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SeekerInTheNight
2006-08-01, 06:00 AM
============Intro==============

So I'm looking for some feedback on this idea, and where better to find it right?

Weave is the name of a Prime Material plane I've been working on for the past year and a half or so in my spare time. Originally, I took up this venture to provide my playgroup (Who at level 13-15 were now starting to become interested in the "big picture" of our world.) with a stable enviroment.

Oh sure we moonlighted in Greyhawk and other canon planes, but most of our adventures were drawn from my imagination and the reasons, settings, and events behind each of them were beginning to take a life of their own whether I liked it or not. Course, I DID like it, so that made things a bit easier.

All the documents and paperwork, maps and characters, rules, exceptions, and just general data that I have accumulated for Weave would be too much to put in a single place all at once. There's just too much and the majority isn't on my computer yet. So I'll be starting with little bits here and there, the big ideas, and if people like it we'll see some more.


==============Intro Ends=============

This is the important part, you’ll lose interest real fast if some of these sections aren’t your thing.

I. What is Weave? ((For those interested in what I’m selling))
II. The Central Conflicts ((For those who want to think a bit))
III. The Wilds ((For those looking for something cool))

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Weave is what I have taken to calling a Planar Focal Point. While for the most part a simple Prime Material like many others, it has several specific differences that make it unique.

The first is what the Manual of the Planes calls elemental, energy, alignment, and magic traits. Unlike most Primes, which are “mildly neutral” in nature, Weave is a patchwork of interconnected existences.

One can find areas which are perfectly “normal” in our sense of the word sitting not five feet from a three mile wide four hundred mile long strip of land so dominate in the element of Fire that random volcanic explosions often happen within five minutes of one another. The perfectly harmless looking section of ocean you are sailing over could actually be an unfathomable depth that connects directly to the Elemental Plane of Water. The influence of Law and Chaos is so strong in some places that it has been written into the people living their for generations. And of course, there are some places where if you wander into the shadows with the wrong reasons in your heart, you’ll never be seen again

The second is the mystery of it all. Not some forgotten ruins which hold age old secrets, but an entire plane that holds riddles deeper and older than the oldest of dragons can remember and the plots of men which do run as far, but may well run as deep. Questions that may never be answered, but could be quested after for a lifetime and never run out of a new clue to be found. A Forbidden City that opens its gates to all who need refuge, and could turn out a God who wished to do harm. Intricate webs of deceit and lies, wars for purposes not even known to those that fight them, factions playing to both sides and to neither. Paths and roadways, both mundane and magical, that span the continents and hold their own laws and customs. And then of course there are The Wilds... the kind of environment so hostile that the most epic of druids and rangers cannot fully pierce its depths. The kind of place that is never the same, where you could find anything and everything depending on how long you looked. Or nothing at all, but the cold grasp of death.

Lastly, but most importantly, is the fun that is to be had here. Because Weave is constantly growing and accommodating to the needs of both DM and PCs, for a long time there will always be an adventure to be had. Always a kingdom to rule. And always a tyrant to be overthrown. Of course, how is this different from a regular D&D group that doesn’t bother making their own world and just does adventures they think are cool? The answer is history. Say, some time far in the future, when the map is full and the lines have been drawn, why can’t we continue to slay dragons and rule kingdoms? When that days comes along, the history books open. You want to be fated ruler of a kingdom stolen from you at birth by a tyrant bent on warping it to his own image but there are no tyrants left. That doesn’t mean there weren’t five hundred years ago, or a thousand, or more. Because Weave is many places and many ideas lumped into one, it just takes a little thought to work the players ideas into the mix of things. And each of their ideas, then becomes a part of the greater whole. Not only that, but it’s a plane that provides more thought and retrospect for those who go looking for it. Moral and political debate rage on alongside wars and high adventure.

So really, what is Weave? To put it simply, it’s a physical setting for any number of D&D campaigns from any number of different or new characters. It’s a place where one challenges oneself to understand life from the point of view of a person whose circumstances are not only different from yours, but almost incomprehensible. It’s a place where a DM can sit down and say “Here’s what’s happening in my campaign today, what part of the world am I in?” and they’ll have an answer. But if that’s not your thing, there’s still an intricate story to be told that you can throw yourself into. Be good, be bad. Be lawful, be chaotic. Be neutral. But in your own little way find yourself affecting the world around you, be it large or small.

That, is Weave.
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This section is dedicated to Weave’s big conflicts, the main plot, the big shabang. The activities for those of us who aren’t faint of heart at getting into the thick of things.

1. The Factions War (Think Cold War, but without Democracy or Socialism and with clear cut alignments)
“Lawful Faction: A basically good and strongly Lawfully aligned Parlimentary Monoarchy. Their system is very hierachial and has strict rules for jobs, payment, class, etc.”

“Chaotic Faction: A basically good and strongly Chaotically aligned Oligarchy with the merchant and trade guilds as a ruling class. The system is unstructured for the most part (except when trade is concerned) and based mostly on trade.”

What happens when you stick these two basically good, but completely opposing systems of belief in close proximity to one another, in one of the most central and important trade and military points for an entire continent? Nothing, good.

The Factions War is the tentative name for the ongoing conflict between two powerful nations hailing from the LG and CG alignments. In this situation, usually the goodness of their natures would override their conflicting ideals. But throw in a dash of arrogance, some pride, a few ulterior motives, puppet strings, and these guys...

“Mercenary Faction: A shadowy organization that trains and hires out groups of mercenaries from a shadowy seat of unquestioned authority. Groups could even be put against one another at times. No one really knows quite what this faction's goals are, but they really like money, almost as much or more than the Chaotic Faction. They also acquire power, land, people, whatever.”

And suddenly you have the recipe for a brutal and downright cutthroat time that may see the end of us all.

2. The Empire and the Synfuels Corporation
Far to the west of the warring factions once existed a powerful Empire that ruled fair and justly with respect to all alignments and people. The Emperor was beloved across Weave, right up until the Empire was nearly wiped out in its entirety. For a long time no one quite knew who destroyed the Empire as they closed their borders and stopped all expansion immediately following their victory.

Then the stories began to filter in. Of massive clouds of ash and perpetual glowing lights. Of massive creations of clockwork and construct. Of “machines” and of mining on scales that the Dwarves could never achieve. Of an odd people, with odd clothing and odder ideas. That people should be free to do and choose whatever is necessary to further themselves. Self-actualization, self-improvement, freedom of choice and speech. Industrial revolutions and democracy. A better way of living.

The Emperor himself still lives, desperately trying to understand the why of those who invaded his lands. Hadn’t he been the one to give the people of Weave freedom from the wars and the conflict? Hadn’t he made the roads, towns, and cities safe for the average man and woman? All these words seemed like a good idea, but for the life of him he could not see them for more than just words. What about magic? He pondered. Where does the mystical and the divine fit into your plans? What about the Elves? The Dwarves? The Fae? The Wildlife? Where did these things fit?

So which side is right? Which side is wrong? Can the ideals of a people without the unnatural and the supernatural fit into a world of such things? Can the best of intentions and a few good ideas take a foothold in a place that has known nothing of it for all time?

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So maybe in-depth plot isn’t your thing, well enough, it’s the same for a lot of people. Myself included a lot of the time.

So I bring you, The Wilds:
Forests that elves won't claim. Caves that orcs won't stake out. Lush woodland meets spires of sandstone and granite meets hundreds of miniscule lakes all in the span of a square mile. And that's just the habitable spots. The Wilds is one of the least friendly places in the multiverse. Oddly enough it also hosts one of the best Hexblade, Warmage, other sorts of battlecasters, etc. schools out there as well as a center for technology and trade. The kind of place that you could go into every day and find something new. A perfect circle, 200 miles in diameter, surrounded by sheer cliffs with only a few possible entries. Will you plunge into the depths and find adventure at every turn? Smuggle your way across the dangerous Shadow Path for riches and fame? Guard the borders, fight over them, patrol, heal, wound, or invade? If lengthy discussion isn’t your thing, the Wilds offer more than any adventurer could ever want or need and then some.

What does this translate into in D&D terms I’m sure some of you are thinking. It’s a place to put any encounter on any sort of terrain with any conditions you could ever want and challenge your PCs to defeat it. Or to send them plunging to their dooms by going too deep for too long and finding something that shouldn’t be found.

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>_< Okay, that last line rhymed. You know what that means? I’m much too tired to be writing (Its 3 AM here) So here it is, Weave, part one. If its 1% of what I have tucked away in boxes and brain, I’d be surprised.

SeekerInTheNight
2006-12-13, 06:30 PM
Wow, post number two. Six months later and I'm actually getting around to edit it. ^^; Huzzah. Nothing huge in this post, just some world setting things that may become important for an upcoming campaign.

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The Cliff Wall: I mentioned in the previous post that The Wilds are surrounded by a cliff wall on all sides. The main story-line of Weave (or at least the only one that I'm currently working on) centers around The Wilds' western edge, the cliff wall there, and the Highlands beyond that contain the various warring factions. While in truth the "Highlands" range from 0-50 feet above sea level, they are called such because the cliff wall itself is roughly five thousand feet tall from base to tip. Seen from above through extended arcane eyes the cliff wall forms a perfect circle around The Wilds, reinforcing the theory that the environment is not a natural occurence.

The Passes: A baker's dozen of paths wind their way from the chaos of The Wilds to the Highlands. These paths are ranked from one to five in terms of danger, with one being the least dangerous. Some paths, like the Pilgrim's Road and Harvest Pass rank as one and two because the denizens of The Wilds nautrally avoid these places. Others, such as Arkoran's Caravan Ramp, have low rating because of the indomidable defenses around an otherwise extremely dangerous pass. There are two other kinds of passes worth noting. Some, such as Madman's Leap, are extremely dangerous at close proximity but relatively inaccessible or out of the way. This is either bcause of complicated terrain or rampant monster activity that does not extend beyond the path. The last type of path is extremely dangerous no matter what the situation, fortunately only four of these paths are close enough to the Highlands to be cause for worry. The first three are the Shadow Fingers, a rat's warren of pitch black tunnels teeming with dangerous monsters and deadly pitfalls. These caverns lead from some of the more dangerous fringe areas of The Wilds to the capital of the Mercenary Faction. The last is simply called Hardpoint Pass, wide enough to lead a wagon up but watched at all times by some of the smarter fiends (a term which is not always figurative, in Th Wilds). The Lawful Faction maintains a fortress of battle-hardened veterans stationed at Hardpoint at all times.