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The Rose Dragon
2010-05-06, 04:02 PM
This may be more suitable for Homebrewing, but since we're not actually creating anything new, I just figured it would go here.

Did you ever have a setting detail that would be awesome, whether it is a name, a place, a dungeon's history, a race or whatever, but didn't quite know how to actually fit it into a setting?

Well, here, the brightest minds of our forum's Roleplaying Games section will help you figure out how to make your Setting Detail Snippet™ into a well-placed part of your setting!

Hopefully.

So, I'll start with my own setting detail snippet, since that's pretty much why I started this thread. What would a comet named the Western Dawn do in a fantasy setting? The comet should always come from the West and be big enough to be mistake for the sun, but I don't quite know what special powers it should have. Any ideas?

WildPyre
2010-05-06, 04:09 PM
So, I'll start with my own setting detail snippet, since that's pretty much why I started this thread. What would a comet named the Western Dawn do in a fantasy setting? The comet should always come from the West and be big enough to be mistake for the sun, but I don't quite know what special powers it should have. Any ideas?

I think it may have been done before... but I'd have it mess with the way either arcane or divine magic works. Perhaps either creating chaotic effects when arcane casters use their spells, or cutting off divine maagic entierly for the duration of the comet's appearance. Perhaps both.

The Rose Dragon
2010-05-06, 04:10 PM
I think it may have been done before... but I'd have it mess with the way either arcane or divine magic works. Perhaps either creating chaotic effects when arcane casters use their spells, or cutting off divine maagic entierly for the duration of the comet's appearance. Perhaps both.

It might be a good idea to keep things system-neutral, by the way, so the ideas are accessible to people who don't play D&D (like myself).

WildPyre
2010-05-06, 04:19 PM
It might be a good idea to keep things system-neutral, by the way, so the ideas are accessible to people who don't play D&D (like myself).

Ah you stated it was for a fantasy setting so I assumed there would be magic... what type of setting are we dealing with here? It's hard to incorperate things into a setting if you don't know what the setting it.

Such as

Hi Tech setting: The comet causes technology to shut down or behave erraticly.

Wild West: The comet spooks the animals and causes stampeeds.

Cthullu: ZOMBIES!

Weird West ZOMBIE STAMPEED!

Naruto: Everyone's inner power doubles for the duration.

Bunnies and Burrows: Marks the rise of the wolves!

My Little Pony: Causes Sparkle ponies to glimmer blindingly and unicorn pony's horns to send off magical sparks.

So yeah... general details on the setting are rather important in order to know how to incorperate things.

The Rose Dragon
2010-05-06, 04:21 PM
System-neutral, not setting-neutral. The division between arcane and divine magic, as far as I know, only exists in D&D and AD&D.

WildPyre
2010-05-06, 04:23 PM
System-neutral, not setting-neutral. The division between arcane and divine magic, as far as I know, only exists in D&D and AD&D.

Then... pick one or the other of the two? It acts erraticly or doesn't work at all?

TheThan
2010-05-06, 05:41 PM
Borrowed this from Avatar: the Last Airbender

The comet should enhance fire based things.

Creatures with the fire subtype get enhanced and all spells with the fire descriptor get maximized for free. I can imagine it maximizing the fire breath of all red and gold dragons; the wizard’s scorching ray and fireball spells suddenly deal-maximized damage, things like that.