Avianmosquito
2017-02-22, 03:43 PM
I was asked by Amechra to put up a main thread for Aelsif, my campaign setting. So, here it is. All threads on Aelsif will be linked to in this post, and this thread will be linked to in my signature for ease of access.
Aelsif is a homebrewed campaign setting that comes with some rule revisions and a lot of content. Aelsif is a more technologically advanced world than most D&D settings, with its most advanced nations using 19th-century technology like steam engines and gatling guns. Not all nations are this advanced, and there are many primitive island and jungle tribes throughout the world, but most of Aelsif is fairly advanced.
Aelsif is full of warfare and driven by economics, religion and politics. Stories of corruption and backstabbing, conspiracies and atrocities are the norm. There is no justice, those in power are corrupted and allowed to ride roughshod over the rest of society. They work to divide the people and turn them against eachother to distract from their abuses, and the people are already too inclined to this behaviour to resist it.
But as bad as people are, there's much worse than us out there. Things that remind us how petty and insignificant we really are, that sense of proportion being the one thing we cannot afford to have.
But enough about the lore, what about gameplay?
Let's start with actual rule changes.
1. Natural weapons and unarmed strikes don't provoke an attack of opportunity anymore and unless they're a bite. Bites always provoke an attack of opportunity. Natural weapons can also inflict lethal or nonlethal damage entirely on the user's discretion and with no penalty. I mention this first because that's all the details, there's nothing more to say here.
2. Wisdom is getting renamed and a few skills are getting moved around. See here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?515721-Wisdom-name-change) for details.
3. There's a new statistic called Insight being added to the game. See here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?516113-Aelsif-The-Insight-Mechanic) for details.
4. Redone age categories. See here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?516555-Aelsif-age-categories-levels-and-how-they-link-together&p=21746521) for details.
5. Redone NPC classes. See here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?516969-NPC-class-redos) for details.
Now for the general content.
1. Guns:
Guns are a thing here, to say the least. The standard-issue weapon of the wealthy civilized nations (except the most advanced one, which uses repeating rifles) is the musket-rifle while the poorer civilized nations tend towards the older musket. Gatling guns are common amongst the wealthy nations (machine guns are used by the most advanced) and cannons using canister shots are all the poorer nations can afford. Obviously none of these are available to the isolated primitives.
2. Technology:
Aside from guns, steam engines are commonplace, internal combustion is state of the art and the wealthy gnomish nation is now beginning to show off its sleekest, fanciest new invention: Automobiles. Speaking of gnomes, they also run the yards responsible for the creation of the world's only rigid-frame dirigibles, are the sole producers of radio sets and electrical telegraphs, and are working on flying machines. While the claims are doubted, for good reason, at least one gnomish pilot claims to have made a flight of over one mile with a powered aeroplane. He may well be a liar, but at least it shows that progress is being made.
3. Industry:
While we'll all ignore the heavy usage of child labour, the industrial revolution has revolved and factories are now churning out manufactured goods. The extent to which this radically changes the scenery of the game cannot be overstated, everything is different now. Goods are cheaper, more abundant and more consistent in quality, and new technologies are present that simply couldn't be manufactured without mass produced parts.
4. Celestials:
This setting adds a new variety of creature, called celestials. (And I'm not saying they're common, but maybe take them as favored enemy. You know, just in case they are.) Celestials come in several varieties, these being "hybrids" (which are, as the name suggests, only half celestial), "minor celestials" (purebred celestials without especially great power), "lesser celestials" (which are lesser in the way an orca is small for a whale), "great ones" (mortal greater celestials) and "great old ones" (unique, immortal greater celestials). Celestials are unique creatures that don't breathe and are immune to all known diseases and poisons, they have damage reduction that cannot be bypassed and purebreds also tend to have natural armour and spell resistance (though hybrids do not). Fast healing is universal amongst hybrids, and purebreds have regeneration instead which cannot by bypassed by any damage type (coup de grace and massive damage can still kill).
5. Weapons and armour:
While guns were already mentioned, all your favourite conventional weapons make a return in Aelsif. There are also eight forms of armour, and the lightest two are clothing any class can wear and cast in. Masterworking is out, but material qualities have been added that increase a weapon's damage dice and give armour damage reduction, and even with the lowest quality materials any armour heavier than clothing will always provide at least a DR of 1. Enhancement works as normal, mostly, but is mundane in Aelsif. See here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?514210-Aelsif-weapons-armour-shields-material-quality-and-enhancement) for details.
6. No gods, slightly different clerics:
The deities worshipped in this setting don't actually exist, the closest thing to gods in this setting being the great old ones. As a result, clerics work slightly differently. Really, the only practical differences are that they can't lose their spellcasting power for deviating from their deity's goals and they get more talent with weapons instead of domain spells. See here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?515548-Handling-clerics-in-a-setting-without-deities).
7. New weapon feats:
There's some new feats for weapons and armour. Here, just look at the list (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?515274-Aelsif-weapon-feats).
All the threads on Aelsif so far:
Resurrecting a Homebrewed Setting (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?513495-Resurrecting-a-homebrewed-setting)
The regions of Aelsif (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?513813-The-regions-of-Aelsif)
Aelsif weapons, armour, shields, material quality and enhancement (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?514210-Aelsif-weapons-armour-shields-material-quality-and-enhancement)
CR/ECL assignment thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?514988-CR-ECL-assignment-thread)
Aelsif weapon feats (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?515274-Aelsif-weapon-feats)
Handling clerics in a setting without deities (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?515548-Handling-clerics-in-a-setting-without-deities)
Wisdom name change (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?515721-Wisdom-name-change)
Aelsif: The Insight Mechanic (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?516113-Aelsif-The-Insight-Mechanic)
Aelsif age categories (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?516555-Aelsif-age-categories-levels-and-how-they-link-together&p=21746521)
Races in Aelsif (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?516863-Races-in-Aelsif)
Race rebalancing thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?516864-Race-rebalancing-thread)
Monster names feedback (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?516904-Monster-names-feedback)
Redone NPC classes (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?516969-NPC-class-redos)
Aelsif is a homebrewed campaign setting that comes with some rule revisions and a lot of content. Aelsif is a more technologically advanced world than most D&D settings, with its most advanced nations using 19th-century technology like steam engines and gatling guns. Not all nations are this advanced, and there are many primitive island and jungle tribes throughout the world, but most of Aelsif is fairly advanced.
Aelsif is full of warfare and driven by economics, religion and politics. Stories of corruption and backstabbing, conspiracies and atrocities are the norm. There is no justice, those in power are corrupted and allowed to ride roughshod over the rest of society. They work to divide the people and turn them against eachother to distract from their abuses, and the people are already too inclined to this behaviour to resist it.
But as bad as people are, there's much worse than us out there. Things that remind us how petty and insignificant we really are, that sense of proportion being the one thing we cannot afford to have.
But enough about the lore, what about gameplay?
Let's start with actual rule changes.
1. Natural weapons and unarmed strikes don't provoke an attack of opportunity anymore and unless they're a bite. Bites always provoke an attack of opportunity. Natural weapons can also inflict lethal or nonlethal damage entirely on the user's discretion and with no penalty. I mention this first because that's all the details, there's nothing more to say here.
2. Wisdom is getting renamed and a few skills are getting moved around. See here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?515721-Wisdom-name-change) for details.
3. There's a new statistic called Insight being added to the game. See here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?516113-Aelsif-The-Insight-Mechanic) for details.
4. Redone age categories. See here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?516555-Aelsif-age-categories-levels-and-how-they-link-together&p=21746521) for details.
5. Redone NPC classes. See here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?516969-NPC-class-redos) for details.
Now for the general content.
1. Guns:
Guns are a thing here, to say the least. The standard-issue weapon of the wealthy civilized nations (except the most advanced one, which uses repeating rifles) is the musket-rifle while the poorer civilized nations tend towards the older musket. Gatling guns are common amongst the wealthy nations (machine guns are used by the most advanced) and cannons using canister shots are all the poorer nations can afford. Obviously none of these are available to the isolated primitives.
2. Technology:
Aside from guns, steam engines are commonplace, internal combustion is state of the art and the wealthy gnomish nation is now beginning to show off its sleekest, fanciest new invention: Automobiles. Speaking of gnomes, they also run the yards responsible for the creation of the world's only rigid-frame dirigibles, are the sole producers of radio sets and electrical telegraphs, and are working on flying machines. While the claims are doubted, for good reason, at least one gnomish pilot claims to have made a flight of over one mile with a powered aeroplane. He may well be a liar, but at least it shows that progress is being made.
3. Industry:
While we'll all ignore the heavy usage of child labour, the industrial revolution has revolved and factories are now churning out manufactured goods. The extent to which this radically changes the scenery of the game cannot be overstated, everything is different now. Goods are cheaper, more abundant and more consistent in quality, and new technologies are present that simply couldn't be manufactured without mass produced parts.
4. Celestials:
This setting adds a new variety of creature, called celestials. (And I'm not saying they're common, but maybe take them as favored enemy. You know, just in case they are.) Celestials come in several varieties, these being "hybrids" (which are, as the name suggests, only half celestial), "minor celestials" (purebred celestials without especially great power), "lesser celestials" (which are lesser in the way an orca is small for a whale), "great ones" (mortal greater celestials) and "great old ones" (unique, immortal greater celestials). Celestials are unique creatures that don't breathe and are immune to all known diseases and poisons, they have damage reduction that cannot be bypassed and purebreds also tend to have natural armour and spell resistance (though hybrids do not). Fast healing is universal amongst hybrids, and purebreds have regeneration instead which cannot by bypassed by any damage type (coup de grace and massive damage can still kill).
5. Weapons and armour:
While guns were already mentioned, all your favourite conventional weapons make a return in Aelsif. There are also eight forms of armour, and the lightest two are clothing any class can wear and cast in. Masterworking is out, but material qualities have been added that increase a weapon's damage dice and give armour damage reduction, and even with the lowest quality materials any armour heavier than clothing will always provide at least a DR of 1. Enhancement works as normal, mostly, but is mundane in Aelsif. See here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?514210-Aelsif-weapons-armour-shields-material-quality-and-enhancement) for details.
6. No gods, slightly different clerics:
The deities worshipped in this setting don't actually exist, the closest thing to gods in this setting being the great old ones. As a result, clerics work slightly differently. Really, the only practical differences are that they can't lose their spellcasting power for deviating from their deity's goals and they get more talent with weapons instead of domain spells. See here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?515548-Handling-clerics-in-a-setting-without-deities).
7. New weapon feats:
There's some new feats for weapons and armour. Here, just look at the list (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?515274-Aelsif-weapon-feats).
All the threads on Aelsif so far:
Resurrecting a Homebrewed Setting (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?513495-Resurrecting-a-homebrewed-setting)
The regions of Aelsif (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?513813-The-regions-of-Aelsif)
Aelsif weapons, armour, shields, material quality and enhancement (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?514210-Aelsif-weapons-armour-shields-material-quality-and-enhancement)
CR/ECL assignment thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?514988-CR-ECL-assignment-thread)
Aelsif weapon feats (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?515274-Aelsif-weapon-feats)
Handling clerics in a setting without deities (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?515548-Handling-clerics-in-a-setting-without-deities)
Wisdom name change (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?515721-Wisdom-name-change)
Aelsif: The Insight Mechanic (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?516113-Aelsif-The-Insight-Mechanic)
Aelsif age categories (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?516555-Aelsif-age-categories-levels-and-how-they-link-together&p=21746521)
Races in Aelsif (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?516863-Races-in-Aelsif)
Race rebalancing thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?516864-Race-rebalancing-thread)
Monster names feedback (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?516904-Monster-names-feedback)
Redone NPC classes (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?516969-NPC-class-redos)