>>46222834
Last thread
Gloom World is a project to create a setting based on themes found in a 'Dying World' setting.
The Oldfather sits on his throne on the Godmount, his mind vacant, his body withered, consumed by dementia and useless. The world rots in sympathy with him, the Last Dwarf died in the halls of the Diamond Palace clutching an axe it is uncertain if starvation or tunnel crawlers claimed him first, the great Tree Cities of the Green Isle withered and with them the elves, the Slave Pits of the Orkish Capital are empty, their great industrial works silent. Only humans remain, and the beast folk, the vermin races, goblins, kobolds, and more. Every day crops fail, livestock grow sick and die, the cities crumble one by one and the gods, consumed with grief do nothing to save the world.
The Sun Goddess plays her harp half heartedly and farmers suffer shorter days because of it.
The god of sea and earth rages turning the oceans into a monster infested maelstrom and causing the earth to rumble in sympathy.
The Mother goddess tends the husk of her husband, ignoring her duties to women around the globe and birth rates drop.
War has been chained to a great stone outside of heaven for the crime of attempting to slay the Oldfather that he may be laid to rest, wars have become cold things of paranoia and stocked resources. Daggers in the shadow and pointed words.
The Goddess of time drinks herself to sleep causing patches of land to flutter between eras and sending mortals back and forth across the ages.
Only the trickster god, barred from heaven, labors to save the world but even his endless schemes may not be enough to save humanity and end The Rot.
>>46277139
>a 'Dying World' setting.
I take it "Dying World" is different from "Dying Earth", right?
>>46278325
so far known cities consist of "The Eternal City" which hosts "The Eternal Palace" which is under constant siege from misshapen monsters created by the Goddess of Nature's conversion into a goddess of death. It's stone buildings crumble and are replaced by samshackle wooden ones. Ratfolk, Catfolk, Canids, Minotaurs, Carrion Birdmen, Goblings and Kobolds swarm into the city as Human dead pile up. Sun Engines labor to keep the city powered and haul in harvests from the failing farming settlements.
There's also Seaside, a coastal kingdom that's been flooded and is now home mostly to birdfolk, Toadmen, Gatormen, and the odd treasure seeking diver.
>>46277139
I wish my setting ideas would be as popular. :\
Could we get some lore on the early titan races? I think at this point we have
>Used to be the big guys in charge of the world (alongside dragons, maybe, since dragons are said to be ancient as well and were made before even dying naturally was a thing)
>The gods took over
>The titans have lost most of their power and have become deformed over the generations, becoming much closer to mortals, but they're still pretty tough
>>46281551
What are your setting ideas, m8?
>>46282255
Oh, just snippets from my favorite authors and lyrics from songs I like.
>>46282209
I'd say the Titans have been breeding with mortals for ages so they're thin blooded and producing monsters as often as they produce intelligent offspring. Giants with deformities like animal features (goat heads, hooves, paws instead of hands etc), cyclopian eyes, extra limbs, missing limbs, etc would probably be fairly common. Titans would tend to be larger than humans but some of the smaller ones could be human sized.
>>46282324
Well hey, maybe you can find something from a song or an author that inspires something for this setting?
>>46277139
Ok, so here are two plots I liked from other games I played.
The Moon God was tricked by the Trickster God, his closest friend, and was locked away into a mortal body so he had no other option but to help the Eternal Jester. He died to a beggar's rusted knife, being the first god to know mortality. The nights are ever darker and never safe.
The Serpent God, eater of light, which was fated to devour the world at its end, has fled from its cavern at the World's End. Something has terrified it into flight, rampaging the land with utter abandon.
Another good one is from Sandman.
The Dreamer God was captured by ambitious sorcerers who were desperate and tried to capture Death so it would grant them deathless life. Dreams are now filled with black, turned to dread and despair, deliriously maddening. Many never wake up, many that do soon turn mad.
I loved the five major gods representing the five stages of grief suggested in the last thread.
>Only humans remain, and the beast folk, the vermin races, goblins, kobolds, and more.
>>46277139
It'd probably be pretty visceral to have locations where you can literally watch the world die. Steam vents blasting the last of a planet's internal heat and pressure, causing audible buckling and groaning, foghorn noises. A crystalline fortress from days of old has started to chip, causing a breathtaking view of jagged glass dust raining down on what used to be a major city down below, now abandoned as the inhabitants not internally bled to ribbons fled. Petrified forests that inexplicably still wither.
>>46286980
*floating fortress
>>46277139
OH SHIT YES THIS THREAD IS BACK
>>46284010
Seconded
>>46288590
>>46284010
What I find the most fun about having the gods representing grief is that if the PCs are going through each of the gods, it turns into one big metaphor for getting over death.
>>46277139
When low on ideas one must always remember that dangrous worlds like these require a dedicated guild of couriers who have every excuse to tour villages and see how they are coping with the end times
>>46286697
of the standard tolkien races on Humans remain. The rest are the usual vermin races from more standard settings.
I assume most people are eatting bugs, and whatever they can harvest before it rots. Fungus might make up a new crop.
>>46291084
Fallen London is good at this. People tend to drink spore wine/coffee and eat fungus bread. Ordinary food (grapes, fish bread, fish) is treated as heavenly good.
>>46291559
yeah normal food has a short shelf life thanks to the rot. so fungal foods might last longer.
>>46291559
Fallen London is a great setting in general.
>>46277139
>>46277139
Here is an idea
> as the threads of reality unravel so do those of time
> there is a colossal bridge in the world
> the kingdoms it led to no longer exist
> a town has formed on that bridge
> the people on that bridge will tell you the other side is overrun by monsters and horrors
> they are lying
> it leads to a sort a paradise
> the world before the rot
> if too many people find out the god of barriers will take notice
> the people of the town want to keep their secret
>>46294320
> how fast food decays related to length of day
> days are now short because qt3.14 goddess of sun too sad to play her harp
> if the party wants their food to last they are going to have to cheer her up
Honestly guys I feel like this is a great idea for a setting. Don't be afraid to post. Keep the dream alive.
Is it the PCs job to fix the world or is this all just endless, meaningless depression
>>46294934
Whatever floats your boat. Patch it up to chug on for a few more years, give it a new lease on life or decide it's time has come and let it die to make room for the new world
>>46294934
Strike when it's weak and take control. Be the king of the ashes
>>46294934
we talked about fixing the world last thread, Oldfather needs to die or get fixed. the former is easier. the gods need grief counseling or to be retired, new gods need to pick up the slack etc.
>>46294320
>The Time Goddess, drunk as always, summons the PCs to investigate the bridge, promising them treasures from before the Rot if they investigate the bridge
>The PCs, being as active as they are, try rushing past the bridge
>They consider the villagers' violent reaction as confirmation for something evil on the other side of the bridge
>They make it to the unRotted world
>The survivors realize they didn't know what they were doing and try to get them to leave
>Too late
>Time Goddess sees her mistake, and sends it forward in time
>Hopes: deleted
>>46289603
Order of the Wanderers.
Knights, Magi, and Rogues who walk the world and leave signs, maps, and little messages for those who follow.
Ancient automatons made by now dead race (dwarfes) purposelessly trying to finish their now useless task are always a nice addition ,especially when their task interferes with the races that have yet to go extinct, like razing settlements because they stand in a way of building a fuckhueg hibernation hall/fortress for their creators
>>46296770
well last thread posited an NPC golem made to guard the eternal palace called "Mettle" who was a 12 foot tall suit of jousting armor powered by sunfire and who was apparently as strong as a demigod. Could see Dorfs making golems to run and maintain their cities before they died out, powered by Geothermal energy maybe? They could guard the last areas of geothermal activity and farm fungus and stuff and protect huge supplies of food making raiding extinct dwarven kingdoms a serious priority for anyone.
>Group of ratfolk travel the world carrying letters and packages from different people.
>Because of their nature to wander and their willingness to work, mail delivery seems right up their alley
>They may have a knack of reading your letters, taking some of your package, and the like, but they don't take payment until they confirm the item has been delivered, and will not accept payment if they learn that the person they're delivering to has passed away
>As such, they are one of the few well respected vermin-groups the remaining humans in cities respect.
Fae, nymphs, and general nature spirits would probably have gone insane once the Rot started to become a big issue, but what would the few non-crazy beings of those kinds do with themselves now that everything is rotting away and they don't have a lot of things to do?
>>46297106
well they do have a lot to do if they're ambitious. The Trickster is trying to save the world as he's rather fond of mortals and is unwilling to let the whole world die. So I'd imagine nature spirits are busy creating little enclaves and maintaining them and protecting them from the now former goddess of life until the new Goddess of Life comes along.
>>46297225
That's actually a really nice idea. It's probably a tough job for the nature spirits, needing to focus all their power in keeping their little area of the world safe as the Rot is bearing down not only around them, but also within them, considering their nature. Hoping that the Trickster and the PCs know what they're actually doing and can save them before they crack.
>>46297575
probably the first thing on the minds of the Fae and Nature Spirits is getting a new patron and they probably have representatives pushing Nature aligned demigods to take over or petition the death goddess to step down and offer up her role as Nature goddess to a new title holder.
>>46277139
I'm ripping most of this off from a hazy memory of Banner Saga, but it might be interesting if there was an entity that was supposed to end the world itself, but in several eons from the present and in a much different way. Like, eat the sun and lead armies in the last war, in a somehow more "clean" apocalypse, with the promise of renewal afterwards.
But now that the world is actually ending, and it's not ending according to script, it's desperately trying to save it in order eventually be able to fulfill its destiny.
>>46298179
That actually fits really well with the Grief model for the god experiencing Denial. I hadn't found one I was personally happy with yet.
>>46295290
> villain wants to take over the world by hastening it's demise
> has been told this is idiotic and he will be master of a pile of charged ashes
> Realises this and claims it is beside the point
>>46298386
Didn't we have the God of Barriers or Guardian God acting as the denial God?
>>46298179
Also, love Banner Saga.
>>46301150
I think the barrier/guardian god's whole deal was protecting the Oldfather and keeping mortals and stuff out of heaven.
>Across all of history the vermin races have been regarded with little attention. Minotaurs have long been employed in the armies of bandits and warlords as cheap muscle, catfolk have been bandits and raiders as long as anyone can remember, ratfolk have always been thieves, canids have long been known to squat on good pasture and hunting land and been a bane to settlers. Kobolds and Goblins may look different and go about it in differing ways but they've always been opportunistic scavengers out for an easy meal and warm place to sleep. The birdfolk were always nomadic scavengers known to harass travellers.
>with the passing of the god's favored races this dying age has brought out qualities few thought to look for. The Ratfolk have by and large discarded their thieving ways, theft is no longer cost efficient, the Catfolk have learned to cooperate forming loose clans whose loyalties shift with the blowing of the wind but they always work together for mutual survival, Canids have started building lasting settlements, Birdfolk serve as excellent scouts and explorers Minotaurs earn their keep as ever but are showing increasing discipline and capability to grasp tactics and logistics, Goblins and Kobolds have proven invaluable as scavengers.
>And humans, as ever, prove that adaptability is valuable in times of hardship. The great cities may be crumbling, food may be short, the wild life may slowly be turning twisted and monstrous but by and large humans refuse to lay down and die. They'll do their best to survive, even if it means sharing their homes with Vermin.
>>46302105
It is, but he's guarding his father because he can't accept that Oldfather is dying. He's in denial and that's why he's not letting any mortals into Heaven or any gods near Oldfather.
>>46303416
it works if we say that's always been his role and he's keeping at it because he refuses to accept anything has changed.
>>46303498
I think that works.
Zothique by Clark Ashton Smith is a great cycle of short stories about a dying world. It is "the last continent of earth, when the sun is dim and tarnished" and was written during the heyday of Weird Tales.
What types of magic can people learn?
