spacers are, small variations aside, very much similar, and there are a few cultural rules so strong as to be basically inviolable.
>A manned ship must have a Captain.
>Everyone must obey the Captains order's while on board.
(Cruise liners and the like tended to take it as a point of pride to not actually exercise this fact especially since many of their passengers aren't career spacers and may not know the rules)
>The Captain must be on board the ship if anyone is on board the ship, making them first on, last off.
(On larger ships, if it was to be docked for an extended period, one of the last things to do before the Captain finally disembarks is to try and do something that will kill any stowaways in the holds)
>If any of the crew kill the Captain or overtly strand them, the entire crew must disembark the ship within the next 24 hours.
>Should a member of the crew feel the need to put up talismans, charms or wards anywhere on the ship, never remove them.
(Refurbishing older ships is thus a rather delicate process)
Pretty much the only way to get around these rules was to have unmanned craft, which tended to mysteriously go missing as soon as people stop keeping an eye on them.
As this was a rather occult setting, there turned out to be very, very good reasons for these rules. Indeed, should any of them be broken, fucking horrible things occur.
>An order of True Neutral Paladins
>Feared as the ultimate guardians of loyalty
>It doesn't matter who you are, or where you come from
>If you betray your allies, they will hunt you down
>They will execute you for what you've done
>>44932262
Space travel is done by "dipping" the ship into a micro-universe that's only 1% the size of our current one.
By traveling through that pocket universe at a fraction of the speed of light, the ship can get to places in a sliver of the time through conventional travel.
>>44932306
*Lawful Neutral
>>44932315
Perfect
>>44929875
Do it, but only for names and shit. At least look at Wikipedia for whatever the phonetics and morphology is.
>>44930004
I'll take /tg/ for 400, Alex
Modern day setting, but everyone uses swords because it's actually the movie Highlander and you can only play if you do a funny accent, that's the first rule.
>>44932306
>True Neutral
Isn't this a death condition in some older games? Like monsters that would turn you True Neutral so you don't care about anyone or anything, and just become a NEET, smoking death sticks and playing tabletop games about space marines for eternity?
>There lies a city known as the Hidden Men's city.
>The people there were followers of a God of beauty, originally there as runaway slaves of terrible desert beasts
>Once they began building a small town, they discovered an extremely beautiful idol to the gods half-buried in the sand, and took it in.
>The idol was to the god of beauty, who appeared before them once they had repaired it.
>The god promised them that if they took good care of it's statue, it would make their bloodline pure of physical imperfections.
>They accept the deal, and all their descendants are all breathtakingly gorgeous
>Over the course of time, the more the statue is decorated and given offerings, the more beautiful the next generation becomes.
>Word spreads of this, and inhabitants of the outer world yearn to witness their grand beauty.
>The thought of "less beautiful" folk coming and plaguing their cuty disgusts them, so they completely isolate themselves, taking anybody that came near the city as labor slaves.
>Mirroring it's own people, the God of Beauty has grown a swollen head over how beautiful it and it's people are
>Eventually the rest of the Pantheon gets tired of it's shit, and send Giants to take their gold mines, so no more offerings.
>If the idol can no longer become more beautiful, the God of Beauty's power will weaken.
>It sends brutal curses against it's own people, saying the idol can be washed in blood daily.
>Slaves are sacrificed first, though the rates at which they breed are slower than they can be sacrificed, so up next are the beautiful people themselves
>THAT doesnt work either. The God of Beauty weakens, until the other gods can finally attack it directly.
>Instead of kill it, they transform it into a hideous beast, now known as Errogarg, and bind it to the mortal plane.
>Consumed by grief and jealousy, Errogarg devours it's own people, which it can see by their unworldly beautiful appearance.
Continue?
>>44925467
Members of a hereditary mercenary clan raise dogs from birth.
Every boy is given a dog to be responsible for.
If they cannot make the dog follow their commands, they are not seen as capable enough to command men.
If they cannot keep the dog alive, they are not responsible enough to keep men alive.
And when they grow old enough, they are given one final task.If a man cannot kill a mere dog, even one he has raised, even one he has loved, even one that trusts him, he has no right to kill a man.
>>44932262
Okay, same dude as >>44932280, this time in original ideas OVERDRIVE
>One of the alien races have different sets of etiquette and phrasing depending on who you are talking to. The class of etiquette for talking to a king is the same as for an escaped criminal.
>Ascension to a state of pure spiritual energy is possible for the sufficiently enlightened, but of those who have attempted to do so, only a few throughout history, across all races, returned, bloody, tattered and afraid, speaking of a predator of unimaginably vast significance and one-ness with the universe waiting for them in ambush.
>Magic is the preferred means of preventing relativistic kill vehicle scenarios.
>Crew wide calisthenics and deep breathing exercises are usually necessary to calm the local area enough for magic to be used on spaceship scales.
>The charged particle clouds ejected by ships during pitched battles to stabilise their electrostatic systems after prolonged weapons fire create an ideal living environment for certain spaceborne creatures.
>>44932776
Definitely adapting some of these. Thanks
>>44932776
>The Ragnav, while not warlike as such, consider it good manners to occasionally take potshots at whoever they're speaking to to keep them on their toes. This is a part of their society because their brains need constant risk of death to stay alert, awake, and intelligent. They also relive the worst moments of their lives unendingly for every second that they sleep.
>On Sijij, the locals mainly do business through painstakingly slow crystallisation of bismuth into intricate patterns, to be sold for aesthetic purposes. While even an average tourist can afford a small necklace or band, these are usually made from random offcuts and failures. The truly rich commission titanic sculptures, which can be made to within good specification, such as bannisters or thrones made of a single unbroken piece and covered to the last in intricate swirls. Rumour is, the latest and most ambitious project is a facade to cover the entire outer hull of a ship.
>The entity that communicates from the other side of the Yargrep Rift, whatever it is, understands our reticence to simply elect it the head of state, but finds the implication that the present government is better laughable.
>>44932749
>Not a single one of them could fight the monster, as it was cursed with eternal life
>As intervention, the God of Mercy sends a Giant to the beautiful people with a message
>So long as they robe themselves, they can hide from the beast.
>No matter where they would be in the world, if they so much as let down their hood, the beast would find them and kill them.
>So they robe themselves and conceal their faces with plain, round white masks, with only two circular holes to see through and one for their mouths.
>After they conceal themselves, Errogarg lies down and weeps.
>He wept and wept until the entire city was flooded with his tears, and the shrouded men are forced to leave
>The few survivors remaining form a large village north of the city, robing their children the moment they are born
>Some of the shrouded people set out into the world, a few even stayed in the city by living in the high towers.
>The slaves they sacrificed were infused with Errogarg's tears, and roam the remains of their masters' city, ready to kill anything that could be sacrificed to appease Errogarg.
>Overall, the Shrouded people lost their beauty
>But they finally learned something they lost.
>Humility
>>44933061
Awesome, taking these too. This is exactly the kind of stuff I'm needing to take my setting from a shell to making it seem like it's a fleshed out, lived in universe.
Can we also make this a quest/hook idea thread? I need a fuckton of inspiration.
>>44930926
is this a literal typo because the god is actually some dude on a magic computer or is this a figurative one where the god placed some OP items as a dev tool equivalent and forgot to remove them from the beta
>>44931085
I like it, though I would personally replace
>daughter killed
>adopt a new, now with female honor guard
with
>daughter seriously injured, possibly crippled
>replace guards with female honor guard
>daughter grows into monarch and popularizes the idea with her long rule of not-being-assassinated
Just because adopting a new daughter sounds like it would invite actual war instead of backstabby intrigue. It's your idea though. I'm just tossing my two cents in.
>>44925467
that is neato as hell OP, stealing it
>>44925467
A fantasy world where Humans have no (immortal) souls but every other race does.
Non-Humans view them as retarded children at best, disgusting abominations at worst.
Most just think of them as exceptionally clever animals.
Few gods want anything to do with them because they only offer short-term power boosts unlike the races with immortal souls.
Even demons and devils really don't give a shit about them since they don't have souls to bargain away.
And Humans can never become most forms of undead, vampires might be a key exception.
>>44933954
>The god of death, hardly worshipped, decides to give a human an immortal soul, out of curiosity as to what will happen when he inevitably collects
>The human granted this power immediately gathers a following and worship of the god triples in number, though not in soul count
>Not used to so much attention, the god treats the leader of the church, the hierophant, like a child of his own
>At the hierophant's request, the god starts giving souls to clerics
>Church size swells massively
>The pleas from his worshippers, especially those with souls, are massive
>They want their children and lovers, even complete strangers, to have souls, as they feel a fulfillment and sense of reality that they fear is lost to their 'animal' counterparts
>Being easily swayed after being ignored for so long, the god answers their pleas
>Any human that asks a cleric of the death god can get a soul
>The inhuman races fear this new development, particularly the worship of the god of death
>Suddenly, genocide against humans and clerics of the god of death, to prevent more 'abominations' from being created
>Furious at seeing the gift he and his brethren have been given being ignored and stolen by the other races, the hierophant becomes even more powerful to raise the dead among his ranks, refusing to use harmful magic against his foes.
>Eventually, it is not enough. He is overwhelmed and killed.
>His corpse is thrown out in front of the humans as a symbol of what they 'should be'.
>Furious, the hierophant's greatest student revives her superior and begins waging war against the threat.
>The heirophant was brought back wrong, however, and his undead form cannot channel positive energy any more.
>He requires his holy symbol even to move.
>Brokenhearted, he retreats with a portion of the pacifist humans and tries to aid them in a life away from violence.
>The god of death isn't sure whether to be happy about all the new visitors or sad that his work is being undone so quickly.
>>44929875
I just use an existing one. Doesn't matter if I'm bad at it, my players don't know Hebrew anyways. I actually speak Mandarin and Spanish, and I think two of them speak basic Spanish. I've gotten away with Finnish as an "alien language" despite the cognates.
>>44932118
Yawn.
>>44932493
No?
>>44932749
Boooooooooooo
bad shit (bad shit) right there do NOT sign me the fuck up, etc.
>>44933103
I audibly groaned.
>>44926442
Love it, especially being from East Texas.
Those muddy-ass post oak forests can be pretty spoopy at night.
>>44933385
Sounds like Erfworld.
>>44933103
Shyguy? Really?
![Hexagone[1].jpg](https://i.imgur.com/esfgRLG.jpg "Hexagone[1].jpg")
>>44930325
Don't forget to have a Star Plaza, shaped like a star, with a country shaped like a hexagon in such a way that you could connect its major/border cities in the form of a star, and a strange obsession with geometrical shapes.
>think the Fellowship of the Ring, the beginning parts with Gandalf and this old powerful object, then all of a sudden in your hometown, mysterious hooded figures coming and fucking shit up, literally forcing you out of your mundane life into crazy shit
>now plop that down in World of Darkness, you have the evil-OP-thingamabob
>you live in quiet suburban neighborhood
>people, who look like normal people dressed in all manner of casual regular clothes like everyone else, but their faces are dark
>like there's a perpetual shadow over their faces, always, even in the light, so you never see the features of their face, just really vague outlines
>quiet as fuck as you're alone in your house and these fuckers are just THERE on your lawn
>coming for you
>coming for the thing you have
I love this idea of thinly veiled creepy-horror while also subtlety making it a cleverly disguised LotR plot.
>>44932315
1% the size of our universe is still too big by orders of magnitude
>>44935189
By effectively moving at just under 100 c, you can travel to Alpha Centauri in half a month. This would allow star travel to be possible, but very time consuming.
>>44935448
I guess it depends how far you want to go and how fast you want to get there. Star Trek level shit would still be impossible.
It's definitely a cool idea though, especially if there were more... sinister... things about the other universe than just being small.
>>44934435
Perkele to you as well then
>>44929685
That is not egalitarian at all, what you described is a society that decides your position by gender.
Men earning their position and women inheriting it also sounds like a parody of MRA talk.
>>44935966
>Men earning their position and women inheriting it also sounds like Bernie and Hillary's America
>Souls can be manipulated like pieces of cloth.
>You can take the soul of a dog and cut out its trained loyalty, then stitch it onto the soul of a soldier to keep him fighting for you.
>You can rapidly age a newborn's soul and graft swordsmanship and mechanical knowledge into his soul so that when you reinsert it into a metal chassis, he will know what to do with his sword and how to keep himself operational.
>You can take the broken souls of the battlefield and pound them together like cheap clay to make them into a fully artificial, fully functional soul.
>You can stitch pieces from two thousand different souls to make one titanic soul capable of commanding the movement of subastral fleets
>You can take the slumbering souls of dead gods and weld them into steel colossus three thousand foot high
>>44935994
Thank you anon for your pertinent and topical reference to real world politics.
>>44929944
The minimum recommended amount of water for an adult human to drink a day is 64oz. And that's just while you're sitting on your ass. Intense exertion can double that really easily. Not a whole lot of water in the desert to supply a marching army. God only knows how much water a horse drinks every day.
>>44936549
bring camels and a bunch of water for them, slaughter them and drink out of their humps when needed
>>44936595
Camels don't have water in their humps you fucking primary school retard.
>>44936597
then how do they store water there?
>>44936513
I like it, it reminds me a lot of Wraith and the soul forging going on there.
Mostly though, sounds cool because I love 'monsters' or constructs created by people. Though I feel like that setting works best as a post apocalyptic or afterlife setting, seems kind of hard to make it work for a normal fantasy world.
>>44934411
It has potential.
>>44929875
Advice, if you don't actually speak french and don't want to make totally bullish location or NPCs names, just google map some countryside area and rip the names off.
>>44936951
>Though I feel like that setting works best as a post apocalyptic or afterlife setting
It's used in the middle of an apocalyptic level war (and as artifacts in the post apocalyptic aftermath).
>>44936939
They don't.
>>44934949
>at the centre of the hexagon
>surrounded by dead volcanoes
>the city of magical waters
>the very hearth of power
>Clermont-Ferrand
>>44935448
>but very time consuming
Nigga the voyage to America took months but millions of people still took it.
It's definitely a cool idea, and gives a refreshing spin on space travel (it's slow ENOUGH to make space travel common, but not Galaxy-spanning.)
Plus there's the whole naval aspect, since I imagine the micro-universe has properties unique to it. There's nothing stopping you from making it .01% the size of the universe, which makes it go from slow to downright fast.
>>44933385
Literal typo .Hand slipped while writing and the rune turned out funny. Creation-script is tricky that way.
I'd like to create a world where gravity has flipped; people survive on scaffolding attatched to the earth, and one slip means a descent into an infinite bnyss.
Not sure what that would entail for the settibg though.
>>44937788
I've thought about such a setting before. I decided it was better to put an ocean beneath the ground, separated by a layer of mist. It gives a big source of food for them, and for spooky monsters. Light comes from light shards that were mined from the earth long ago. If they fall into the water, ancient beasts swim up to eat them and that land is plunged into darkness forever.
I know it's been fun, but goddamn do I love hollow Earth mixed with lost world shit.
>>44925467
Why are they naked?
>>44932769
Yes, we've all read A Song of Ice and Fire.
Hey guys, I was wondering if you could help me out with some names. There's a forgotten old hero, a certain hermit swordsman named Ari. He comes into the last town to meet an old friend, riding through the frost and snow on his horse and with his dog in tow.
What is the horse's name? What is the dog's name?
>>44939044
Proof that they only thing they're competing with is themselves. Started as "Fuck you Hans, you can't wear a glove to grab the sword, go back to fucking your goats", which turned into no shirts ether, and then someone noticed that it can be really exhausting to stand next to a fire naked for several hours, and made that part of the trial as well.
>>44939044
no particular reason, its discovered later that the tradition actually spawned from the belief that a test of honor was what was going on. when to drunken men mistakenly used a sword for fire wood and removed there clothes to prevent them from igniting when attempting to retrieve the sword
>>44925467
>You got any other neat cultural ideas like this /tg/?
well, your idea is pretty good.
as for other ideas, um, pulling from history...
Vikings that had disputes could challenge the other two one of two types of dues, the most common in typical disputes was a fight to first blood, fight ends the moment blood hits the mat. this didn't actually resolve anything except who was the better fighter, the real idea was that now that these two have beaten the testosterone out of each other maybe they might now be more willing to make concessions and come to a more reasonable agreement.
If a blood-feud could not be avoided both families would have to file with the local jarl which family members were actually going to participate in this feud, this way they can't later shanghai their friends and neighbors into fighting their feud if things go south.
there's more, but I'm not going to get too deep into it unless you ask.
say what you will but it did apparently work for them.
in Germanic tribes, to reduce the number of blood-feuds that would spring-up the ordeal was decreed, in effect the accused party would go through some ordeal to clear his name of any wrongdoing, like "there is a gold ring at the bottom of this large pot of boiling water, if you can fish it out, you will be forgiven of all past crimes."
again, brutal and a little barbaric, but it apparently worked for them.
>>44929693
Wouldnt it be pretty cool at the very start though? I mean, it might have seperate implications in a way. Its like sucker punching the dude, you sacrificed personal honour in exchange for maintaining your families honour.
Of course, you can maintain both but to do so is more difficult.
>>44930391
Use "Var" Id say. Its kinda familiar to any ME fans since the Quarians use 'vas' but uts also similar to the Prussian "von".
Combined real world and fantasy influence with an original twist is yer best bet Id say. Take a fictional language and a similar real world one, combine them and tweak the results
>>44939395
Was the ordeal based on the idea that God would protect an innocent/good man? The Anglo-Saxons apparently practiced a variant based on that where you would eat a cake having declared that if you were guilty god should make you choke.
Only one dude tried it and he choked.
Consider the following for an origin myth. At the beginning of time, there was an endless ocean with a shallow bottom. The first life was the Tyrant Wyrms, serpents that bathed in the light of the sun, and ate the earth. They grew and grew to enormous sizes, carving criss crossing canyons through the land over and over again, shaping the world as it is seen today. Great 'continents' loom in the sky, casting their shadows over the low trenches and oceans beneath. No life would have been able to take root in the land. But the wyrms spawned a new race, a second generation of Tyrant Wyrms; the Dragons. And the Dragons rebelled for their minds were sharper than their mindless progeniters. With tooth and fang able to cut through stone, they slaughtered the Tyrant Wyrms and those that survived were forced far below the surface where their tremors are still sometimes felt. From their blood came every manner of life seen today, but imperfect and therefor mortal. Mankind and the other lesser races inherited the land, taking it back from the dragons.
>>44939781
>Was the ordeal based on the idea that God would protect an innocent/good man?
ooh, it's been a while since I studied medieval society, I want to say it predated their conversion, but I will be the first to admit I might be wrong about that.
I almost think the idea was that if you really wanted to prove your innocence you'd be willing to go to any lengths prove it and the accusing party would be satisfied because the accused suffered in some way.
again, I think,
I could be wrong on that and your theory may well be the actual case.
>>44939395
>the fight ends the moment blood hits the mat
Theres an idea. A duel to first spilled on soil.
So in essence a fencing match but drawing blood can be ignored if it's smeared or wiped, but an effective tactic would be to draw blood and then tip your sword point to the ground to "soil it".
Seems like an act of insult but demonstrates skill to not only draw blood, but draw enough to make it spill out everywhere.
I imagine the casualties piling up, but duels don't always have to be pretty.
>>44932262
I used to have a galaxy/solar system/whatever your scale is that was based around it being a living museum for different time periods in history. Basically, there were a lt of planet earth's, each one perpetually stuck in time. This was controlled by an AI in the planet, so basically, each version of earth was a living organism which could engineer happenstance to prevent upheaval of said time period. The abilities of these AI included everything from genetic engineering and weather control to full scale offensive/defensive weaponry on a planetary scale in case of unscripted alien contact or warring corporations tried to take it over. Eventually, the controlling faction which owned it died out, and thus maintenance on said planets stopped. The AI started getting weird. Some times it just shut off, allowing the planets to develop into their own sorts of future, and from this spacefaring cultures arose again. Sometimes however, things got a little off, and the genetic engineering created worlds with alien fauna and flora, punctuated by interesting geological activity and weather. Finally, sometimes the AI just went apeshit, creating what are known as Black Planets. Because of the orbital defenses, getting onto a black planet is nearly impossible, and once you're there everything has gone wrong. Unmitigated genetic engineering and wholly unnatural conditions perpetuated by the planet have given way to creatures that by no means should ever exist. It's important to note that these planets are still functioning/malfunctioning, so you could end up with a space faring race suddenly having to deal with its planet trying to go black, or a black planet that suddenly stops, and the absurd life forms on them now have a chance to develop their own cultures.
>>44940086
>I imagine the casualties piling up, but duels don't always have to be pretty.
true, though during these particular duels, since the match ends the moment blood hit the ground, the only way to actually kill your opponent would be to somehow land an instantly fatal blow on the very first swing. though in Viking custom if you were able to do this you got to keep everything the deceased was carrying on them. Unlike the actual duel to the death where the winner had to pay compensation to the defeated's kin.
>>44925467
>Challenge retard knight to fire duel
>Let him grab it
>Watch him burn his hand
>Stab the fucker
>>44940512
>get stabbed by all his friends because you're a dishonorable cur
I'm the guy who posted the two ideas in the apparently shit idea thread I'm mostly unarsed to write down even though for the most part I have them fully there in my head (the worlds were the cute little animals one that isn't secretly dark and the one about being a mechanic in the engine in the center of the universe that keeps entropy at bay by hitting it with a wrench), but if anybody is interested, I could talk about them, discussion is a good motivator for me.
>>44940512
>Challenge is about honor.
>Do dishonorable thing.
He still wins.
>>44940272
addendum to the duels:
After doing some double-checking there is some additional information brought to light,
even though the duel ended the moment blood hit the mat, the one who bled it is not necessarily the loser. once the match ended a judge would look over the combatants and the most badly injured would be declared the loser. so while you could smear the blood to prevent it from hitting the ground that may not nessisarily be a wise idea since at some point you do land a lucky blow , your opponent might decide to let the wound bleed and end the match since the judge will see he's got a nasty nick, and you look like hamburger and name you the loser even though his blood hit the mat first.
so many rules to these fights...
>>44941163
Was it just one judge? Was there any rules about who could be the judge or could I like get my bro from the last raid expedition to judge and tweak it somewhat in my favour?
>>44940678
These sound interesting, especially the animals one. Care to elaborate?
Secret shadow organization set up only to observe. Observe what? Everything.
They believe not a single piece of history or fact should ever be entirely lost, so they have agents everywhere, watching and taking note. As a rule they do not intervene with anything, although there have been a few unique situations where the Order takes action, but only on a small scale. Number of members, location of headquarters where information is catalogued, reason for founding, the existance of any leadership hierarchy, all of this is unknown.
That's all I'm deadset on in regards to it, and it fits into most settings as is. I'm also tinkering with the ideas of how members are recruited, probably taken as babies from tragic events like bandit raids that kill their families, or stuff along those lines. Possibly they're given an immortality elixer that prevents aging, which explains how an organization with such rigourous requirements for membership could sustain itself throughout the ages, even if they make one new recruit per year or less, they can still have enough members to "watch" all corners of the world. If members break the laws of the organization, such as intervening or sharing information on the Order to outsiders, they are hunted down and killed by other members as soon as possible.
>>44939174
the 'raising a dog then killing it' thing is in a bunch of different stories, dude
>>44939174
Yes, we've all seen King'smen: Secret Service.
>>44940746
But he's dead, so who cares.
Someone ask me about an aspect of my setting that isn't usually explained in your average campaign. I won't necessarily answer here, but prompts help the creative juices flow.
>>44941309
Is there any guild or organisation dedicated to money lending? If so, what are their policies? How do they go about collecting from Adventurers that wont pay up?
>>44941309
What is the most popular breed of dog and why?
>>44941245
>Was it just one judge? Was there any rules about who could be the judge
seems so, though I suspect it would have to be an appointed judge that both participants are willing to agree to, so while you might suggest your old raiding buddy be judge, I don't think the other guy is going to agree to that. So likely a third party would have to be brought in just to make everyone happy.
besides I don't even know how willing your buddy will be to fudge the results. Reputation was everything to Vikings and if word got out that he judged a match dishonestly, well what would the neighbors think?
>>44941295
The rest of the tribe that was watching, and may now hold you accountable for murder?
>>44941309
does you setting have any aerial creatures that can be tamed and ridden? if so, how does this affect warfare, travel, and trade?
how are psychological problems handled generally? is it kept to the family, are there institutions/clergy that can assist the individual, or do people assume that the individual is addled in the head/clouded by demons and write the person off?
how is the medical care in your setting? is disease understood and treated to some degree? what about physical injuries?
what do people do for fun? are there sports?
>>44941309
What is the current style of architecture or art. What is this style a reaction against?
>>44941451
Thats a good point actually. Makes me wonder, bearded axes and such are quite naturally designed to hook legs, weapons and shields. Would using this to disarm your opponent and trip them be considered dishonourable or simply a demonstration of your superior skill?
Its obviously dangerous, of course, but if its a fight to first blood then it might be worth the risk for honour and prestige.
>>44941491
Speaking on my own setting, it differs from place to place.
Many of the Hill Dwarves homes, being in cold areas, are made partially sunk into the ground with a layer of top soil over it to provide natural insulation. This makes them naturally warmer and makes their homes harder to raid. The doors are kept just tall enough for the average dwarf to give an advantage to the people in the house defending it from taller attackers. They have no windows because theres not much house above ground anyway and they're just a structural weakness.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, I have a nation whose ruler considers themselves a God modelled after a balance of the Imperium and North Korea. Most houses are gilded or made from fine marble and rise to great heights, adorned with images of the ruler in the same way medieval churches used Gargoyles. Anyone too poor to afford such a house is a servant of some description and thus lives in the basement of the wealthy people they serve. The houses are opulent but cold and have to be provided with extensive heating to be livable, especially in the larger houses.
>>44941528
the problem with that is that in the Holmgang, (duels to first blood) each was armed with a sword and it may have been special swords meant specifically for these kinds of matches though it was permissible to bring a second sword into the duel (good thing to have when your last Holmgang-specific shield breaks).
so in a Holmang bringing an ax to the fight may be seen as cheating.
Now in an Einvigi (duel to the death) you are free to bring whatever weapons and armor you please.
>>44941692
Interesting. Would use of grapples be considered unfair? Like, if I decided to drop my shield and proceed to grab the other dudes shield and pull it off him etc, would that be considered cheating?
Obviously its impractical but Im curious as to what would constitute a fair fight in this case.
>>44941726
>would that be considered cheating?
probably just stupid since while your busy trying to pull off his shield he's free to stab you with his sword.
besides these shields were purposely built to be flimsy, a good, strong blow would be all you would need to shatter one.
>>44941309
What colour of fabric is most rare/hardest to aquire? (similar to how purple became representative of Royality in Europe due to the scarcity/cost of purple dyes)
>>44941245
I totally can.
Bear in mind that I'm on my phone, typing can take a bit.
The world is a world where there are small, cute little animals instead of people. It is best to imagine them looking fairly cartoonish as well. There are three main races suited for players: Kitba, Nyaoro, and Awuf, each with their own strengths, weaknesses, history, and religions.
Kitba are little foxes. They are fairly common, and very varied in what they do. Their bodies grow a bit bigger with physical strength (like being Orky, except not Orky), and magically inclined Kitba have their tails split into more as they get more powerful (any Kitba will say the first time hurts a lot, the other times much less so). They tend to be fairly daft and innocent of things. Nobles are completely crazy and weird and should not be in the position they are, but for some reason they make it work. Whatever a Kitba does, they do it well, specializing in it, though leaving them lacking in other aspects. The world is not safe, else why would adventurers exist? When a Kitba gets killed, one can "stabilize" them, which is pretty much literally shoving that soul back into the Kitba's body, then actually reviving them later by throwing it into a town's "Faith", a literal fountain of soulstuff, usually in the middle of a town. Shoving somebody's soul back into them is considered common courtesy, so common even a maniac killer do it to their victims (there have been a few). Kitba weaponry is fairly common, owing to the fact the blacksmiths are pretty good at blacksmithing, and are wielded in the mouth with a special sort of grip that let's one talk while their weapon is in their mouth.
Nyaoro are kittens, pretty much. However, they have a literal nine lives, and tend to be pretty clever inventors. They think strangely, such as believing that friends are those you spend time around most rather than what actual friends are. A little less common than Kitba, but you are likely to see them.
(Continued...)
>>44932493
No, but there was a Wonderland D&D campaign where the caterpillar would smoke you out and hypnotize you to turn you neutral AND keep you stuck there smoking forever. However, one doesn't imply the other.
>>44932749
If you shaved that way down, you could make it the lore of a werewolf type monster that targets beautiful people.
>>44941859
Nyaoro have more sensible nobles, but they are lazy to the point that the populace tends to forget they have them. Nyaoro equipment focuses on high impact (non-sexual) violence, their armors typically covered with spikes (high ranking units in military nicknamed "Porpins" after the small hedgehog assistants, due to the amount of spikes they get) and their main weapon is in the form of Iron Claws (which may or may not be made of actual iron), which are like gauntlets that have some knife "claws" at the end. While Kitba have more members in their armies (the Grave, which has less actual casualties than you'd think given the name, being a volunteer army that many go into because it is an excellent way to start off careers), Nyaoro consider themselves the winners of most battles since they aren't throwing themselves on spikes bits.
Awuf are dogs. That's just it. They are the only ones who really physically change with age. You don't really hear much about their society because it isn't much. For the most part they travel in caravans around the world, though they tend to either set up the occasional fort or town. They tend to use and make weaponry and equipment like the Kitba, since it works for them. They don't have any sort of special thing like being able to get their soul shoved into their body or having extra lives, they are just really hard to put down for good, usually just getting back up from attacks that would otherwise kill a Kitba or Nyaoro.
For races that are I'll advised for players first playing (mostly because of equipment), there are the Vicera and Porpin.
Vicera are snakes, and they tend to be distrusted because snake, and trust other races about as much as they are trusted, though they still rely on other races to make their armor and weapons. If slain, they can be revived by cutting them in half, a new head (and whatever was cut off) growing from the severed rear half.
(More...)
>The first of certain things often manifest as legendary items
>The first sword, spear, hammer, so on are all imbued with loads of magic essence
They act as conduits for the magic energy around them because the gods appreciate them as the first of its kind and an important part of history.
>Even the first beasts and certain people are legendary
>The first messenger has manifested from the essences of dead notable messengers and appears to people randomly to give them warnings or reassurances
>Soldiers often report seeing a person wrapped in flame that showed them that their family is still okay in the homeland
>The first woman to have a failed pregnancy will appear as a hag and give women children, but the children almost always end up having one monstrous trait or another
Essentially tulpas but made from spirit energy instead of focus. Not all first things of course, you're not going to find some grand patron spirit of people who really like vegemite and the first PDA wouldn't be magical.
They are extremely rare of course and are found either by accident because they "want" to be found (or are out on the hunt) or they're the subject of a grand quest.
Good idea?
>>44942219
Vicera weaponry consists of sharpening their fangs, and venomous injections. Some also have a knife on the end of their tails. Those also tend to be poisoned. Vicera get longer and larger with physical strength as well.
Porpin are hedgehogs. They can be found just about anywhere as an assistant or doing something. They are pretty smart, dedicated, loyal, and have a fair bit of common sense. Upon being slain, they regenerate from any problem they have (it is commonly joked that the best Porpin doctors just kill their patients when they look away), the only way to off them permanently is by plucking the quills. (Hedgehogs have those, right? Or am I thinking of something else?)
Before I continue, I want to know what people think so far. I'm never sure if whatever I'm spewing even sounds good, since I'm obviously biased.
>>44942463
Sounds pretty neat.
>>44942463
how deep does that go, like if you revolutionize something are you the first to do X thing in Y manner so you get Z powers?
>>44942966
>If by deep you mean intricate and well-laid-out;
Not too terribly deep so far, I must say. Currently it's mostly one of my DM's bag of tricks where in planning I can say to myself "I've established that these things exist, what way can I use that to provide another interesting story for my players?"
>If by deep you mean degrees of specificity;
The way I've been handling it is case-by-case, because it's supposed to be an uncommon, mysterious thing. It sort of works on a scale of "You don't become the patron of dick swinging for being the first person to dick-slap a king into submission" to "I'd be okay with the idea that the first computer is now a magic supercomputer hidden away in a dilapitated bunker, waiting for someone to come power it up".
However, the man who dick-slapped a king into submission would definitely contribute to the power of, for example, a patron of rebels or chaos.
Short answer, it works in categories based on what seems reasonable.
Westxai
>A western fantasy universe where martial proficiency is take VERY seriously
>Different noble families, mercenary groups, schools, and even entire factions/nations have intricate styles of fighting they take very seriously
>Even basic fighters idolize masters of the arts and boast their skills in their chosen style(s)
>Duels happen all the fucking time
>Fights start at the drop of a hat, people look for excuses to try out/show off their fighting style
>Magic exists but it doesn't receive much respect. It is seen as a greater deed to do something with your own weapon than it is to use sorcery
>Most mages can still kick some ass with a weapon, really anyone important is somewhat expected to kick ass with a weapon (Kings, nobles, royal envoys, priests, tax collectors, the list goes on and on)
>>44944294
This is why we hate storyfags, CYOAs, and so on. Piss off with your advertising.
>>44944868
Nigger what the fuck are you even talking about? Writefags have always been loved by /tg/ and what he posted was 1000% thread relevant
How do you guys put down notes on your setting? I really want to get started but in the past my sprawling Google docs became unmanageable quickly. What tools do you use to keep track of it all?
>>44946241
Im probably not the best example but I just have a folder of word documents. I have 1 sub-folder for ''lore'' which covers notes on in-world stuff including religions, 1 for map resources and 1 for my actual maps.
Id suggest making sure its all properly labelled and maybe taking some time to clear out ''clutter''. Like, do you really need to know the location of each and every knightly lodge etc? Stuff like that helps a lot.
Also, combine some documents. Like if you have one that names and places every nation, why not have it include some notes on them and their interactions with other nations?
>>44945383
How fucking new are you? Nobody has ever liked blatant shitshilling
>>44945383
>writefags have always been loved by /tg/
The fuck are you on about? Not even a year ago, everyone was still railing against all the quest threads and cyoas and non-game content.
>1000% relevant
It's relevant to the OP in the sense that both are made by the OP but it has nothing to do with "setting ideas".
/lit/ to /lit/
>>44946241
I'm paranoid about losing my data so I keep everything in on pen and paper. Maybe I'll get a cheap flash drive and go digital sometime, but for now I prefer my Chicken Scratch Grimoire.
>>44946682
Quests ARE game content. In fact, they are much more appropriate than Warhammer 40,000 Thread Part 40,000.
>>44946691
A hardrive is a good investment. Keep your shit on your laptop and your hardrive, get a cloud if ya want for extra security, and its gonna be way more easy to get around. Also, you can include audio files and shit.
But I gotta admit, few things feel as right as a hand written document
>>44946627
>>44946682
I miss when /tg/ supported creatives, instead pissing and moaning about them.
>>44946729
Relevant or not, some of em are great as nation building simulators. Like that Grand Kingdom Game thing.
I was using it to model a nation of dwarves in my setting, see what sort of thing might happen them and how they might respond. It was going great until the QM decided to give up on it apparently...
>>44946759
This is my first reply regarding this topic (so that people don't assume I'm one of the above shitslingers) but personally I wish we could see more of this creativity applied to games and worldbuilding instead of another "My Little Astartes Can't Possibly Be This Cute Quest #516: stagnant shitposting edition" I'm sure there are a few good, maybe even great quests on this board, but the whole format and most of the premises repell me on a fundamental level.
It doesn't help that trying to filter threads with the word "Quest" or "CYOA" in the title just doesn't fucking work for some reason.
>>44947031
Oh, I don't give a rat's ass about the CYOA and quest threads. But complaining about them not being relevant is ridiculous, and complaining about writefags is what's lead to the creative stagnation that most of the board is suffering.
Its like /tg/'s early days and the mods driving away all the creative types due to autists spazzing out that the board isn't following the board name literally.
>>44925467
>Humans and Dragon Born duke it out in the central continent
>Humans to dragon born is like 1000:1
>Dragon born survive by being physically greater than humans and also ties with dragons
>Area to the north is super oxygenated for some reason, freak weather and super sized life forms
>Mega fuck you dragon begins to do hit and runs on human settlements near the area of giants
>the two races unite to go in and find out what the fuck is going on in the land of giants
>shenanigans
Never knew what to do with this, Christian school so i cant play DND at all
Tried online, hated it, took months to start up, and everyone else in the party knew way more than me and I generally had no idea what to do
Humans completely surround the Dragon Born wit ha massive wall, by the way
Shameless Copy paste, but i do want opinions on my Idea
plzbegentle.txt
>>44947249
>dragon born
DROPPED
>>44925467
The year is 1963. the Neo-Nazi Empire is currently deadlocked in South America, having lost the homeland to the British-Russian Alliance and all their African holdings to the New Ottoman Caliphate. while they control vast swaths of the continent, Mexico and Cuba, backed in secret by the US, have effectively halted their advance along the Panama Canal, resulting in an uneasy cease-fire.
blockades surround the nation, fires run wild in the amazon, fuel reserves are running low, and there seems to be no shortage of pockets of resistance across the Reich. and in the middle of all this, a serial killer is on the loose in the wine-production county of Northern Chile, where you currently reside. while the murders appear to be random, there might be more forces at work than a simple knife...
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
On the other side of the globe, Vietnam has continued to expand its influence, creating puppet stats of Laos, Thailand, Burma, Indonesia and Malaysia. although China and Japan continue to hold it in check, Vietnam's alliances with the New Ottoman Caliphate, India and Australia prevent any overt combat from taking place.
seeking new opportunities for expansion, the ruling council has declared that they shall begin trade negotiations with the Neo-Nazi Empire, and although other world powers might disagree, Vietnam's highly experimental new fleet might just be the thing that breaks the US' control over the South Pacific.
you are just a simple bartender in the city of Singapore, but you hear things. things that make you unable to sleep. if war finally breaks out, you aren't sure Vietnam can protect its people...
>>44947249
Interesting concept but it has a pretty serious dissonance with the way the races play. Like, Dragonborn dont tend to be that much more powerful than humans, at least in 5e. I have a similar thing in the ''Dragonborn vs Humans'' thing though, including the numbers difference.
How I run it is the Humans operate like a massed army for the most part while the Dragonborn are fond of hit and run strikes and ambushes. A popular dragonborn tactic is to flank the enemy, loose a volley of arrows and then rush to melee, use their breath attack and disengage after like a minute of fighting so they cant get swarmed easily. They often attack in sequence too, in that one group will attack one flank while the other group waits to rush the humans from a different angle. The Dragonborns also have aid from Kobolds and Lizardmen, since Kobolds see them as being the closest mortal thing to Dragons and Lizardmen are sorta convinced they're a manifestation of primal energies.
As for what to do with the game, I think a monster hunter campaign is the most obvious option. Run it like Dragons Dogma if you get the chance.
>>44947372
What ever you call them you jew
They were always called dragon born around me, so thats what I call them. We owned A book, and that was the rules.
>>44947390
Never ran by a rule book before, so I'm fucked in that regard
but I've always thought of them as more powerful than humans, I mean, they're half dragon, half human, so why not?
The main downfall is that they are basically a genetic mutation and are hard to come by, so they are very low in population
>>44947454
Well, if you do want to play them like that youd need to homebrew a system I think. And give humans something to make anyone that wants to play a human not constantly be stuck sucking balls next to the dragonborn pcs.
Its your call though, its your game. If you check the Wizards of the Coast site the 5e books are all free I believe.
>DARPA develops a Turing complete AI in the 1970s
>over the decades it begins to control more and more of human society
>by 2280 Earth seems like a paradise with robots doing all work and AI controlling all government and administration
>criminals that fail rehabilitation are exiled to Mars because the death penalty violates AI directives
>Mars has been terraformed, now has oceans and plant life but no animals or breathable atmosphere
>completely permeated by modified bacteria and nanomachines
>cities and old colonies have become cyberpunk hellholes
>fringe societies are Wild West in power armor
>crazy abandoned AI facilities all over the place
>no way offworld
The man who killed your wife has been exiled to Mars. Are you a bad enough dude to follow him there and do what you have to do?
>>44947510
okay then, thanks too
Now to find players..........
fuck
>>44947540
Theres a game finder thread on here usually. Post there, see if you find people. Alternately, check out your Local Game Store if you have one or if theres a university near by thats a good place to check. Also, any friends you have that arent all into the ''DND IS SATANIC'' thing, maybe try them out?
Like my current party is 2 friends of mine from my private life and a dude I met in college. A lot of universities have game societies that do the likes too and theres usually more people wanting to play than DM.
>>44947629
Its not that they are all holy than thou asshole types, but its a private school down south and 99% of them are rich as fuck and snooty as hell. I can only find one possible player, and he is basically on my level. I could try a game finder, but i dont know how to run online, and i dont know how to run in general.
Am fooked?
>>44947792
Aaah, that problem. Hmmm. Well, gamefinder is still a good option. Just specify that you play in meatspace and you might see thats theres som people near you interested. Then again, if you're a school kid they might be old enough that its a bit weird. Still though, if you dont mind running a pet npc or 2, or even a dmpc, you can get a good game with just 2 players.
As to running games, almost all handbooks will have a section of advice for DMs and theres also usually a DM Guide book too. Those are great tools usually. Beyond that, look for inspiration in any franchise you like and even a few you dont like (theres almost always a benefit to be gained, even if its just learning what not to do) and make a few simple things. Have like a few generic settlement templates you can put names on as needed and that sort of stuff. That way you can improvise your game easy. Once your more experienced you can know what to prep better.
Dont worry about it dude. I was in your spot like 5 years ago, where I live D&D is considered Satanic and a game for little bitches. But I got together a group of me and 2 people, got playing and now Ive a proper group and Im experienced enough to world build a bit and I've had some good fucking games in between.
>>44947975
Okay. Ill try that, if I can find a good site for books and then base it off that. I do want to do this, but I'm also afraid of scheduling
I mean, school is private, so "fuck you" amounts of home work all the time.
I kinda want to find a game that I can possibly join to see what its like tho
I dont know all the terms or lingo so I might need to max bluff and just roll
>>44947529
>no way offworld
better have been a damn good wife if I'm going to track and kill a man, then start a new life on mars
>>44947529
You'd already be preconditioned by your AI overlords to bend over and be happy to be buttfucked by their superior directive morality so, No.
>>44948060
Go for it kid. All you really need is the odd bit of time here and there for prep and a span of like 3-4 hours sometime on the weekend to play.
If theres any games stores near you, theres usually games run there. You can post a note there about your game looking for players too, if you want to DM.
Playing is considerably less time consuming than DMing anyway. You just need to be present for the game itself and thats it.
Also, by the by, dont be afraid to try out new systems, especially if the one you start with doesnt jive right with you. Helps to find the right groove.
>>44948210
thank for the help mate
By the way, any chance of running into you in my quest to find quests?
You seem really chill and helpful
I also want to see you Rp because one of my main fears is getting stuck in a game of edge-masters or being one myself
>>44948254
Uuuh... not sure how we'd go about that, unless you happen to live near me. If you wanna throw on a trip and start a thread looking for advice though, I'll be happy to jump in and offer whatever I can and shit.
Just make sure you post the trip yer going under so I know what to look for. I can post some sample text from my recent Star Wars online game too, just for some sample rping.
>>44948364
No clue what half of that meant, but ill make sure to do that
any ideas what types of people should be hanging around in the remaining grey areas?
>>44948541
In the name section of the post thing, when you make the thread, put in some name and follow it with ## followed by a password.
So it might look like this: TheGoat##pass12
Only the the part before the hashtags will show and the password means you can be distinguished from anyone else using that name. I'll have a trip on this post to show ya what I mean.
Beyond that, just start a thread using the trip you wanna use asking for advice for your situation. I'll find it and hop in. I can use this trip if you want but I dont really need to.
>>44948541
1. make a new thread
2. use a trip when you do it, like so (#phrasegoeshere in the name field)
3. post the tripcode here so homie can find you
>>44948676
>>44948688
I think I get it now, did it work?
>>44948769
yep, proud of you
>>44948769
it deed
>>44948787
okay, so I guess ill do that then.
to /tg/!
>>44948769
Grats man. You deeed it.
See ya in the thread.
>>44948815
I did it, am NewFag
Shitty DnD logo
>>44948814
Might be a good idea to link the thread here as well, by the by. Just in case I miss it
I thought about using a more mystic or occult cosmology than the common cosmologies of wholy different planes and worlds. Something more like coterminous layers of the world. There would be a natural layer that's like the Feywild mixed with the Beastlands, inspired by the Emerald Dream. a Spirit World where the dead reside, an Astral/Celestial World where gods and higher concepts reside, and an Underworld where fiendish things reside.
Something like a weird mashup of Spelljammer, Warhammer 40k, Doctor Strange, Flash Gordon, and Firefly. No crystal spheres, more a cosmos. Fantasy races, Age of Sail, gonzo mysticism and magic, ships travelling far distances through the Astral like the Warp.
How do I run a campaign where everyone is undead?
>>44925467
Absurd, that would completely ruin the temper on the sword. No warrior culture should disrespect their weapons in that manner.
>A fantasy world, nah, more like fantasy solar system
>All of the planets are different in a way. Different tech level, different species, ect.
>sort of like different planes in DnD, I guess.
>The universe is built around sacred geometry and geometry-related mathematical principles(Golden Ratio, Plastic Number, ect)
>Reincarnation is a big thing too.
>CHIM
>Time Travel
These are vague concepts.
I just want to justify pic related, but with mindfuckery.
>>44948588
Center Ring of the Volcano/Crater should be "Ancient Evil Tropical Resort and Day Spa"
>>44946241
>>44946377
Microsoft OneNote.
Very efficient and easy to manage, you can have every single document in your word document in a single OneNote.
>>44925467
When the Wild Hunt claimed the Duke and departed with him to the land of the Undying, a most curious illness befell his Knights; commonly thought as close to immortal as possible without defiling the domain of God, they began to show signs of age, of rotting that only grew worse and worse with every passing year, until their bodies were no longer able to hold flesh and bone together - yet their minds seemed unfazed by this. A most odd occurence, that went unnoticed by the townsfolk for quite a while. Secretive, and hidden in their Duke-blessed armor whenever they ventured out of their sanctuaries... who could tell if one of them looked a bit different, or moved a tad more sluggish?
Some Knights saw this illness as a blessing, a sign they were about to truly ascend into God's domain. The Duke's parting gift, so to say. True, they went mad in the process. Orator Seydlitz, reduced to nothing but a head without hair or eyes was found by street urchins, rambling prophecies to the rats. The Black Church put her out of her misery with great haste, of course. Others were claimed by despair, such as Old Smith Katzbalger, who sought out the Iron Church to trade secrets for a cure - the beastly curse of Wolfhood the adherents of the forbidden Church inflicted upon themselves, he thought would halt the rotting of his flesh. But the Turning proved to much for him to handle, and he fell over dead not one hour after the admnistration of the Wolf's blood.
Yet another, famed Archivist Lenorov, escaped into the darkness below the city, attracting a whole other crowd: misfits, criminals, renegade constables, all kinds of madmen who thought it their calling to hunt the Wolves the Iron Church let loose on the city. Descend into the catacombs below, follow the trail of white lanterns, and he may grant you audience. For a low price, disgustingly trivial in fact, he will offer to share with you the secret arts of the Eternal Knights. Any piece of living flesh will suffice.
>>44949209
Dark Souls
>>44925467
A couple of settings.
-Kingdom where the church controls artifacts imbued with godly power
-Alt hist where Japan took over the space development scene
-Semi-realistic sci fi magitech with magical supersoldiers (I'm running this setting in Military Mage
Could go into more detail but it's a lot to detail
A colony ship arrives to the destination system, but an unseen orbital debris belt damages it, forcing it to crash land in a desert region instead of remaining in orbit as originally planned to support the colony. The crew and passengers disagree as to the best course of action and end up splitting into two factions, largely upon the division between the two groups. Many generations pass as two separate cities grow on opposite ends of the desert region, with the crew-based city more technically adept and advanced (but less populous), with knowledge passed down within families. Since the crew-city maintained ownership of ship artifacts excluding colonization supplies, like agricultural tools, tension run high as each citys needs are overlooked by the other (tech vs food production). Eventually the relationship breaks down completely and the crewcity decides to storm the passengercity. They build an enormous metal machine to cross the desert with an army and occupy the other city. Unfortunately, a freak rainstorm - rare in the desert but not unheard of - softens the ground and the machine is sunk into the desert floor, unable to proceed. Without their trump card, the army returns home drained of their technologic advantages and unable to continue a war. Surrender and desperation bleeds the crewcity into a poverty stricken shell of its former self, barely anything more than a third world place. The massive hulk of metal machine sits rusting and ruined in the middle of the desert, sealed as a cursed tomb to the world. You are born as an ancestor to the Captain's family, heir to a dying city, and a leader to a weak nation. If you ever want to rise up and reclaim your heritage, you will have to confront the desert and its impromptu grave to uncover the truth of your family's secret history and unlock the power that will restore it all.
Write a single paragraph summary of a campaign based on your favorite song.
>>44952362
No.
>>44952362
Fun mode: Don't name the song and let others guess what it is.
>>44952407
You mean to tell me you don't listen to music for creative inspiration?
>>44926442
That seems pretty extreme - a while priesthood is built around literally everyone meeting the Devil and having to not acknowledge it? Maybe if the challenge was required to advance to a certain stage in the clergy, it'd be a little more reasonable.
>>44942663
I think it sounds really fucking cool man. That's my honest opinion. The only issue I gathered from reading that is that it seems VERY hard to kill anything. How would they wage war when the soldiers of both sides can just effectively regenerate or are ungodly hard to actually kill?
To keep the weirdness intact, just amp up the requirements. You have to catch the soul first to cram it back in, and they don't like being caught. The Vicera drop into a coma-like state when regenerating and require anywhere from a day to nearly a month to regenerate, depending on the severity of the injury. Nyaoros' souls have to travel to the afterlife first before returning to their bodies, and sometimes they enjoy it so much they don't come back at all.
I'm just spitballing here, and these aren't particularly good suggestions, but you get the jist. Other than that, it's tits. I'd play it.
>>44952457
Could just be a demon. And if the priesthood travels, as one might suppose in a post apoc scenario, they may encounter such entities. Especially if they just wander around unchecked
>>44952457
Could just be a demon. And if the priesthood travels, as one might suppose in a post apoc scenario, they may encounter such entities. Especially if such entities just wander around unchecked
>>44952362
It's a Shadowrun campaign set entirely in a far more optimistic retro-future where money is god and the goal of the game is vapid consumerism set in the backdrop of Japanese-influenced American malls.
>>44952457
In the setting, Cosmic Evil is very, very much a real thing, and something that a man of God would face on in his lifetime. While the Imperial Church has a plethora of staffers and acolytes, to become an actual ordained minister requires a man or woman of extremely high spiritual caliber, as spiritual warfare and interaction with unholy powers is something that a priest will have to do at some point.
As long as their faith is pure, they are fine. It is when they succumb to weakness that they perish, and how can you depend upon a person to resist evil when they can't even resist it in a semi-controlled environment?it is heavily implied that it is a demon that is both trapped and allowed to live in the forest, and continues to exist in its current state solely because the Church uses this particular demon as a test for its clergy. This info is only known at the highest levels of the church, and even then is still somewhat controversial among those who know.
>>44925467
I have one that im still working on
>two tribes have to go to war
>but they can avoid war
>the shamen of the tribes can have a child
>the tribes will become one
>the child will become the new chief
>but the child must be born be before war
not use'd that much but it is a bit of a plot point in the lore of the Red Queen
>>44925467
Mind if I steal that? If I actually get my ass in gear it may wind up in a novel someday.
>>44952622
Oh hey, somebody did like it!
To address a few things, Kitba get like 6-8 seconds to have their soul shoved back in before it gets shunted into the afterlife, and Nyaoro have a death limit (either six lives total OR three deaths in one battle) before being forcibly retired from service in the Nyaoro Clawed Forces, plus their regeneration isn't exactly instant, they take a few minutes.
The thing about the Vicera I'd the "gotta cut in half" makes the severity "they were bisected". The fact they regenerate this way actually made the phrase "Bring me their head!" become "Bring me their tail!" in this universe.
>>44930440
>This too. Tolkien was a linguistic master.
He was a philologist
>>44957325
One can take more than one class in college, anon.
>>44941309
hey i want my question answered kid, hurry the fuck up
>>44956241
>novel
If you're blatantly stealing complex ideas from the internet to write a novel, you're kind of a shit m8
>>44958436
Classical Philology is more than "a class in college", my dude
>>44959181
but
but i stated i wouldn't necessarily post my answers
>>44961166
idgaf son
start posting or its gonna get ugly in here...
>>44961302
alright, alright, hope you're happy. i've talked about my setting before here once or twice but if you aren't familiar with it it can basically be summarized to a pocket of space where gods go to engage in acts of human hedonism like gluttony and takes place in a plane of sentient desserts in this great cosmic banquet.
>>44941448
Have not given much thought to animal life save for a few examples because I haven't quite determined what separates the sentience of the candy inhabitants from any other living thing on the plane.
>>44941466
Not much care the treatment of one's own body as it is entirely expendable. If you can afford or have the artistic talent to create your own that is. Candies that treat their bodies with the highest degree of respect are usually those that are using some kind of heirloom vessel, are fearful of losing parts of their mind when reincarnating or can't trust a more affordable artist to not tamper with their consciousness during the transfer process.
>>44941491
It really depends on the area's demographic. Almost every form of art including architecture reflects the body as reincarnating one's self is such a big part of society, the tradesmen that are commissioned to create a new "designer" vessel for the soul/consciousness often find work as architects as well. Structures are crude, value aesthetics over function and tend to resemble limbs or organs
>>44941838
Anything sewn from "cotton" candy as it's the only material that actually is able to remotely resemble cloth. Eras change and reflect small things that may be going on in our own human culture, so while it's reserved for more elite castes and types of candy, the way these inhabitants dress up with the cloth could be compared to a child playing dressup, putting on the most gaudy things they can because it makes them feel like a grown up. In this case it makes them feel like whatever current god is using the plane to feed on
>>44941325
cant fit any more text in this post
>>44960173
you're right, instead he should make make it so that instead of his idea its a contest of two guys standing before a pot of water that is brought to boil and then taken away from the heat source, and the first man to fill a mug and drink its contents is the equivalent of the guy who successfully grabbed the sword, with all the other failures and contingencies the same
>>44962026
seems weird, but cool.
can the candies eat each other? when the gods show up to eat the candies is it like cthulhu attacking or are they okay with it?
>>44962026
what
>>44962952
Cannibalism is a common thing, yeah and isn't necessarily frowned upon by most. Anything found in nature can be molded to life, so there's no shame in consuming the deceased or even your own previous body. If they even have a mouth to feed with.
The feeding are disastrous, but anticipated so it's just accepted as a fact of life. Most of those that are consumed do it willingly for a number of reasons and it's quite easy to avoid being eaten if you aren't in a zone designated for it. After a feeding, ages may pass and a new god shows up, molding the plane to it's own palate. For example, the current era reflects the tastes of our own modern society with chocolates at the top of society and black licorice at the bottom. If a god doesn't have a taste for a certain thing at all like say caramel, they'd disappear for the era completely until summoned during another era. Civilization progresses without them and may one day be poofed back into existance, current history completely unknown to them and other candies vying for their alliance into one of the five(?) empires of basic taste or genocide upon their return to reality.
>>44954696
what if the kids are gay
>>44956526
>Nyaoro Clawed Forces
Jesus christ, my sides
>>44941260
Recruiting like that would be a bad idea.
You'd have agents with revenge on their minds. Which means, at least for the first few years, they might go AWOL to ensure someone meets with an unfortunate fate.
>>44964377
I love to amuse.
Similarly, a Nyaoro group known as the First Stringers exist to hunt monsters. Monster Hunter fans will get that one.
I really want to dump everything I have on this setting (which I dubbed FoxTail, after a song on the game Soundodger+), but I don't want to make a billion and one posts, and I wouldn't think "hey, who wants to hear everything about this setting I made?" would get attention.
>>44964767
Do you not have a Google Doc? You can pile it all up there and just post a link. I, for one, would really like to read it.
>>44965114
I totally could, but I'm on my phone and it is currently going through a bit of a rewrite on the little I have actually written down because some of it was really stupid, followed by my tendency to try to make a dice system for my settings to make them their own games.
>>44965347
You should download the app man, so you can jot stuff down where ever you're at. I write stuff at work all the time when something pops into my head, then when I get home I can sit down and refine it on the computer. Technology is the bees knees man, it's really helped me out with organization.
Basically just using a hyper detailed Disney park for a game of Everyone is John. I think it'd make a good sandbox.
>>44933954
>>44941673
>>44942463
>>44962026
These are my favorites.
Hear me out boys... dwarves... based on sheep.
Anyone still in this thread?
>>44933954
Please tell me we eventually build giant mechs and outs the gods from their celestial palace.
>>44971572
Yes.
>>44971807
Cool. I've got a setting I've been trying to create, and I'm stuck on where to go. Should I just ramble and people might respond/give advice?
>>44968903
I can see that, but I worked on a farm and there were some really asshole sheep, so I'm biased.
>>44971908
that's what i do and always get one or two responses
let's hear your stuff
>>44971983
Alright.
This roleplay has ten distinct regions. Each region has a root in a climate found here on Earth, but it is modified to be more alien and cool to roleplay in to set the mood for the more fantastical element of the world.
I've got a bit of an idea for most of them, some more developed than others, but for the grasslands area, I'm completely lost. How do I make it fantastical? It can't be particularly subtle, it has to have a definite visual element to it. I just don't know how to make a prairie environment interesting... it's so damn boring. Which makes it only more important to mess around with to develop into something not boring.
>>44972480
The plains could shift with the wind? As in the landscape actually flows with the breeze as gently as the grass itself would. I could go a few places with that myself, but I'm sure you could come up with a few ideas for it too
>>44972745
While I'm not too keen on that, thank you, because it gave me an idea with your mention of shifting. What if these grasses were as big as trees, and they kind of wound up into shapes that look like frozen ocean waves, but made out of grass? Does that sound interesting to roleplay in?
>>44972480
Make it REALLY fucking boring. Like endless plains of nothing but knee high grass. Add a hint of extra-planar/mind magic fuckery that gets people who enter lost for decades. The big no-go place in your setting, with even grazing animals that should love it instinctively keeping away. Won't work if you want your players to explore it though.
>>44973194
Oh shit, that's hilarious, because the place that lives in the area is based off of the Elysian fields. I could take it from the angle that it is boring and the grass is so long and monotonous and makes people hallucinate, but if you know the right way in, you go into this giant underground mecha.
>>44973192
Massive tidal waves of grass gently blowing in the breeze? Getting hit by one pulls you under the matt of grass where here be monsters?
>>44972480
Don't focus on the terrain itself, but the creatures that live in it. Lots of monsters that are exaggerations of what you'd normally find in grasslands, like lions and elephants but kicked up to a monstrous degree. Maybe everyone that lives in the plains build their settlements on the backs of titanic creatures that don't really function in less flat terrain, or maybe they made the flat terrain by crushing everything they walked on. Whether or not the people can even control the creatures they live on top of can make things interesting. Communities go to war with each other entirely because the beasts they are riding on get aggressive with each other, and they must protect their beast. Settlements on the ground don't really work because you'll get eaten by monsters/stepped on by titan beasts.
>>44973392
Yeah, something like that. Or, combining the other idea, getting hit by those grasses pulls you into the underground mecha.
>>44973471
I like this idea too, but it is actually more similar to the environment I have already in mind for the desert. I'll definitely keep it in mind, though.
If anyone has more ideas, throw them out, I'm all ears. Thank you so far on the current suggestions, though, they're helping me tremendously.
>>44973548
Mecca or mecha?
>>44973587
Fuck my life, I meant mecca. Now I feel like an idiot. Though going down into a giant robot hiding under the plains has its own sort of appeal, I suppose.
Had an idea for a modern setting where monsters roam the night and prey on humanity. Think World of Darkness but takes place like Judge Dredd and Priest(the movie) styled mega cities. Sky is so think with smog that vampires can walk around in the day. Humanity has turned a blind eye to the affairs of the supernaturals. Humanity has begun to slowly become cattle to the beasts of the night. Armageddon hasn't occurred because they constantly keep each other in check.
The idea was the group works for a secret government agency that recruits individuals to help them protect humanity. Not so much as to take back the night but to make sure humanity continues to survive. Players can be any sort of odds and ends heroes. Demigods, telepaths, mutants, and other such superhero styled guys.
Kinda thinking a mixture of Justice League and Hellboy. Any recommendations for making the setting more fun?
>>44966085
I actually have it, I'm just usually doing something and when I have nothing to do, I forget about writing it down.
Something tends to, more often than not, be browsing here.
>>44973638
I have to admit, I was quite curious why there was a giant robot beneath Elysia.
>There's two entities that are the very embodiment of chaos and order.
>They keep each other in check and love each other dearly
>When the world was shaped and the mortal races were given life, the demi-gods rejected the help from the entity of chaos.
>It was gravely offended, but its counterpart calmed it down and the two resigned to watching the world unfold before them.
>However, the seething hate the chaos entity had for the demi-gods and their creations became like a festering wound upon the entity of order.
>Eventually, the entity of order was consumed by its brothers hatred and thus, only chaos was left, unchecked.
>With malicious intent, the entity manipulated the demi-gods against each other and the genocide that followed almost caused the extinction of all demi-gods, had not the Humans interfered.
>Knowing that they were not strong enough to face chaos itself by themselves, the remaining demi-gods gave up their life to forge a blade of blood and souls.
>A single Human was tasked with the fate of carrying this blade and face chaos itself.
>After a battle that cost the Human his life, chaos itself was imprisoned.
>Ever since then, this entity has remained imprisoned, waiting for the day it will be free.
>It is said that all the wars caused by the mortal races is the cause of the chaos entity's manipulation and enslavement of others inside his prison.
>The blade forged by the demi-gods have been held by many a heroes since the time of its birth.
>It is said that whomever wields it can channel the power of all the previous heroes whom once held it (Think Avatar State)
>However, these powers comes at a great cost; whomever holds it is doomed to die in battle and their soul shall not meet Hell nor Heaven, only the eternal limbo inside the sword.
Still kinda writing on it, not sure about it, but I like the concept of it so far.
>>44974359
Well, if it is under Elysium, to get to it, would that mean you'd have to dig giant robots?
does anyone know how cremation worked in ancient/medieval times? is a big, standard fire enough to reduce a body to ashes, or was there something else to it?
Need ideas for a setting that would fit in on a metal album cover. So far I've got a mist at the base of a mountain that whispers to people, turning them mad. The dwarves think it's the breath of an evil god forced out when a dwarf god dropped the mountain on me, while humans think the mountain is the entrance to hell, which is overflowing and the mist is the spirits of the dead seeping out, and the Screaming Wall. A wall carved with giant faces that screams. Built by an ancient lich who just wants to be left alone.
Also the BBEG is a bard trying to ascend to godhood by getting a song stuck in everyones head then performing a ritual, turning them braindead in the process, so the more sound based things he can manipulate the better.
So I have a group of non-humans I've been calling Orcs for the sake of simplicity, but the more I work on them the more I realize they're nothing like Orcs. They don't fill the niche, don't look like them, act like them, they're just not Orcs. So how do you guys go about naming new races? Also, do y'all think there a way to create a species that shares common ancestry with wolves and dogs without just being anthropomorphized humans/furry bait?
>>44974670
I don't think the charcoal that was widely used would burn hot enough to reduce a body to ash, so there would probably still be bones left, but I'm no expert.
>>44975187
> Also, do y'all think there a way to create a species that shares common ancestry with wolves and dogs without just being anthropomorphized humans/furry bait?
First thing that comes to mind is Anubites, I'd probably make them stoic, otherwordly guardians of the dead.
>>44974670
Bodies are still cremated the old fashioned way in India, maybe look into that. A properly built wood pyre can get surprisingly hot.
>>44963149
Is "Spicy" a taste?
>>44975162
>dropped the mountain on me
On him, fuck.
Also, anyone got any ideas for the song? I need something that is catchy with a lot of covers done in different ways I can just 'naturally' play in the background. Thinking of When The Saints Go Marching In.
Pic related
The Races
Humans are basic humans. Tribes vary, but nothing too special. Little racial distinction except in small pockets. One notable exception is the Vikings of Old Ballard, Scandinavian descended people that have taken exceptional pride in their pure human heritage and raid the surrounding areas.
Dverge are people who managed to survive on oil tankers and in vaults in Mercer Island or Bellevue. They basically run the economy through their caches of Old World items and continued oil mining. They stand under 5'6", and are a stout people. The men typically are bald or balding, while almost everyone (of both genders) grows facial hair of some sort. Shaving is typically done in mourning or shame.
Halfmen are ship dwellers, living in small family units on rafts. Their one settlement is the Sea Needle. They have adopted the practice of scavenging the areas of old Downtown, which is dangerous for the animals, monsters, and hazards that hide in the buildings and surrounding water. They stand under four feet tall, and are very thin.
Spiritfolk are nature spirits or (typically benevolent) gremlins that revealed themselves in recent times. They are strange and whimsical, though frequently deemed as annoyances. They stand under 3'6" tall. As they do not have societies of their own, they either hide in solitary locations existing as their like, or add local color to welcoming settlements.
Elves (Because no other word works). Elves are weird. There are the Wild Elves, who fled to this world after losing major battles on their home planet. The Dark Elves, so named for their evil and arcane power, followed them here. Both are referred to as "The Fair Folk", at least to their face. They arrived here from portals that correspond with many PNW locations.
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Cephalopods, or Octopeople, are an aquatic race that comes to the surface world to trade or make war. They have an expensive empire, consisting on many other aquatic races. They float a few feet off the ground, thanks to a very weak form of psionics. The air above water is wet enough to provide labored breathing, though they do begin to suffocate after several hours without submerging themselves into water. They are capable of creating glowing motes of light, shrouding their enemies in glowing auras, and shooting globes of ink (both in water and on land) thanks to their aforementioned psionic ability.
Wardroids and Dragoons are both remnants of the previous wars. Wardroids are machines used by some countries to cut down on lost human life. Dragoons are mutants created to be heavy striking units capable of shocking enemy troops and disable command. Both are incredibly tall and thick.
There are the Canuck hordes, giant men and women from the North who raid the area of Se'Atl for slaves and loot. They are physically imposing and nearly psychotic in battle. An adult is typically covered in scars from battling enemy tribes and peoples, and has seen at least one successful raiding campaign to the South.
Radspawn is a term for three different races who seem to intermingle and live together. The shorter, squater Radspawn (with dulll greyish-yellow skin and red eyes) grow litters in caves and secluded buildings, spawning great warrens through careful mining and expansion. The intelligent Radspawn have reddish purple skin and dull yellow eyes. They trade with other races for whatever they cannot take through force or subterfuge. Finally, the giant Radspawn may be where the concept for Sasquatch derived from. They are hairy, reclusive, and violent beyond their cousins' abilities. They collectively despise and hate the "smooth skin" races. Other specimen do exist, such as the blind and cannibalistic Troggs, but most never are witnessed in great numbers.
