1920s Meets High Fantasy Adventure Meets The Hive Mind

[Sylren Thelfir]

Greetings Hive Mind!

So for about the last year I've been working on my own homebrew world and have been trying to make it the best it can possibly be. My elevator pitch for the basis of this world is the 1920s meeting high fantasy adventure. If you have seen The Legend Of Korra, you'll really know what I'm talking about. This world is one full of silent movies, hot rod races, and the fantastic in everyday life. I'm planning on posting a more in depth idea of this world in the near coming future, but should anyone have an idea on what they believe could help bring this world to life, I would love to hear it below.

[Clockwork333]

Oooh, fascinating, how has magic and technology blended? What species do you have to work with?

[Sylren Thelfir]

Magic and technology have combined in a way that I feel makes everyday life more practical for the inhabitants. For example, travel is an idea that I've been playing with. While not everyone may have one, Spellwheels are becoming more and more common. Basically, raw magical energy has been contained and distilled into a liquid substance that can be used as fuel. However, if you are proficient in the use of magic, which has become more common with better access to knowledge, you can manipulate this fuel in order to increase the speed of your vehicle, bestow it with abilities, interface with it Shadowrun style and possibly more.

I've chosen several species to inhabit the world. I wanted to not only have this sense of 1920s technology on the world but also more fantasy things in it, hence these choices. Some of these races have been taken from official d&d and pathfinder, others have been taken by other things such as MTG, and a few are my own creation.
1. Humans. Pretty standard here. They lead much of the expansion of countries and of the world. They are also major players in the innovation of technology and magic.
2. Goliaths. Originally from d&d 3.5, goliaths inhabit the far north taming the wilds and living by their own rules. They serve no government and sometimes find work as underpaid muscle in the big citys. Many gangs hire them as bodyguards.
3. Gnomes. Blessed with the gift and curse of a mad genius, gnomes lead invention on the world. They are leaders of invention, both magical and mechanical.
4. Halflings. Uncivilized savages from far off lands. Currently at war with giants to repay them for thousands of years of slavery, halfings have united under the goddess of war and lead a global army against the large-folk. Several tribes exist across the world.
5. Dwarves. Leaders of manufacturing, dwarves hold much political power in the world. Their great mountain strongholds now serve as vast banks for the wealthiest of people. Their strong bodies and wills have lead to vast assembly lines, churning out vast quantities of high quality goods.
6. Shardminds. A thousand years ago a global cataclysm threw the psychic of the energies of the world into chaos. From this chaos, the shardminds were formed from the pure crystals deep within the earth. They work as politicians and leaders due to their psionic capabilities. Many street level shardminds actually find great success in the barbershop industry due to their ability to read the minds of their clients.
7. Skinwalkers. During the same cataclysm a thousand years ago, the inhabitants of the world were warped beyond belief. Due to the work of two legendary heroes, most were restored however, the descendants of those not so lucky still walk among us today. Their bodies constantly in a state of flux, skinwalkers represent the primal fears of civilization.
8. Ambiko. Similar to the skinwalkers, ambiko have been altered in a way to allow them to take the form of any sentient being. Think changelings from Eberron. Many people don't even know ambiko exist. Many of them serve as thieves and assassins.
9. Kitsune. Halfway between mortal and fey, kitsune (or fox-folk as many people call them) live in the forests among the spirits. Many serve the fey courts and act as their emissaries on the material plane.
10. Kor. Pulled straight outta Magic The Gathering simply because I like them, kor live high in the mountains and are nomadic in nature. They act as monks, scholars, and merchants around the world.
11. Sahar. Large jackal-like creatures, sahar live far away in the merciless desert. Blessed with the ability to see and interact with the spirits of the dead, sahar often serve as guides to the recently fallen. In urban areas, many serve as mediums and give the living an opportunity to speak with the recently departed.
12. Piscen. Angler-Fish men, think ripjaws from the original Ben 10 tv show. Xenophobic inhabitants of the deep seas. They have massive armies and own many mining operations.
13. Nadir. Red Panda-people. These folk are guardians of the woods and typically live either in the woods, or in small towns or villages.
14. Asgardians. Warriors from a different plane, these adventurers live for battle and strive to die an honorable death. Some have traveled from their home plane to the material realm in search of great battle.

[Lleban]

A suggestion is to make the world feel more alive is maybe something small like having a news paper for normal people, but have secret articles inside it that can only be read with read magic, ....or maybe that idea but with radio. :)

[MrZJunior]

Has this world had a Great War?

It would be interesting to have a competition between aircraft and more magical forms of flight. For instance a prize for the first aircraft to fly between two specific cities faster than a flying carpet. Aviation was a major obsession in the interwar period.

You might also see fantastic versions of labor unrest, unions, and international communism.

[Sylren Thelfir]

I like the idea of the newspaper and radio that can only be detected with magic.

Recently the world hasn't had a Great War similar to WW1. However, there are wars currently taking place that will greatly shape the future. Due to player actions in the previous campaign that took place in the same world 1000 years earlier, an uncontrollable portal to the abyss formed and exterminated the nearby elves. The world is currently dealing with this unholy onslaught rather well due to higher forms of technology and access to magic.

I also like the idea of technology vs magic competitions.

[Lleban]

Presumably a magical/ Technological boom would lead to an agricultural revolution, probably leading to skyrocketing human population growth. How do races like the red panda people or the goliaths end up adapting to the inevitable group of humans entering their territory for living space? Do they integrate into human society or are they rejected and put on reservations?

[Machinekng]

Couple of Questions:
1.) What sort of impact does nationalism and international conflict impact the setting? Is there a single major human state, or multiple? How are the non-human tribes organized?
2.) What are race relations like within human territories? Are there groups like the Klu Klux Klan that commit crimes in the name of human supremacy?
3.) What are the opinions towards the halflings within the campaign area, given that they seem to be rather militant? Perhaps this could be a red scare/antisemitism analogue, with discrimination towards Dwarves and Gnomes for perceived collaboration with the foreign threat.

Ideas:
1.) In addition to using liquid magic as fuel, many have begun to attempt ingesting or injecting it. While deleterious to one's long-term health, doing so gives even an ordinary person a massive boost of magical power, as well as a euphoric, almost hallucinatory high. This has lead to governments regulating that liquid magic be laced with toxins to prevent it from being used recreationally. This has led to an arms race been bootleggers and the government, with bootleggers either finding ways to purify liquid magic or produce their own.