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2015-01-26, 09:36 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Interesting Geographies - Worlds that are not planets
A world that is essentially a children's playspace like they have in some fast food restaurants, only without any way out and stretching on seemingly infinitely in every direction. Mysterious magical terminals dispense food, drinks, and supplies in exchange for the colored tokens that appear randomly throughout the maze. Small tribes battle each other with crude weapons (or often just fists), to secure enough tokens to support themselves.
Prince Fraternal of Pudding, Snuzzlepal, Feezy Squeez Lover, MP, Member of The Most Noble And Ancient Order Of St. George, King of Gae Parabolae.
Lego Ergo Sum
"Everyone's cute if you just look at them the right way"~Rebekah Patton Durham, Princess of Pudding.
"If they have stats, we can kill them... I'd like to point out that we also have stats..." ~ PhoenixGuard09.
Warhammer 40K: Where the faction that is a cross between the Inquisition and Space Nazis are the good guys.
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2015-01-26, 04:19 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Interesting Geographies - Worlds that are not planets
What if it was a double helix (with nothing to connect the two spirals) moving in opposite directions along the central axis (and rotating so its like a screwing motion). The catch is that the ends of the strands connect back so that if you walked "up" the spiral (so in the same direction as the movement) you would eventually reach the same point. Corresponding points on each of the spirals would be adjacent once every 5 years. Maybe in the future a track running along each spiral with a moving bridge attaching the two?
Salasay was my first character. He's a Scout. This is his block:
The Paramýth setting is my baby, and most of my large (wiki-bound for now) homebrew collection is in the setting.
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2015-01-28, 06:40 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Interesting Geographies - Worlds that are not planets
That's actually how they handled it in the old 2nd edition setting Spelljammer, which is basically "D&D in space". Well, they didn't tie the actual elemental planes to specific planets, but the main characteristic of each planet was the predominant element - earth, air, fire or water. Fire "planets" were usually suns, and "air" planets were pretty close to gas giants. Earth planets were regular, Earth-like (as in Terra) ones, and water planets were fictional liquid planets close to what you're describing. Each major campaign setting was given a solar system, which didn't necessarily conform to modern physics, since Spelljammer worked under a paradigm of "fantasy astrophysics" whose laws are quite different from the real world but close to mythical conceptions of cosmology. For example, some systems had the campaign setting's planet at the center and the sun orbiting it.
The Heplion Contingency - Low-tech Cyberpunk with Psychic Powers!
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2015-01-30, 03:19 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Jan 2011
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- Somewhere south of Hell
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Re: Interesting Geographies - Worlds that are not planets
Flying islands are a good set up for a world, though. I once slowly built an entire metropolis complete with fields for the horses and such, and then... The DM eventually had the world "destroyed". We tallied how much work I'd done, and realized there were several floating continents and also a vast, intercontinental city made of freestanding, abandoned gothic architecture. The fun wasn't the islands but the mystery though. What else was out there?
Back on track, food basis would probably be lichens and misses and algae. Where the water struck the plinths of stone would kick up great clouds of mist, and some are large enough to either collect rainfall instead of mists or to have small rivers. Bits and pieces of scattered ecosystems would abound, but nothing static. It also gives room for culture, too; misty green stone works carved with elegant knots on a wide, rocky area land populated by pale, red haired Caucasians. A jutting spike of stone with ridges and rings blocking most of the flow, leaving only pressurized springs bursting through the ground-down sand and silt, leaving a desert populated by oases where everyone sees the vast stretches of water just beyond the mountains.
Fish, fish provide the basis. The infinite waterfall is a cosmic falling sea, eroding salts from the earth and having a saline core. The fish, they sometimes fall onto the land or into the rivers or the seas or ponds. Someone's, deep things, frightening things, beyond comprehension. Demons, chthonic beasts from the deeps, dragons maybe. Who knows?
You've got the individual world plinths, you have the brigades of ships struggling to stay supplied enough to survive, you have an infinite and hostile sea, and you have the unfathomable rocks beneath. This is fertile ground; the air ships, the individual shelves with no idea other shelves exist, this is a straight up parallel to scifi space adventure. Maybe you even get "space stations", entire civilizations adapted to platforms that are falling.
Neat.
Ow my brain >_<
Heh.
Or aquaponics!
That's how classic D&D worked. A planet is a small plane, after all. Hospitability isn't necessary from a human perspective. The elemental plane of earth had solid earth for "land", seas of granular dust, air of silt. The whole "cave system" thing came much later.
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2015-01-30, 03:28 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Jan 2011
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- Somewhere south of Hell
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Re: Interesting Geographies - Worlds that are not planets
Flying islands are a good set up for a world, though. I once slowly built an entire metropolis complete with fields for the horses and such, and then... The DM eventually had the world "destroyed". We tallied how much work I'd done, and realized there were several floating continents and also a vast, intercontinental city made of freestanding, abandoned gothic architecture. The fun wasn't the islands but the mystery though. What else was out there?
Back on track, food basis would probably be lichens and misses and algae. Where the water struck the plinths of stone would kick up great clouds of mist, and some are large enough to either collect rainfall instead of mists or to have small rivers. Bits and pieces of scattered ecosystems would abound, but nothing static. It also gives room for culture, too; misty green stone works carved with elegant knots on a wide, rocky area land populated by pale, red haired Caucasians. A jutting spike of stone with ridges and rings blocking most of the flow, leaving only pressurized springs bursting through the ground-down sand and silt, leaving a desert populated by oases where everyone sees the vast stretches of water just beyond the mountains.
Fish, fish provide the basis. The infinite waterfall is a cosmic falling sea, eroding salts from the earth and having a saline core. The fish, they sometimes fall onto the land or into the rivers or the seas or ponds. Someone's, deep things, frightening things, beyond comprehension. Demons, chthonic beasts from the deeps, dragons maybe. Who knows?
You've got the individual world plinths, you have the brigades of ships struggling to stay supplied enough to survive, you have an infinite and hostile sea, and you have the unfathomable rocks beneath. This is fertile ground; the air ships, the individual shelves with no idea other shelves exist, this is a straight up parallel to scifi space adventure. Maybe you even get "space stations", entire civilizations adapted to platforms that are falling.
Neat.
Ow my brain >_<
Heh.
Or aquaponics!
That's how classic D&D worked. A planet is a small plane, after all. Hospitability isn't necessary from a human perspective. The elemental plane of earth had solid earth for "land", seas of granular dust, air of silt. The whole "cave system" thing came much later.
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2015-01-30, 04:38 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Dec 2007
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Re: Interesting Geographies - Worlds that are not planets
You know, as overused as flying islands are, I've always wanted to play a D&D game set in a Skies of Arcadia-esque world.
Here's an idea: The only landmass in the world is found on the backs of giant elemental turtles. I'm talking GIANT, like, maybe even one turtle the size of Australia. The islands move relatively slowly, but they are constantly in motion, and there's no set pattern, though some might have general trends. So, while each island is internally static, their relative position to each other and on the globe is constantly in flux. An island could go years without experiencing a winter, if the turtle sticks to the equator, or you might get two winters in a year, or your turtle might decide to park on the north pole and you're screwed. Sailing away from home is a terrifying prospect, as you might never find it again. And then there's inter-island relations. Everything would be very temporary, as you never know how long the islands will stay close. Or maybe you start raiding them, expecting them to be unable to retaliate before the distance makes it implausible, only for the turtles to swim parallel for the next year.My Homebrew
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2015-01-31, 05:18 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Oct 2012
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Re: Interesting Geographies - Worlds that are not planets
Prince Fraternal of Pudding, Snuzzlepal, Feezy Squeez Lover, MP, Member of The Most Noble And Ancient Order Of St. George, King of Gae Parabolae.
Lego Ergo Sum
"Everyone's cute if you just look at them the right way"~Rebekah Patton Durham, Princess of Pudding.
"If they have stats, we can kill them... I'd like to point out that we also have stats..." ~ PhoenixGuard09.
Warhammer 40K: Where the faction that is a cross between the Inquisition and Space Nazis are the good guys.
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2015-02-02, 10:14 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Interesting Geographies - Worlds that are not planets
Mind if I steal that for part of a setting I'm working on?
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2015-02-03, 08:00 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Jan 2007
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- Switzerland
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Re: Interesting Geographies - Worlds that are not planets
Reminds me of when I put a group on an island in an open ocean of magma in Ysgard, once. (They were on a really quite tall, towerlike island). They were attacked by fire giant pirates rowing obsidian canoes.
Resident Vancian Apologist
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2015-02-03, 08:47 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Interesting Geographies - Worlds that are not planets
-- Joe“Shared pain is diminished. Shared joy is increased.”-- Spider RoninsonAnd shared laughter is magical
Always remember that anything posted on the internet is, in a practical if not a legal sense, in the public domain.
You are completely welcome to use anything I post here, or I wouldn't post it.
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2015-02-03, 08:48 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Interesting Geographies - Worlds that are not planets
Sure thing, you wanna use it, go ahead!
My Homebrew
Five-time champion of the GITP monster competition!
Current Projects:
Crossroads: the New World: A pathfinder campaign setting about an alternate history of North America, where five empire collide in a magical land full of potential. On the road to publication!
Epic Avatar and Sigitar by AlterForm
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2015-02-03, 09:34 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Oct 2014
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Re: Interesting Geographies - Worlds that are not planets
While still with planets, the Saga of the seven suns from Kevin J. Anderson comes to mind that could be adapted.
Or some of the worlds from Warhammer 40K, specifically Fenris and some of the Maiden worlds lost to the Eye of Terror. Fenris would be great for a long term campaign with the time of Fire and time of Ice. For your vertical Land you could also use Fenris with the one stable mountain continent of Asaheim and the Fang, the tallest mountain in the Galaxy, so tall that its top pierces the Atmosphere and is a docking station for Spacecraft. Have the players be part of a out on the ocean and the time of fire nears, so they must forge a path towards Asaheim before all turns to oceans of boiling water and magma, with other tribes in the way. Sort of a RHoD scenario, but rather than the defenders you are the attackers this time round. With some effort and time you could add some elements form games such as FTL and this war of mine, making hard choices of maybe looting other tribes that are innocent or were once allies to try and make sure your own tribe survives.GENERATION 17: The first time you see this, copy it into your sig and add 1 to the generation. social experiment.
Shadows over Thornfall. A 5e Campaign Journal (sadly never completed) http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showt...over-Thornfall
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2015-02-04, 03:37 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Feb 2012
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- Spring, TX
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Re: Interesting Geographies - Worlds that are not planets
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2015-02-20, 10:50 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Dec 2006
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- Far Realm
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Re: Interesting Geographies - Worlds that are not planets
I read a story once that had two planets that had been twisted through higher dimensions, so that each was inside of the other.
Cthulhu fhtagn R'lyeh!
Degeneration 91
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2015-02-22, 05:07 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Interesting Geographies - Worlds that are not planets
A setting I've been mulling over for a bit for possible future Dungeon World games is a literal dungeon world. That is, the entire world is an old-school style dungeon of twisting corridors both artificial and natural, connecting a network of larger caverns and such that form the habitable locations. It's a closed space - if you travel far enough in a straight line in any direction, including up and down, you'll eventually get back to where you started. Further, the layout of the corridors and tunnels changes when nobody's looking and distances between places appear to be fluid, though the general direction of travel from point A to point B remain unchanged. Puzzles, monsters, and traps might even appear along the way.
Of course, a dungeon implies prisoners, and part of the setting is the mystery - are the inhabitants the prisoners, and if not... what is?
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2015-02-22, 06:18 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Jun 2009
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Re: Interesting Geographies - Worlds that are not planets
One idea that came to me while browsing OD&D (the very first books that started D&D back in 1976) is that dungeons are kind of like a disease, an infection of the world. That they grow of their own accord, new tunnels and rooms sprout like the branches of a fungal infection, and even monsters are spontaneously generated by it (similar to the old discredited theory that flies sponteneously sprout out of garbage left unattended). That if you do something like remove a brick from an existing dungeon and bury it in a (currently) dungeonless place, it will "sprout" a new dungeon there after a while, like a seed. So I guess this "dungeon world" thing ties well into this. Maybe the "ordinary" world's dungeons have portals into it, or you end up in Dungeon World if you explore long enough. Or maybe not, but the regular world's dungeons were created when seed material was brought back from Dungeon World by planar travelers.
The Heplion Contingency - Low-tech Cyberpunk with Psychic Powers!
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The Haliburn Galaxy: D&D Reinvented as Science-Fiction
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2015-02-22, 06:42 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Jan 2014
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2015-02-22, 06:57 PM (ISO 8601)
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2015-02-23, 05:18 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Interesting Geographies - Worlds that are not planets
I like the idea a lot. I'd maybe tie it to ideas of corruption. Older fantasy is full of races who turned from morality/god/the gods/the light/righteousness/etc. and became twisted, ugly and evil. Dungeons might be something similar, but for places. Wherever evil happens, nature becomes more dangerous. Darker, at first, with bad weather, dangerous or rotting vegetation and hostile animals, then eventually, the landscape twists and dungeons begin to form.
Resident Vancian Apologist
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2015-02-23, 07:31 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Interesting Geographies - Worlds that are not planets
I had that idea in the first place because OD&D treats dungeons (which it generally assumes are connected into a huge maze called "The Underworld, in the third rulebook, "The Underworld and Wilderness Adventures") as not just underground tunnels with monsters, but more than that. The Underworld is a mysterious, twisted place, whose layout can change (secret doors and even the layout of the tunnels and rooms can change if you visit it again after a while), and whose darkness cannot be penetrated by regular characters with infravision like dwarves and elves, but its monsters can see just fine in dungeon darkness as they are creatures of the dark. So I guess that has everything to do with your idea of corruption, of an unnatural place twisted by wickedness.
The Heplion Contingency - Low-tech Cyberpunk with Psychic Powers!
D&D Creations / Homebrewing
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2015-02-23, 09:59 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Interesting Geographies - Worlds that are not planets
Nice. That was long before my time, too bad they dropped such an interesting idea.
One would have to rewrite the planes and cosmology quite a lot, but I like the idea of dungeons as a semi-intelligent, malevolent force that can actively be fought with light and virtue. It would play into the idea of righteous heroes, like paladins, who go out to not just slay monsters, but slay the entire concept of dungeons.Resident Vancian Apologist
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2015-02-23, 01:59 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Interesting Geographies - Worlds that are not planets
Then... casting Magic Missile at the darkness might actually do some good?
EDIT: Actually, thinking about that idea... that makes some of the original D&D assumptions make sense. Like why there are these hero types who risk their lives delving into dungeons and the rest of the world seems to exist to support their endeavors. Why dungeons are the basic 'adventure unit'. Why dungeons themselves frequently ignore logistical concerns.
IT EXPLAINS SO MUCHLast edited by Illogictree; 2015-02-23 at 07:19 PM.
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2015-02-23, 06:40 PM (ISO 8601)
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2015-03-02, 10:59 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Interesting Geographies - Worlds that are not planets
There might be food in the waterfall too -- algae, plants, and fish-like organisms that eat them, all of whom spend their entire lives in freefall. Catching them might be as simple as extending a net into the flow. There also might be flying insects that lay their eggs in pools on the exposed shelves.
Maybe there are kelp analogs too, plants that anchor their roots in the rock wall and grow downward in the flowing water. Over time they grow hundreds of feet and provide a micro-ecosystem for a host of tiny animals. Eventually their base erodes and they go tumbling down, getting torn apart. Some of the fragments latch on somewhere far below and form the anchor for a new plant, starting the cycle again. The dried stalks might be the most readily available source of combustible materials the people have (though maybe there are minerals they can mine that also burn).
One question I have of this world, though, is why don't the inhabitants just burrow deep into the rock for their homes? If they have the means to dig tunnels, they could use those tunnels as living space.
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2015-03-02, 02:14 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Interesting Geographies - Worlds that are not planets
you misunderstand. the shelves are as big as continents, the waterfall being infinite is bigger. to try to burrow into the rock behind the waterfall is well....you'd have to get through a very thick and powerful waterfall, where water is pounding down upon you in amounts greater than any hurricane or waterfall on our Earth, slamming you to the ground and probably drowning you as soon as you step in. even if you could get behind that waterfall, the rock under it is eroding as well, slowly but surely and you'd eventually find yourself tunneling deeper and deeper just to stay ahead of it as the years pass...
but if your referring to tunneling the shelves themselves, why not? there could be people who tunnel underground on the shelves themselves. they not better dig TOO deep though- the shelves depth is not infinite and if they dig too much, they could find themselves digging a hole to the bottom and having some people just plain falling to their doom.
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2015-03-02, 02:41 PM (ISO 8601)
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2015-03-02, 03:14 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Interesting Geographies - Worlds that are not planets
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2015-03-02, 03:23 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Jun 2013
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Re: Interesting Geographies - Worlds that are not planets
You could reach the rock behind the water with either a magical or high tech structure that can stand up to the water and deflect it around a work area. Build basically a deep arch and push it, open in front of you and with walls to the left and right, into the falling stream until the forward edge reaches the rock face. Getting a tight fit to the face would be a challenge if the face isn't uniform and smooth (and why should it be?) but not insurmountable.
-- Joe“Shared pain is diminished. Shared joy is increased.”-- Spider RoninsonAnd shared laughter is magical
Always remember that anything posted on the internet is, in a practical if not a legal sense, in the public domain.
You are completely welcome to use anything I post here, or I wouldn't post it.