Roxxy
2012-04-24, 03:01 PM
I'm still working on my homebrew campaign setting, but now that I'm in Job Corps I have less time overall to do so, as well as limited computer access to type up my work. As such, I don't have a detailed description to offer. I have, however, been writing a lot of notes as ideas come to me, and I have a relatively useable patchwork of ideas to share with you all. I hope you will look over it and give some feedback.
The basic premise is that of a medium to high magic world in which guns and vehicles have replaces armor, swords, and horses. Steam power and electricity are the primary forms of energy, but I would hesitate to call this world Steampunk, as the setting's punk elements are largely segregated to a couple regions of the world.
For an artistic style, I'm using elements ranging from the 18th century to the modern day. To clarify, some 18th century clothing and architectual styles are common in many areas, as are 19th century and early 20th century styles and some modern ones (specifically, those involving t-shirts and denim). At the same time, some more modern influences, mostly in Goth, Hippy, and Metal culture and music, are very much present. This kind of mash-up isn't too different from Golarion, considering the level of decade/century style and cultural dissonance to be seen in that particular setting.
The basic themes of the world are the decline of aristocracy and rise of populism, large scale scientific and magical advances and the rush to advance even further, and the desire to reconcile the high level of usefulness of magic with the massive threat it's misuse can present.
When it comes to technology, both science and magic play a large part. Magic is not uncommon, and is very often used to allow technology to do more and better things that it could do by itself.
The main weapons of the setting are firearms. Semiautomatic rifles are the most common, behind revolvers, large fixed machine guns, and submachine guns. All firearms fire caseless ammunition, where magic is used to fuse gunpowder into a solid and then fuse it to the bullet and primer. Revolvers and rifles are highly common, machine guns are common or not depending on who you are dealing with, with them being mostly in the hands of the military or extremely well funded pirates, rebels, or organized criminals. Submachine guns are around, but a workable solution to recoil and weight issues has yet to be found, making their utility somewhat limited. The appearance of firearms varies by the culture of the designer and what is seen as attractive, effective, or ergonomic. Some look decidedly realistic, others like something out of fantasy (which they are).
In the transportation sector, trains are the preferred ground transportation. Horseless carriages and bicycles have been invented, but they are not cheap or simple to purchase, operate, or maintain, and are still highly experimental and not yet common sights. Airships are common, and airplanes common for certain tasks. Water ships are also common, with submarines being in existence and use. Airships are preferred for speed, ability to fly over obstacles and land, and ability to gain altitude over the enemy in a fight, but they cannot compete with water ships for cargo capacity, staying power in a fight, armament, and resistance to poor weather. Both types of ship are common, but for different tasks. WW1 style tanks do exist.
For communication, the wireless telephone is the primary method, including portable models. Radio and music storage devices are also popular. The visual telephone and television are both very new technologies, and not yet universal. The telegraph is available, but somewhat obsolete. Photography is pretty common.
Power is provided by steam engines, which usually use kerosene or a similar fluid to heat a specially designed alchemical compound that acts like water with a lower boiling temperature. Electricity, usually generated by wind, water, or steam, is commonly used, as is natural gas, usually methane, ethane, or, most commonly, a blend. Kerosene is also used rather commonly.
Thanks to industrialization, food is beginning to be grown on a large scale and moved around the world. This shift from local to mass agriculture is very far along, though not complete or total. Preservation is usually done by freezing, salting, dehydration, or canning, and in many areas you can get foods from all over the world.
Medical technology is fairly good. The causes and effective treatments of disease are understood, and internal surgery is an effective possibility. Drugs are available, though they are still relatively new, and not all of them actually work.
All of the main races of this world are considered to be humans. These races, with the exception of dwarves and the partial exception of orcs, tend to live together in multiracial communities, not segregated into their own communities. Hair color, eye color, and height vary by race, but skin color and body shape is generally the same range for all races except orcs and elves.
Magni: The merchants and experimenters of the world, they look at lot like real people do. They practically run the economy of the world, what with their almost instinctive reactions to current trends and very clever inventions. They are a major player in scientific and magical advancement as a result of this inventiveness, and their ability to go and sell these inventions does nothing but help them with this.
Divni: Historical, magical, natural, and cultural scholars and storytellers without peer, the divni must drink blood (not necessarily human blood, though) to compensate for a deficiency in their bodies, and possess fangs to facilitate this. They aren’t vampires, though a great many similarities are there and vampires do have a rather large part in their own culture. They look like magni do, except red hair, of all shades, is by and far the most common hair color alongside black. They have the highest rate of cross-breeding with non-humans of any race do to their scholarship in magic and nature, and this has given them the highest number of sorcerers of any human race, and they were once the only race that could come anywhere near elves in magical power.
Elves: Elves are the most aristocratic and magically skilled race. They were once far more magically powerful than the other races, as the gods gave them this power to allow them to serve as the leaders of humanity. During this period, only divni sorcerers could come close to elves in power, and even they were outclassed. However, the elves abused this power too greatly, and the gods gave the other human races access to their magical powers in response. Now elves have lost their leadership position, and stand as a proud but somewhat repentant race. They are aristocratic, artistic, and still skilled in magic, though their magical skill is now the result of a cultural love of practice rather than gods-given superiority. Elves are, on average, 1 to 3 inches shorter than magni, with pointed ears that rotate and move up and down with their moods like a cat’s, and some elves have colorful stripes or spots on their bodies. Scalp and pubic hair is the only hair they possess, and it is usually white, black, or a bright shade of almost any color of the rainbow. Their eyes have the same available shades as their hair, and about one in three elves has a form of heterochromia, usually complete or central.
Dwarves: The dwarves are a race obsessed with both skilled construction and inventive architecture. They prefer to live in areas that present an architectural challenge, such as underground, on steep mountainsides, in forest canopies, on giant city-ships, and in many other places. They are a hardworking and community-centric people, and tend to treat other human races with neutrality except for the purposes of trading and common defense. They also have a good deal of understanding of the natural world, being very skilled biologists and geologists. They do share governments with other human races instead of having their own, but they tend to have their own separate communities. They are generally about 4 to 6 inches shorter than magni, with hair in earthy, sea-like, metallic, or gem-like tones, and eye colors of about the same range.
Orcs: Orcs are the only human race not created by the gods. Instead, they were created by the Fey to serve as a race of slave warriors to throw at humanity. The orcs were created too humanlike to be controlled, however, and they entered into a very violent conflict with the Fey over their place in society. This conflict, only recently cooled down, has colored orcish history a great deal. The war consumed the race so much that everybody trained for combat from a young age and then put their entire life towards the war effort. Now that the Fey have partially given up on subjugating them things are much better, but the orcish culture still maintains it’s martial focus. Historically orcs have lived in fortified wilderness communities, but in the modern day a great many are moving into communities of other human races, hoping for a more fruitful life than the subsistence living they have historically had. Orcs are, on average, 1 to 3 inches taller than magni, with skin in pale or dark earthy tones and the same range of hair and eye colors as magni.
These are the nations I’m so far focusing on. All I have at the moment is lists of ideas, so these are more rough concepts than fully fleshed places at the moment. Some of the details may seem a bit random, since many are ideas for cultural quirks I wrote down over the course of the days. The setting is one large continent, with islands to either side. I currently lack time (Job Corps), so info on some of the countries will have to be posted later. I’d like opinions on what I have so far, though.
Kokura: Kokura is a very large group of islands at the western end of the campaign setting, colonized first from the east and then the west. They have a reputation as laid back, mellow individuals, yet they are also armed with one of the best navies in the world, which may be why they can afford to be so laid back and mellow all the time. The population has something of an obsession with surfing, the national sport, which is taken from native practices. They are known for being somewhat egalitarian, with little aristocracy to speak of. This goes so far that in the military officers and enlisted eat and sleep together, not separate, and anybody of a higher rank is saluted and called sir/ma’am, regardless of whether enlisted or officer.
Vinland: Vinland is three large islands and some smaller islands off to the northeast of the campaign setting, and was the first area to be colonized in the setting, having been discovered and settled by Vikings from the west decades before any other part of the setting was colonized. It is a cold and harsh mountainous land, plagued by storms and frost giants, but the Vinlanders love it dearly. They are a strong, hardy, and honorable people. One thing they are known for is the practice of arming prisoners condemned to death, thinking it shameful to force someone to die without a fight. This practice kills many law enforcement officers, but they believe the honor inherent in it is worth it.
Morovia: Located in the midwest of the setting, Morovia has a culture based strongly off of modern Goth/Metal culture. It is a land plagued by problems of damaging misuse of magic, and is especially well known for it’s problems with undead and rogue spellcasters. It’s citizens live a life of constant vigilance as a result, and the Morovian government is in a constant state of war with internal threats. It is a very strictly run dictatorship, as they believe it takes a great deal of authority to handle such major threats to the people. Morovia has a cold/mild climate up north and mild/hot climate down south.
The Baronies: This hot, arid land in the setting’s southwestern frontier at one point formed what was supposed to be a new empire, but do to a lack of a solid economy it fractured quickly. Now the scattered baronies are constantly bickering over control of the land, with no central authority existing. This is a wild land, with personal strength and courage being the law.
Vendalia: Details Later.
Mastiza: Details later.
Chendi: Details Later.
Leontiny: Details later.
Alexa: Details later.
Varnen: Details later.
I know it's kind of a mess, but I'd still like thoughts on what I have, I'd also like some suggestions on what information you want to see next, since I'm a little short on direction right now.
The basic premise is that of a medium to high magic world in which guns and vehicles have replaces armor, swords, and horses. Steam power and electricity are the primary forms of energy, but I would hesitate to call this world Steampunk, as the setting's punk elements are largely segregated to a couple regions of the world.
For an artistic style, I'm using elements ranging from the 18th century to the modern day. To clarify, some 18th century clothing and architectual styles are common in many areas, as are 19th century and early 20th century styles and some modern ones (specifically, those involving t-shirts and denim). At the same time, some more modern influences, mostly in Goth, Hippy, and Metal culture and music, are very much present. This kind of mash-up isn't too different from Golarion, considering the level of decade/century style and cultural dissonance to be seen in that particular setting.
The basic themes of the world are the decline of aristocracy and rise of populism, large scale scientific and magical advances and the rush to advance even further, and the desire to reconcile the high level of usefulness of magic with the massive threat it's misuse can present.
When it comes to technology, both science and magic play a large part. Magic is not uncommon, and is very often used to allow technology to do more and better things that it could do by itself.
The main weapons of the setting are firearms. Semiautomatic rifles are the most common, behind revolvers, large fixed machine guns, and submachine guns. All firearms fire caseless ammunition, where magic is used to fuse gunpowder into a solid and then fuse it to the bullet and primer. Revolvers and rifles are highly common, machine guns are common or not depending on who you are dealing with, with them being mostly in the hands of the military or extremely well funded pirates, rebels, or organized criminals. Submachine guns are around, but a workable solution to recoil and weight issues has yet to be found, making their utility somewhat limited. The appearance of firearms varies by the culture of the designer and what is seen as attractive, effective, or ergonomic. Some look decidedly realistic, others like something out of fantasy (which they are).
In the transportation sector, trains are the preferred ground transportation. Horseless carriages and bicycles have been invented, but they are not cheap or simple to purchase, operate, or maintain, and are still highly experimental and not yet common sights. Airships are common, and airplanes common for certain tasks. Water ships are also common, with submarines being in existence and use. Airships are preferred for speed, ability to fly over obstacles and land, and ability to gain altitude over the enemy in a fight, but they cannot compete with water ships for cargo capacity, staying power in a fight, armament, and resistance to poor weather. Both types of ship are common, but for different tasks. WW1 style tanks do exist.
For communication, the wireless telephone is the primary method, including portable models. Radio and music storage devices are also popular. The visual telephone and television are both very new technologies, and not yet universal. The telegraph is available, but somewhat obsolete. Photography is pretty common.
Power is provided by steam engines, which usually use kerosene or a similar fluid to heat a specially designed alchemical compound that acts like water with a lower boiling temperature. Electricity, usually generated by wind, water, or steam, is commonly used, as is natural gas, usually methane, ethane, or, most commonly, a blend. Kerosene is also used rather commonly.
Thanks to industrialization, food is beginning to be grown on a large scale and moved around the world. This shift from local to mass agriculture is very far along, though not complete or total. Preservation is usually done by freezing, salting, dehydration, or canning, and in many areas you can get foods from all over the world.
Medical technology is fairly good. The causes and effective treatments of disease are understood, and internal surgery is an effective possibility. Drugs are available, though they are still relatively new, and not all of them actually work.
All of the main races of this world are considered to be humans. These races, with the exception of dwarves and the partial exception of orcs, tend to live together in multiracial communities, not segregated into their own communities. Hair color, eye color, and height vary by race, but skin color and body shape is generally the same range for all races except orcs and elves.
Magni: The merchants and experimenters of the world, they look at lot like real people do. They practically run the economy of the world, what with their almost instinctive reactions to current trends and very clever inventions. They are a major player in scientific and magical advancement as a result of this inventiveness, and their ability to go and sell these inventions does nothing but help them with this.
Divni: Historical, magical, natural, and cultural scholars and storytellers without peer, the divni must drink blood (not necessarily human blood, though) to compensate for a deficiency in their bodies, and possess fangs to facilitate this. They aren’t vampires, though a great many similarities are there and vampires do have a rather large part in their own culture. They look like magni do, except red hair, of all shades, is by and far the most common hair color alongside black. They have the highest rate of cross-breeding with non-humans of any race do to their scholarship in magic and nature, and this has given them the highest number of sorcerers of any human race, and they were once the only race that could come anywhere near elves in magical power.
Elves: Elves are the most aristocratic and magically skilled race. They were once far more magically powerful than the other races, as the gods gave them this power to allow them to serve as the leaders of humanity. During this period, only divni sorcerers could come close to elves in power, and even they were outclassed. However, the elves abused this power too greatly, and the gods gave the other human races access to their magical powers in response. Now elves have lost their leadership position, and stand as a proud but somewhat repentant race. They are aristocratic, artistic, and still skilled in magic, though their magical skill is now the result of a cultural love of practice rather than gods-given superiority. Elves are, on average, 1 to 3 inches shorter than magni, with pointed ears that rotate and move up and down with their moods like a cat’s, and some elves have colorful stripes or spots on their bodies. Scalp and pubic hair is the only hair they possess, and it is usually white, black, or a bright shade of almost any color of the rainbow. Their eyes have the same available shades as their hair, and about one in three elves has a form of heterochromia, usually complete or central.
Dwarves: The dwarves are a race obsessed with both skilled construction and inventive architecture. They prefer to live in areas that present an architectural challenge, such as underground, on steep mountainsides, in forest canopies, on giant city-ships, and in many other places. They are a hardworking and community-centric people, and tend to treat other human races with neutrality except for the purposes of trading and common defense. They also have a good deal of understanding of the natural world, being very skilled biologists and geologists. They do share governments with other human races instead of having their own, but they tend to have their own separate communities. They are generally about 4 to 6 inches shorter than magni, with hair in earthy, sea-like, metallic, or gem-like tones, and eye colors of about the same range.
Orcs: Orcs are the only human race not created by the gods. Instead, they were created by the Fey to serve as a race of slave warriors to throw at humanity. The orcs were created too humanlike to be controlled, however, and they entered into a very violent conflict with the Fey over their place in society. This conflict, only recently cooled down, has colored orcish history a great deal. The war consumed the race so much that everybody trained for combat from a young age and then put their entire life towards the war effort. Now that the Fey have partially given up on subjugating them things are much better, but the orcish culture still maintains it’s martial focus. Historically orcs have lived in fortified wilderness communities, but in the modern day a great many are moving into communities of other human races, hoping for a more fruitful life than the subsistence living they have historically had. Orcs are, on average, 1 to 3 inches taller than magni, with skin in pale or dark earthy tones and the same range of hair and eye colors as magni.
These are the nations I’m so far focusing on. All I have at the moment is lists of ideas, so these are more rough concepts than fully fleshed places at the moment. Some of the details may seem a bit random, since many are ideas for cultural quirks I wrote down over the course of the days. The setting is one large continent, with islands to either side. I currently lack time (Job Corps), so info on some of the countries will have to be posted later. I’d like opinions on what I have so far, though.
Kokura: Kokura is a very large group of islands at the western end of the campaign setting, colonized first from the east and then the west. They have a reputation as laid back, mellow individuals, yet they are also armed with one of the best navies in the world, which may be why they can afford to be so laid back and mellow all the time. The population has something of an obsession with surfing, the national sport, which is taken from native practices. They are known for being somewhat egalitarian, with little aristocracy to speak of. This goes so far that in the military officers and enlisted eat and sleep together, not separate, and anybody of a higher rank is saluted and called sir/ma’am, regardless of whether enlisted or officer.
Vinland: Vinland is three large islands and some smaller islands off to the northeast of the campaign setting, and was the first area to be colonized in the setting, having been discovered and settled by Vikings from the west decades before any other part of the setting was colonized. It is a cold and harsh mountainous land, plagued by storms and frost giants, but the Vinlanders love it dearly. They are a strong, hardy, and honorable people. One thing they are known for is the practice of arming prisoners condemned to death, thinking it shameful to force someone to die without a fight. This practice kills many law enforcement officers, but they believe the honor inherent in it is worth it.
Morovia: Located in the midwest of the setting, Morovia has a culture based strongly off of modern Goth/Metal culture. It is a land plagued by problems of damaging misuse of magic, and is especially well known for it’s problems with undead and rogue spellcasters. It’s citizens live a life of constant vigilance as a result, and the Morovian government is in a constant state of war with internal threats. It is a very strictly run dictatorship, as they believe it takes a great deal of authority to handle such major threats to the people. Morovia has a cold/mild climate up north and mild/hot climate down south.
The Baronies: This hot, arid land in the setting’s southwestern frontier at one point formed what was supposed to be a new empire, but do to a lack of a solid economy it fractured quickly. Now the scattered baronies are constantly bickering over control of the land, with no central authority existing. This is a wild land, with personal strength and courage being the law.
Vendalia: Details Later.
Mastiza: Details later.
Chendi: Details Later.
Leontiny: Details later.
Alexa: Details later.
Varnen: Details later.
I know it's kind of a mess, but I'd still like thoughts on what I have, I'd also like some suggestions on what information you want to see next, since I'm a little short on direction right now.