The Land of Patria
Note: This is sorta like a dress rehearsal for when I post this for-realsies. I'll do that eventually, once I get some loose ends tied up.
Message and Intent:
SpoilerAs I've worked on this world for the last seven months, I've learned that everyone, including myself, makes the world they want to play in. And honestly, that's good enough for me. I want to make a world that has some meaning, mostly focused on how perception defines reality to some degree, and how the black and white morality idealized in D&D is, frankly, bullspit.
However, I don't want to make a world that straitlaces a DM into running only a certain, individual style of game, and is utterly incompatible with others. Every world is defined by the types of stories that can be told in it. Eberron does Noir, Intrigue and Politics excellently, Faerun has Epic Adventures in High Magical Fantasy, Dark Sun has gritty struggles for survival and Middle Earth has some of the best underdog morality stories ever told. You could run a game oriented around art theft in any of these, but the best game is going to be one that fits the setting like a mountain bike to a trail, not rollerblades on a black diamond ski run.
So, I've created a world that actualizes my ideals of rich diversity of culture and "feel", subtly overarching but mutable meanings, and the ability to run a game from "Badass McDungeoncrawl: We Try to Kill the Green Guys Again to "Morality Play 3: Return of the Morality Play"
Inspirations:
Spoiler
S.M. Stirling's Dies the Fire and series.
Orson Scott Card's Tales of Alvin Maker
History, as taught by half a dozen excellent teachers
The Renegade Magic series,
The Mistborn series
Patrick Rothfuss's Name of the Wind
Lord of the Rings (Duh)
Enough other titles to fill this entire post.
Geographical Overview
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http://fc06.deviantart.net/fs70/i/20...ic-d4z84gc.jpg
The Vallheim
The Clans
SpoilerElk: The Chiefs of Elk Clan have a strong tendency towards leadership. Brenyn the Protector, King of Vallheim, is the Chief of Elk Clan, as was his grandfather, Bjarni the Strong. The clan is fairly well-respected as a whole, and the people are fairly well-off compared to others. Their favored weapon is the Greatsword.
Wolf:The Chiefs of Wolf Clan are usually strong, loyal supporters of the King, although they rarely take the role themselves. Their people tend towards hunting and the outdoors, and are frequently wilderness guides. They are led by Soren Ostvekson, Chancellor of Vallheim. (Essentially a Vice President). His grandfather was Bjarni's first and most loyal follower when he reunited the clans of the Vallheim. Their favored weapon is the Battleaxe.
Bear: The Chiefs of Bear Clan tend towards generalship, but are rarely deeply involved in politics beyond that regarding war. Their people likewise are frequently soldiers, mercenaries, and guards of towns and caravans, and have a reputation of being honest but fearsome warriors. They are led by Sigurd Marensdottir, who is the Host-Lady of the Vallheim, (Head Commander), as well as Brenyn's closest military adviser. Their favored weapon is the Greataxe.
Hawk: The Chiefs of Hawk Clan tend to focus more on what is happening outside the borders of Vallheim than who's arguing with who within. Their people include some of the best spies that Vallheim has, and are distributed from the Greywash to the furthest outpost of the Dotze Affariata. Their chief is Adrian Gunnarson, Brenyn's Spymaster. Their favored weapon is the Light Crossbow.
Beaver: The Chiefs of Beaver Clan are a stark contrast to the Hawk Chiefs. Their focus is solely on building and maintaining the Vallheim lands, which is what they do best. Their people are frequently builders and architects, and they are responsible for the majority of the construction that goes on in Vallheim, and as they would put it, all of the good stuff. Their Chief is Lief Rolfson, who is very minor player in Vallheim politics. His role as Interior Consul is essentially to take care of the little stuff in the Kingdom, roads, buildings, fortifications, etc. Their favored weapons are the Handaxe and Throwing Axe.
Horse: The Chiefs of Horse Clan are somewhat minor compared to the immense political clout of the Elk, but they hold an important role none the less. As one could expect from their name, they are, almost exclusively, the cavalry and horse breeders of Vallheim. Their people are skilled in working with animals of all types, and are considered the elite cavalry of the region, despite their lack of competition. Their chief is Alric Rangvaldson, who is Sigurd Marensdottir's second in command and Horse-Lord of the Vallheim. Technically, this is not a hereditary position, but nobody but a Horse Chief has ever held it. Their favored weapon is the Lance.
Dove: The Chiefs of Dove Clan tend to work to undo the damage that Bear Clan does, in their opinion. They and their people work as mediators, healers and medics throughout Vallheim. They are responsible for the health of the Kingdom, and frequently work as medics when the time comes for war. They are led by Annika Ragnasdottir, who serves Brenyn as a close confidant informally, although she has no official position in government aside from Clan Chief. Their favored weapon is the Dagger.
Owl:The Chiefs of Owl Clan are easily the most respected Chiefs, after those of Elk. Their Clan is famous for their role as teachers, historians and scribes, and have the highest literacy rate in Vallheim. One of their most important responsibilities, however, is to teach prospective students about magic, although this is done on a very small scale, almost always one teacher to one student. Their Chief is Lared Vilmarson, who is Battle-Sage of the Vallheim. He is responsible for applying whatever limited use of magic is possible to warfare as well as being a historian and councilor. Their favored weapon is the Rapier.
Raven: The Chiefs of Raven Clan are not generally considered among the powerful Vallheim Chiefs. However, they do have a surprising level of influence. Their Clan, while they do not fight, heal or build, creates. Their people are the artists, musicians, troubadours, bards and messengers of the Vallheim. They also provide battlefield communication to the armies of Vallheim. They are led by Brynhild Hjorasdottir, who is the Wight-Speaker of the Vallheim. (Somewhat of a religious leader, it is her responsibility to speak to the Land- and Hall-Wights to ask their support of the King, as well as ask them questions on behalf of the Vallheim). Their favored weapon is the Short Sword
Boar: The Chiefs of Boar Clan are little-loved by their colleagues, mostly because of their role in government. They are the Judge of the Vallheim, and appoint people to subordinate positions throughout the Kingdom. They have a tendency to take their role somewhat seriously, and have been known to occasionally exercise their authority to their gain, whether or not it supports the Vallheim. Their people are the police, lawyers, judges and sheriffs of the Vallheim. Their Chief is Ragnar Hinrikson, Judge of the Vallheim. (Essentially a one-man Supreme Court.) Their favored weapon is the Whip.
Fox: The Chiefs of Fox Clan have a level of unwilling respect from the other Chiefs. Their clan is primarily made up of traders, merchants and caravaneers, both domestically and internationally. They have a somewhat gypsylike reputation. When someone's daughter comes up pregnant without a known father? Probably that Fox caravan from last month. However, without them, most people's standard of living would decrease sharply, as well as their supplies of little fancy things. They are led by Henreik Hollson, Trade Consul to Brenyn. Their favored weapon is the Quarterstaff.
Cosmology
SpoilerThe only planes present in this setting are the Prime Material, and the Spirit Realm superimposed across, under, through and in it. It's impossible for mortal magic to physically transport someone through the Veil between the worlds, but the most powerful magics can send ones spirit through long enough to bring another back. This is commonly called resurrection.
The Spirit Realm houses the spirits of the dead, each of whom perceive it in a subtly different way. An eternally faithful servant of the Radiant Lord of Soleh might see himself eternally bathed in holy light, while and Animistic Goliath hunter might be participating in an endless hunt, killing his totem Bear each night for it to be reborn the next. It is also home to Vestiges and other spirits, which can be called back across the Veil to form a pact with a binder, or in the case of an elemental spirit to serve a mage, or in the case of a spirit of a former great warrior to take control of his body, guided back for a second chance to defend his home by a benevolent spirit-guide (necromancer)
The Fey have the Hedge, a similar concept, but one that is possible for mortals to access. Points of entry are normally disguised as a natural feature, like a pond that transports anyone who drowns at the bottom to a Fey Court. The Hedge is only accessible through Fey magic. No mortal magic can create points of entry. It is not a true third plane, but it does defy normal three-dimensional geometry. Rather than truly breaking through spacetime, they instead twist it in knots.
There are no other planes, period. This includes elemental planes, Astral, Ethereal, and all alignment-based and other planes not explicitly mentioned here. No, not even that one.
Language:
SpoilerThere are, for most human character's purposes, five languages.
Tala is spoken in the Vallheim, and shares themes with our world's Scandinavian languages, such as Norwegian, Icelandic and others.
Konuska is spoken in Soleh, and shares themes with the Slavic/Eastern European/Turkic languages. If you want to make a character name, try a mash-up of Maltese, Polish and Russian. It should work. There is also an Old Tongue used in ceremonies of Tuhan Sky-Father.
Kotoba is generally spoken in Sunshan, but there's a substantial difference between that of the nobility and that of the peasant-slaves (Locally known as Torei). Please note which form you learned, as they're distinctive but mutually intelligible. Think Scotland and the Deep South.
Fiatara is spoken throughout the Twelve Cities of the Dotze Affariata, but there's some regional accents. Nothing to keep people from understanding each other.
Trader's Pidgin is a mash-up of various languages, with the grammatical structure of Fiatara, as the Dotze Affariata merchant ships do the most traveling. Most everyone learns it, especially those close to the seaboard. Even inland, there's usually at least a couple people per village that can get by using it.
There's a couple gutter-languages used in the Dotze Affariata slums, collectively known as Thieves Cant, and there's Hua, spoken by most monks in Sunshan and used as a low-security sort of code to keep things out of the hands of the nobles.
Other languages include the ceremonial Old Tongue of the Solerian Church (Vārdi), Gol-Ta, the Goliath language, Siarad, a simplified form of the incredibly complex Fey Tongue that some people learn to better communicate with the Fey, and Folura, a remnant of the language of the Human Empire that crossed the ocean from the East 2000 years ago.
Not Completed.
Gameplay:
Races:
Spoiler
Humans:
Spoiler
Hailing from the lands far to the east, humans came to Patria approximately 2000 years ago, as an empire fleeing a threat that has been lost to time. After the massacre of the First People and their flight across the Fogbound River, humans have been the dominant, most numerous and most powerful force in Patria, a role which they have been only too happy to accept.
Social Role:
Humans are by far the dominant race of Patria. They make up the power structure and the vast majority of the population of the four nations, as well as the Lightwood Rangers. They range from peasant-slaves in Sunshan to eunuch-priests in Soleh to pirate captains of the Sunshani and Dotze Affariata coastlines to every king, queen or prince of the four nations.
In-game stats:
Humans are identical to those described in the Player's Handbook.
Shifters:
Spoiler
Sometimes, a child of a Therianthropic parent and an unafflicted parent results in a child who is not truly cursed (Or blessed, as some say), nor are they entirely unaffected. These children frequently live to pass on a touch of wildness in their blood, a legacy of a parent not entirely human. Thus are Shifters born.
Social Role: Shifters generally fit mostly seamlessly into normal human society. In Soleh, Therianthropes are particularly reviled, so a child known to be a descendant of one may be shunned, exiled or killed. Elsewhere, though, they are generally indistinguishable from "normal" humans.
In-Game Stats:
Same as in Monster Manual III, with dinosaur-based forms from other sources unavailable.
Gnomes:
SpoilerThe Gnomes came to the land of Patria long before the humans, and had a separate but friendly relationship with the first people. They bond easily with animals, and usually travel in nomadic bands of 8-30 in canoe-type boats while in swamps and with light carts pulled by goats or wolflike dogs while on land. They are usually 2'9" to 3'6", and have some innate magical powers.
Social Role:
While gnomes are accepted as normal people in the Vallheim, they are enslaved in every other country. They are used as miners and rowers in the Dotze Affariata, and also as plantation workers in Sunshan. In Soleh they are used as farm workers in the arable eastern parts and as servants of the church across the nation.
In-Game Stats:
Same as the Player's Handbook, with the following exceptions:
*Weapon Familiarity instead allows gnomes to treat Tridents as simple weapons.
*The spell-like ability Speak with Animals has no limitation on the sort of animal with which the character can communicate.
Dwarves:
Spoiler
Dwarves have lived in Patria longer than anyone can remember, and they like it where they are, thank you very much. They have a constant, disorganized war going on with the Goliaths for control of the forested mountains of the West, but it is unlikely to be resolved any time soon. They generally live in small, extended family units of 5-25, and clear enough land to raise some pigs and goats, grow a garden and have room for a couple small buildings (generally sturdy and semi-subterranean log cabins). They may have passing relationships with human traders, or give a lost hunter shelter for the night, but they fervently resist any sort of attempt to "civilize" them, or offer them entrance and citizenship into any nation. They speak Dwarven, but one or two per group may know a couple words of Trader's Pidgin.
Social Role: Dwarves are small-scale subsistence farmers, hunters and gatherers. They shun religion, magic those who practice either, thank you very much. They refuse to shelter, and frequently attack, missionaries or those who practice any sort of magic. As such, they have made themselves enemies of the church of Soleh by virtue of many of their missionaries having spear-related "accidents". Dwarves just don't hold with that sort of nonsense. No sir.
In-Game Stats:
As the Player's Handbook, but with references to "Stone" or "Metal" changed to "wood" or "trees", as appropriate. Dwarves are good with woodworking, but sorry Tolkein, they aren't master miners and smiths.
Furthermore, their attack bonus against orcs instead applies to Goliaths.
Lastly, their Weapon Familiarity ability instead allows them to 1. Treat spears
as 1-handed simple weapons, and 2. Treat Atl-Atls as martial weapons.
Goliaths:
Spoiler
Goliaths have lived in Patria for at least as long as the dwarves. This is only as estimate, however, as both races claim to have been there first. They inhabit the same mountain range as the dwarves. The live in nomadic groups similar to those described in Races of Stone, and worship the pantheon of gods described therein.
Social Role:
Goliath society is divorced from that of the human nations, and only intersects in war. Goliaths frequently attack human settlements or caravans, for as many different motivations as humans would have for the same acts. Frequently, though, it is so that the surviving members of the raiding party can return home with gifts and tools for their family and tribe, and more prestige than they know what to do with. They do not hold grudges for rare inter-tribal conflicts, and do not quite understand why humans usually try to kill them on sight. While humans consider them murderous beasts, they generally view humans as illogical, small, weak creatures divorced from the land and unable to keep their emotions in check. Their culture will be described in greater detail later.
In-Game Stats:
As Races of Stone.
Changelings:
Spoiler
Every once in a great while a human child is taken by the Fey. Sometimes it is as payment of a debt, sometimes as a "blessing" for the child, other times it is just plain mean-spirited doucebaggery. Regardless, as the child grows up in a Fey court, they become steadily more and more fey-like, in body and mind. Eventually, the child is released, sent out on a mission from the court, or sometimes escapes. Prolonged exposure to the fey throughout their childhood has changed them into something not quite human.
Social Role: Changelings are frequently able to blend in with human society with relative ease. They frequently seem slightly odd, as one could expect after spending their lives with a familiar but alien race. If discovered, they frequently face persecution, fear and, in some cases, a lynch mob. They often find themselves in the service of a rich noble family or powerful merchant, as their powers of illusion and disguise frequently come in handy to such people.
In-Game Stats:
Shapechanger Subtype: Changelings are humanoids with the shapechanger subtype.
Medium: As Medium creatures, changelings have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.
Changeling base land speed is 30 feet.
+2 racial bonus on saving throws against sleep and charm effects: Changelings have slippery, fey-influenced minds.
+2 racial bonus on Bluff, Intimidate, and Sense Motive checks: Changelings are inherently skilled in deception and intimidation, and though they cannot
actually detect thoughts as doppelgangers can, they can intuitively read body language and attitude with surprising accuracy.
Changelings gain one bonus language.
• Minor Change Shape (Su): Changelings have the supernatural ability to alter their appearance as though using a disguise self spell that affects their
bodies but not their possessions. This ability is not an illusory effect, but a minor physical alteration of a changeling’s facial features, skin color and texture, and size, within the limits described for the spell. A changeling can use this ability at will, and the alteration lasts until she changes shape again. A changeling reverts to her natural form when killed. A true seeing spell reveals her natural form. When using this ability to create a disguise, a changeling receives a +10 circumstance bonus on Disguise checks. Using this
ability is a full-round action.
Half-Giants:
Spoiler
The land north of the Vallheim is populated by both fey and Giants. Once in a rare while, a child is born with both the powerful blood of the giants and the spirit of a human. These children, half-giants, are virtually indistinguishable from their full-blooded human counterparts, aside from their massive size. They do, however, combine the mental capacity of the more noble varieties of giants with the willpower of humans, providing them with great potential for mental
Social Role: As contact between humans and giants is rare, and it is generally peaceful (barring attacks by evil giants, which are usually kept in check by their more peaceful counterparts and rarely reach the coasts of Patria, Half-Giants are frequently a product of two parents of mixed ancestry. They but rarely come across any sort of segregation or racism. They are by far most common in the Vallheim, and become less common further south.
In-Game Stats:
As SRD, but with Heat Acclimated replaced with the following:
Cold Acclimated: Half-giants have a +2 racial bonus on saving throws against all cold spells and effects. Half-giants are accustomed to enduring low temperatures.
Feytouched:
Spoiler
The Fey are a potent and wild force in Patria. They are somehow both familiar to humans, often manifesting with great physical beauty and charm, and utterly alien, with plans that humans frequently cannot fathom and a tendency to forget how fragile humans are. Occasionally, a human, seduced by the beauty and charm of the fey, participates in the conception of a half-fey child. This child, and their descendants, have a touch of the wild magic of the fey about them. In other cases, a child is blessed by a fairy of beneficial or malicious intent, resulting in a feytouched child. They are frequently either stunningly attractive or hideously ugly, but they are always charismatic, charming and otherworldly.
Social Role: Feytouched are physically indistinguishable from any other beautiful or ugly human. In spite of their natural charisma, they rarely hold high positions in government, as their fey nature makes them tend to look down on too much personal responsibility.
In-Game Stats:
+2 Charisma, -2 Wisdom.
Medium: As Medium creatures, Feytouched have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.
Feytouched base land speed is 30 feet.
Fey Affinity: Feytouched have a +2 racial bonus to all charisma-based checks involving fey.
Inhuman Mind: Feytouched gain a +4 racial bonus on saving throws against mind-affecting spells and effects.
Fey Blood: For all effects related to race, a feytouched may choose whether to be considered a Fey or Humanoid.
Charm Person: A feytouched can cast Charm Person 1/day, with a DC of 10 + their charisma modifier, and a caster level equal to their hit dice.
Base Classes:
Spoiler
Approved Base Classes (without changes): Bard, Barbarian, Ranger, Rogue, Monk, Mage, Mageborn, Fighter, Swordsage, Crusader, Warblade, Scout, Warlock, Spirit Shaman, Psychic Warrior, Psion, Wilder, Ardent, Artificer.
Suggested Fixes:
For Fighter: Jirku's Fix, Warblade :smallbiggrin:
Reasoning: Jirku's fix encompasses many archetypes of "The Badass with a Sword", is relatively balanced and still plays like a fighter.
For Rogue: The Daring Outlaw
Reasoning: Gives the acrobatic, precise and talented skillmonkey type a much-needed boost. Plus, it's just fun.
For Monk: Arguskos's fix or T.G. Oskar's.
Reasoning: You want some reasoning for needing to fix the freaking monk? Seriously? Well, these are good fixes, and take it in slightly different directions. As they apply to the Sunshani monasteries, I'd recommend Arguskos for the Unending Way, and Oskar for the Phoenix and for the Grey Palm.
Permanent Changes to Classes:
Druids get the bard's casting progression, using their own list, less the 7-9 level spells.
Rangers get an animal companion of their full ranger level, not ranger level -4.
Approved Homebrew Base Classes:
The following classes have been approved for use in this setting because of an appropriate magic level, flavor and overall fit.
Kensei of Five Rings
This is a powerful lil' guy. Save him for elite Sunshani Samurai, or some pretty high-powered campaigns as a PC. He's also pretty close to idiot-proof. Not a bad choice for a new player who doesn't mind a little complexity.
The Brawler
A non-monk unarmed face-beater. It's a pretty fun class to play, with a couple tricks up its sleeves. Just a decent, balanced, Seraphi Homebrew (TM) Class.
The Knight
I really have an appreciation for the stand-there-and-take it badass archetype. I also appreciate a good lockdown build. I also think mundane melee needs to be thrown a couple bones. Wait, what's this? Hey NeoSeraphi! What's up? A class? For the Whitelist? Great! I love how it manages to be both a solid lockdown/AoO focused class while staying true to its archetype. What? It's more or less SAD? Yipee and Mazeltov, everybody!
Fighter Remix
Mentioned above, this is a jolly good remake of a class that really did need it. Well done, too. Covers a lot of bases with its various archetypes, and can do any PC type from the Valorous Solerian Knight to Encouraging Troop Captain to Calm and Deadly Samurai.
Daring Outlaw
I really like the included changes to precision damage, it does both rogue and swashbuckler better than either the rogue or swashbuckler and it manages to keep the feel of both more or less intact, without just mashing them together. That's good work.
Warrior-Poet
This guy... Imagine a swashbuckler (the archetype, not the rather mediocre class) as a martial initiator, then add in the insufferable charm of the Dashing Swashbuckler prestige class from OoTS. Boom. Yeah. It's good.
Truenamer
This is far and away the best truenamer fix I've ever seen. I love the concept behind the original, but this guy just blows him out of the water, in terms of efficacy, ease of use and general awesomeness. I truly enjoyed my contributions to the playtesting of this class. Plus, the other two included classes are pure sex.
The Giver
You know how sometimes you find two great flavors that taste great together? I found that with this class. It's a combination of my favorite childhood book and some stellar work by an accomplished homebrewer. The class itself is a medium-powered buff/debuff type, with possibly the richest flavor I've ever seen in a class. It also fits the setting like a glove. Good work, right here.
Knight-Paladin
This is some pretty stellar 'brew. It does what both the knight and paladin were intended to do, and does more than just gestalt two struggling classes. The class synergy, the balance, everything just works.
Plague Doctor
Ok... So, this isn't a fix of an existing class, or a plug in a much-needed hole. It's just a really fun, interesting, flavorful class that works in the setting, and is acceptably balanced. That's all I can ask for.
Stormwatcher
After playing alongside one of these, I can honestly say that I like this class. It's a role that everyone likes to have in their party, namely healing and control, and has a bit of utility to go with it. It fits power-wise with the casters of this world, and the flavor is a decent mesh too.
Moonblessed
This class is incredibly reminiscent of a warlock, but less "aaagh, I'm emo and I sold my soul to the devil". I really do like it, from its slightly altered invocations, to the increased number of skill points. Not a huge step off the path, but a positive small one.
The Archer
So, I really like archery. I teach it to small children on occasion, and I'm a pretty ok shot. But, it absolutely sucks in core. Like, worse than melee. So, this class helps fix that. It's no tier 2, but it's solid, flexible and does its job better than any class can. Except for maybe a cleric. But we don't have clerics in this world, do we?
Sagittarius
It's a luck-based archery class with limited spell-like abilities. It fits the setting, I like it, and that's really all there is to say about that.
Martial Disciplines:
Spoiler
Placid Lake is a pretty solid discipline from the Age of Warriors project. I like the fluff about balance and stillness, and it's pretty solidly balanced too. Appropriate.
The Dancing Leaf discipline is the first one that I ever really looked at, and it's good work. It incorporates the whole agile, dodge/parry/lunge/riposte style really well, whether for a ninja or a swashbuckling rapscallion.
Have you ever played a badass drill-sergeant type and realized that the good-guy swag you got from White Raven just wasn't doing it for you? Try Scarlet Bravura. All the support/buffing goodness of White Raven, plus a badass factor of OVER 9000! Slight overstatement, but still. Giving people extra actions, or dropping your own AC to 0 and voluntarily failing saving throws for a round to make all your allies into combat monsters? Not much contest there.
Fool's Grip is fun, a rough-and-tumble discipline that uses improvised weapons. Somewhat of an opportunistic, Krav Maga-esque style, throwing sand, kicking them in the jewels and slitting their throat with a broken bottle. It's a bit of a contrast to Diamond Mind.
If you're like me, the whole concept of a dual-wielding discipline being a savage, animalistic and raw style of fighting seems rather... disappointing. The Scarlet Rose discipline is for those of us who are more Musashi than Conan. I really like this one, it encompasses a much-needed area of combat really well.
Really, I can't say anything truly fanboyish about Ocean Tempest. It's a solid discipline, fluffy and crunchy in good measure, and evicts a curious mental image of the fighting style it represents. I imagine it being something like a Troy fight scene with Achilles leaping around, thrusting, twirling away and shattering another person's shield with his spear. Or maybe Bruce Lee, "Be water, my friend". Well looky there. Guess I did have something fanboyish to say.
One little beef I have with the original Book of Nine Swords is part of its name. Swords. Not "Nine ways to kill people, regardless of the sort of weapon you happen to be using" but specifically swords. So, Cthonic Serpent is a discipline that helps remedy that, with spiky chains and flails and pretty much everything else that is both flexible and deadly. I like it.
Fools Grip is a decent dirty fighting discipline, but it focuses more on hitting someone over the head with a bottle than Oncoming Storm, which is more the graceful, skilled and completely dishonorable form of combat you'd use if you really knew your way around a fight and didn't care about honor, fairness or the unspoken rules of war. Or you just really, really liked winning. Good work right here.
So, I like being a battle-mad berserker type, you like being a crazy "once more unto the breach" brass-balled badass, and that guy over there likes being the first - and only - one over the wall. What should we do? Use Army of One. It works for all of these. Hell, the first stance gives you a bonus for each enemy you threaten. Yeah. I know. Badass.
If you want to represent a King's elegant fencing style, I'd recommend Jade Throne. It represents the dueling aspect of combat, and it does so very well. be aware that it overlaps a bit with Iron Heart, but focuses a bit more on grace and mobility than IRON....HEART.....SUUUUUUURRRRRRGEing. Good for nobility or fencer types.
So, remember that rant I had for Cthonic Serpent? Here's part of my response to it. Solar Wind rocks the whole "I'm over here, you're over there, and you're still dead" realm of combat, also known as shooting and throwing crap at people until you kill them. There's a little supernaturalness to it, so if you're one of those "Get your magic out of my combat" types, you might want to look elsewhere.
Remember, when you first looked through the DMG and saw the Dwarven Defender? If you were like me, you though it was the most badass stand there and take it sort of PrC ever. Then you actually played D&D. And changed your mind. This is another one of those non-sword based disciplines, this one based on shields, that is frankly how the Dwarven Defender should have been made in the first place. Enjoy the Iron Tortoise, and tell those gobliny basserds to say hi to your shield for me.
So, if Tiger Claw isn't really your thing, and Scarlet Rose seems too refined, try Thrashing Dragon. It really does act like Tiger Claw, but is sufficiently different that a character could have both disciplines and not feel doubled up on anything. It encompasses the brutality of knife fights really well, while maintaining its own unique style. I'd recommend switching the key skill from Acrobatics to Jump, if you're not using condensed skills.
Prestige Classes:
Spoiler
These are all homebrew classes from this very forum, and are alphabetized. [ToB] tags mean that the class incorporates Tome of Battle mechanics, [ToM] means Tome of Magic. [Caster]s are some sort of caster, [Psi] do psionics, [Combat] are beatsticks of various sorts, [Skills] are skillmonkey types, [Buffs] do buffs, whether it's bardic music or whatever, [Invoking] is, yes, invocations and [Incarnum] uses incarnum. [<3] Means I really like it, for whatever reason. No tags means you better look at it yourself. Pretty simple.
Apostate Sword [ToB] Non-combatant
Auran Traveler [Combat] [Skills] Monk-based
Awenydd [Caster] [Buffs] Divination-based Bard/Druid theurge.
Blind Warrior [Combat] [ToB] Blind Martial Initiator
Bloodmist Dancer [ToB] [Skilled] Swordsage/Ninja
Bow Minstrel [Combat] [Caster] [Buffs] Bard Archer
Child of Petriel [Caster] Wildshape-focused Druid
Chorister [Caster] [Buffs] Divine Bard
Dashing Swordsman [Combat] See: Elan
Disciple of Wu Xing [Combat] Elemental Monk
Dreamweaver [Caster] Sleep-based Druid
Ecopathic Savant [Caster] [Psi] Psion/Druid
Goodwife [Caster] [Buffs] Nice old lady. Not really for players. Related Link. Good for cool NPC's
Master of the Five [Caster] Elemental Summoner
Monk of the Five Palms [Combat] [<3] Monk-based
Redeemer of Regrets [Caster] Good-aligned Necromancer
River Warden [Skills] [Debuffs] Precision Damage and Water.
Rootdrinker [Caster] Plant-focused Druid
Sant-Kavi [Caster] [Buffer] Bard/Divine proselytizer
Scion of the Storm [Caster] [Debuffer] What is says on the tin. Storm-based caster.
Shaman [Caster] Interesting caster class based off His Dark Materials series.
Sieðkona of the Iron Bands [ToM] Binder of Immortal Fae Lords
Sleight Shifter [Caster] [Skills] Rogue/Wildshape Sneak
Spirit Manifester [Caster] [Buffer] [Debuffs] Spirit Shaman whose spirit can influence material things thusly.
Spirit of the Land [Caster] [Buffs] Spirit Guide becomes Land Spirit.
Storyteller [Caster] [Buffs] Storyteller Bard
Martial Dabbler [ToB] [Combat] ToB class that advances 1 other progression.
Twilight Guide [Not really sure...] Guide for departed spirits.
Unholy Eye of Balor [Invoking] [Incarnum] Channeler of ancient fey gods.
Unseelie Chancellor [Caster] [Invoking] Druid/Warlock Theurge
Wanderer [Combat] Movement-focused warrior
War Drummer [Caster] [Buffs] Bard/Marshal
Black Wolf Ascendant | White Wolf Ascendent [Melee] Monk-based warrior
Wildrunner [Combat] Movement-focused Skirmisher
Witcher [ToB] [Invocation] Monster Hunter using ToB and Eldritch Blasts.
Here's the OP, if you're interested.
SpoilerHey, as I said, I am a complete newbling, and i'd like to give world building a shot. I've never DM'd, or for that matter played a D&D style game. I have a strong grasp of the rules and concepts involved, but I essentially lack experience. Anyhoo, I would like help creating a lowish-magic, middle-low fantasy world, with easily believable mechanics and setting. What this means...
*NO magic trains. abso-f***ing-lutely not. Or steam-powered airships. Or elemental wind-powered sailboats.
* No, the world is not ruled by magic dragon ponies, or even a Magocracy. It is ruled by regular old people/elves/dwarves/whatever, or simply not ruled at all. I.E, no kingdoms of evil black dragons and their lizardfolk servants.
*I am definitely not a fan of the default/vanilla D&D deity/objective morality system. Morality is essentially subjective, so a "magic circle against Evil" should really only force people who consider themselves evil to be repulsed by being forced to see the actions of their crimes.....or something. Gods are essentially unknowable, so clerics function more like sorcerers (who still prepare their spells the same way, use divine lists, etc), or through great personal effort to attain skills that seem somewhat magical.
*I would definitely like to use some nonhuman fantasy races, but not the whole goddamn list provided by the book. A half-orc character... probably not as a player.
*This will NOT be a hack-and-slash. I'm not looking for tales of courtly intrigue and diplomatic maneuverings, but i'd like some moral decisions and multiple options. Does the party join the angry townsfolk to avenge the missing child, or do they go talk to the orc tribe to find out if they were involved, or look for her themselves? Peacemaking should be difficult, but as rewarding as just going in guns blazing.
Now that I have that figured out... how do I start? Any suggestions or questions to help get them creative juices flowing would be appreciated, and if some great naming guru or ascended master of creating worlds wants to help, I will love you forever. Like I love puppies. not like that.