11.20.2007 - MAGDRAGLAS: City of Jewels
Here we have it. Magdraglas.
The biggest and most popluated city on Natralis. The oldest human city still in use today. The only true seaport of the human territories. The capital of the nation of Magdran. Here is the map.
now the image is small and a bit rough. I'm cleaning the whole things up in illustrator so it'll look REAL purty soon.
info about the map:
That big oval on the island in the middle there is the market place. The "bare" island to the left with two bridges is the Royal castle and grounds. The large circle at top is the arena. The big blank fields spread throught the city house the crematoriums and mosuleums. (burn your dead! you don't want them coming back to eat you!) The smaller circles amid the city are temples of Law. The main one on the Lower East Side, with the neighborhoods circling it. Chaos does not have temples, rather wandering priests, and Luck's Casino/Temples are scattered around. The port is down on the peninsula on the right, as well as most of the wharehouses and Naval Headquaters.
History:
The Keloit River joins the Bay of Stars after windings its way down from the Cloudscrapers across the northland and through Magdraglas. Founded by Magdra in AR 22 (or RE 1998) it was built on top of the ruins of the Rendellian city of Nartirell and survived the Dark Years. With its key location and already established trade routes, Magdraglas prospered.
It soon became clear that it would outgrow its walls unless something signifigant was done. The Castors and Clerics of the city met with the Rolyal famiy to discuss the problem. They decided to build new city walls far outside the current borders and in the mean time build UP. Magdraglas is a city of mighty towers and spindles that pierce the sky. They pulled the natural stone up and stretched it to it's limit. People reside in many, while others store food or weapons or books. Everything is enchanted.
The new city walls complete, the Royal family decreed that the city expand. As they set new roads and tore the old wall down, the townspeople spread out. It is currently AR 2360 (RE 4336). Once again Magdraglas needs to expand, the massive city overflowing with all manner of people, human or otherwise. So as they say, "all adventure begins in Magdraglas!"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A Note on cities:
Magdraglas is densely populated. Beyond its enchanted walls lies the Kingdom of Magdran. Farms stretch as far as the eye can see. Everything is a day's travel away , but most of those "inbetween" places are small. However there are four (4) smaller cities and ten towns (10) within the kingdom. These cities are days if not weeks away from Magdraglas. Remember, the Monsters come out at night, so people stick together. The more the better. Castors and Clerics manage much of the encanted systems that make life in the cities possible. Yet technology has also prospered. Magdraglas is an exciting innovating place to be.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
That'll do for the day. I'll get close ups for further discussion about specific things.
enjoy!
|
|
comments (2) :: post a comment :: permanent link
|
11.5.2007 - One thing at a time
So if you have been reading this things at all you know that I've tried to get a good handle on EVERYTHING in the world and go from a global scale to a detailed view. Well, I don't think I can continue like that. I've stalled because it's so complex. So many different things to work on, and nothing gets done. So I think I'm going to focus on one or two things. Maybe one kingdom, or hell, even a city. Most likely Madraglas. Being the biggest city and the only true sea port on the northland, it's the alpha and omega of Natralis. Interesting to say it like that.
On to the City of Jewels!
I wish I had a scan of that map.
|
|
comments (3) :: post a comment :: permanent link
|
10.18.2007 - New Race + Gorlim
Yes. here's some of the new stuff i promised.
Trolls.
No, not the ugly, regenerating scared of fire types that live in swamps. no.
The trolls are more like the ones in WoD Changling. Tall, honor bound samauri types.
Trolls are related to the giants more than any other of the races and reside on the far eastern coast of the Northland. They are tall, 7' on average, smart and wise. They, along with the giants, built many of the old structures of the world. They have also served in, if not led, many of the great armies. One does not cross, or even worse, break a promise to a troll. They are much sought after as military commanders ( except by the Caprians who belive no one can do it better than they can). They take thier religious vows very seriously so do not enter into them lighty. This is also true about their earthly promises. A troll does NOT break his promise. EVER. If circumstances align to make this difficult, a troll will go out or her way to change events to keep her promise alive.
Tall and thick skinned (ranging from tan through brown to gray) they have thick hair ( same spectrum) and large hands and feet. The males have two "tusks" that jut from their lower jaw towad the ground. Females' grow from their cheeks up past their temples.
Trolls ride huge beasts akin to dire oxen, called Paitan. Large, strong and fast, these creatures TOWER over normal horses. As omnivores, they can eat almost anything, and most often do.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Gorlim are the "villianous' race on Natralis. This is not becasue they are evil, but becasue a long time ago a hateful, spiteful , xenophobic individaul came into power and was VERY persuasive and abusive with his power. As a might cleric he died, becoming undead to continue his dominence, while his beliefs became law then dogma then culture, so that today Gorlim live, love and raise families, but murder, raid, and kill all others they come across. He sits there still, in the rotten heart of their land, festering with hate. As such they have isolated themselves beyond the great desert below the iron hills.
Gorlim come in three (3) varities:
The Alpha: Small, hairy, and dog-like, these gorlim tend to be the smarter, crafiter ones.
The Beta: Huge, bald and mammothly strong, these gorlim function as the military might of the gorlim forces and most of the physical laborers
The Helix: A mix of the first two, these gorlim are tall and strong and smart and cunning. They are the officers in the military and the rulers of most of the tribes.
A note on Grolim reproduction - with vastly different types of gorlim, the question that begs asking is how does that work?
Are they all one race? Yes
Their gene code is such that the dominate genes greatly determines the physical outcome of the child. Most often this results in Alpha or Beta children. If the recessive genes combine you find that you get the Helix. This the way it has benn since the beginning. A household might be very mixed or it might be "pure". These things mater not to the Gorlim. Just don't bring in an outsider . Don't think differently. Don't go against the grain. The Clerics will know and skin you alive. These same clerics rule the tribes and kingdoms
The Gorlim have yet to master making steel, so their weapons are made of iron and bronze(mined inthe hils north of thier terriotory). This is partly due to their self imposed isolation, and partly due to their dogmatic disregard for other's advancements. There aren't any Castors in the Gorlim as they do not have accesss to the schools in which to train oneself to become a vessel for the essence of Yventuil.
|
|
comments (1) :: post a comment :: permanent link
|
7.17.2007 - new ideas suck
and the reason they do is that they make you doubt yourslef and start ruminating on everythig.
well phooey!
i sticking to my guns and going on with this project. after many delays, doubts, and redesgins, I'm back in business.
More to come. sorry for the tease post.
|
|
comments (1) :: post a comment :: permanent link
|
10.24.2006 - a deliberate pause
Alright, those few of you reading this. Having spent far too much time thinking about all this and researching and reading quite a bit more, I have decided that if I am to do this I need to again rethink EVERYTHING.
hahaha. foolish I know.
But why did I base this world on D&D precepts? Because that was the game I knew I was going to run. Should I have done so? I'm not sure. Am I limiting myself in that vein of thinking? very much so.
So what happens if I rethink my strategy more than a bit? A lot. And I'm going to have to. It's bugging me too much.
|
|
comments (0) :: post a comment :: permanent link
|
10.17.2006 - Kingdoms
So. It's been awhile.
Sorry rick, this post won't have any pictures either.
I've started playing on Natralis. Really it's play testing, to get a good feel of the world before the main campaign starts and boy is that Law vs Chaos stuff tricky to pull off convincingly. I've got some work to do.
Let's see. I've got a general overview, the first map , a theme and some races. A good start. Human Kingdoms? surely!
Humans occupy the eastern part of the Northland, from the Great Cloudbreakers (mnt range on western third) past the Pearl Sea to the vast Ocean. Within this space are eight kingdoms. Let's list them! Cause lists are fun.
Culture type is an approximation only. A hook to get an immediate impression.
1. Balindi
Captial: Balindius
Culture type: Think Giant Bird riding Indian merchants. yes.
Language: Balindi
2. Ciloria (SIL-or-i-a)
Capital: Lehrsoht
Culture Type: European/ Irish. vast grain farms line the coffers of the this great nation with gold.
Language: Cilorian
3. Kosein
Captial: Kosein (small city state)
Culture type: Horsebreeders of the plains.
Language: Kosein
4. Magdran
Capital: Magdraglas (largest city in the world)
Culture type: Arabian Latinos
Language: Dranik - the trade language as well
5. Sonaria
Captial: Sonarus Li
Culture Type: Spanish Cambodian
Language: Sonarian
6. Tirran Roun
Captial: Tirran Roun (city state)
Culture Type: Peruvian
Language: Tirran
7. Voket
Capital: Vokete (city state)
Culture type: Russian / dwarven
Language: Ketik
10 tribes
10 independant "primitive" tribes separated from the other 7 by geography and technology. They are self sufficient and independent. They trade heavily with the Husken, whom are actually closer than any other human settlement.
So that's all of them. Now, there are more independent city states, but they are run by merchant overlords, rouge Castors, or other tyrants of the open road. Thus they have no language or culture of their own, at least not yet. Cresent Sands is one of these, camped out on the edge of the great desert facing the sea. A vast array of Rendellain Ruins* sprawl behind it.
There are treaties amoung some of the kingdoms. Trade agreements, peace treaties, the like. Tirran roun and Voket are not a part of them.
Tirran Roun is up in the mountains, nestled deep within a valley, surrounding a dwarven spout ( dwarven surface exit) Tirran Roun is also the human terminus of a dwarven trade line from the Husken side of the Cloudbreakers.
Voket is so far north on the foothills of the northen Cloudbreakers, that a treaty with the other human settlements didn't make sense. They established trade with the nearest dwarven kingdom and have become a mecca for half dwarves.
Kosein is half way from Lehrsoht to Balindius. This strategic placement, coupled with their command of the horse population has left them with considerable power on the plains of the norhtalnd. Their small size however limits their growth and as they are land locked, their trade potential is lacking. They have gladly accepted the trade terms that the other kingdoms offered.
Ciloria is far to the northeast on the edge of forest. A river cuts the north part of Lehrsoht from the south side. This northern section is a huge bulk head to defend the counry from the evils that come out of the forest only miles away. The bulk of the countries vast farming communities are far to the south, the tear drop shaped outer wall many yards thick.
Balindius is a days journey up river form the Bay of Stars. Here on their multilevel cliff city the Balinidi rule their nation. Their bird riders traverse the skies, keeping watch on the kingdom, ever vigilant of intruders. Thier merchants and farmers revel in their safe roads, fair laws and ample magic.
Sonarus Li sits on a Castor raised plataeu on the coast of the Pearl Sea, their massive herds of cattle roaming the fields below. The gongs and bells of the capital city can be heard kingdom wide.
Magdraglas is the oldest and largest human city. The only true sea port in the Northland, Magdrglas enjoys the most trade, immigration and crime. Built around and ontop the terminus of the Kellitor River, it's buildings soar to height unheard of in other countries. Castors and clerics alike have helped raise many of the sturctures here out of the natural limestone and granite. People world wide flock to the City of Jewels, the most densely populated region on the planet, and it is said that "All adventure begins in Magdraglas."
----------------------------
a note on building construction
most buildings on Natralis are made the old fashioned way: brick and mortar, beam and nail. However, Magic is present and acknowledged. This brings up issues as why wouldn't the castle be built from one piece of rock? Why couldn't Castors and Clerics shape and control the way these Natural elements reconfigured themselves? Why could not magic support and supplement natural engineering techniques to send buildings soaring into the air?
of course it could. So in Sonaria, the very foundation for the capital has been lifted from the flat plain, creating a huge plataeu for the city to look down from. The towers within reach higher than any stone and mortar castle could ever hope for. In Magdraglas, the towers scrape the sky. The many bridges are strong and enchanted against the elements. In Balindi the terraces and vast stone outcropping defy the imagination. Tirran Roun is built on the sides of a steep valley, a river running through the farmland below, cabled bridges soaring overhead.
------------------------------
*Now the one thing that most of these kingdoms have in common is their shared history, base language and alphabet. Long ago, the northland was ruled by one nation, one empire, one man. The Rendellian Empire streched as far as the land would take it. Old roads and ruins litter the northland. Magdraglas is built on ruins of one city. Balindi is near another one. Cresent Sands neighbors an old temple complex. This great empire collapsed, (much under its own weight) and city states formed. Magdraglas is the one state that survived this collapse and is stronger for it. Other kingdoms formed later as people desired safety in numbers.
Each city has a certain amount of farm land needed to support their population. This entire area is then surrounded by yet another enchanted wall. Within the wall, the people feel safer, but everything is still to be sure only a day away. Garrisons, small towns, small cities and the capital fit like a puzzle within each system of roads, wards, and walls.
I'll stop here. It's good to get that out of my head. Who knowns how many revisions I might do later. hahaha
stay tuned for some PICTURES.
|
|
comments (0) :: post a comment :: permanent link
|
9.1.2006 - Can I Get a Leg? Race Descriptions
alright kiddies.
I've been working on this world for awhile now and I know I promised you some Race descriptions. I just may do that this post, we'll see. haha
I have forgotten how much work is involved in this process! whew! There is a lot of stuff to carry around in my head. I have a huge majority of it down on "paper", but it is still occupying a large chunk of my short term access memory. I wish there was a button I could press and file it into the long term and keep it for easy access. In college I was particularly good at filing away pertinent bits of info ( like peoples schedules and common whereabouts, names, dates and people, d&d rules what have you) and my friends joked around about it. But now I have other things in there as well. It's really funny cause now that I don't work with it everyday I can't remember half of the info to do the elevator permits and all the facts I worked with at Building and Safety. hahaha. I like my brain being filled with D&D better than that crap anyway.
ANYWAY.
Here we go. Pictures to follow at some point.
HUMANS: Humans are pretty typical on Natralis. Tall or short, dark to light, no real standard. There are a series of kingdoms and tribes that I will talk about in a later post (nice set up, no?) that separates and catergorizes the humans more than anything else.
DWARVES: Dwarves on Natralis are taller and prettier than dwarves elsewhere. Like dwarves everywhere, they enjoy hard work, living underground, and strict rules. Their love of metal, stone and jewels are unmatched. However they are a dying race. They have found the "Infertility". They can see the end of their time. They have been around for as long as history has been written, as they appeared the same time the Elves did. That was a EONS ago. But their time is short. When your people are not producing babies at an acceptable rate, it is time to worry. After much research and prayer they have found no answer.
So they started mixing with the humans. For some reason this worked. They decided they would rather have their bloodlines thinned out than to disippear frorever.
HALF DWARVES: Half Dwarves are strong and tough and magically resistant like their dwarven parents ( no mages here) and tall, flexible, random and energietic like their human parents. When they mate, they produce other half dwarves, so they constitute a race, unlike half elves of other worlds. They are the risk takers of the world, and have flourished in the wild untamed reaches of the northland. Think of a normal half dwarf as an extememly fit and atheletic human, only tougher. So one of their atheletes would be amazing. Fun.
CAPRIANS: Caprians, or Korus, are a goat people. They have two horns spiraling back from their thick skulls, broad flat noses, hooves instead of toes and a hard headed view on danger. This said, they are not satyrs, or fauns, or some other Pan-like being. They look more human than anything else. Their hands are hoof like in texture but are still hands(if not shinier, darker, and harder--good for punching!) Caprians are covered in an ultra light down whose colors include: white, tan, black, brown or rust. Caprians are militristic and prefer melee combat over any other form. They have perfected the art of swordmaking, and flaunt this to the drawves on every occassion. Contrasting all of this is their funloving nature and constant drive for new experiences.
HUSKEN: The Husken are a race of hairless humanoids that have the odd and disconcerting ability and need to shed their skins. At the minimum of once a month and up to every three days they shed their outer layer of skin. They have fun with this as they also have the ability to change the texture and pigment of the underskin. They cannot however change the shape of their muscles, bone or fatty tissues. They are a slender, slight race, smaller in porportion to humans and the burly dwarves. They excel at magic and were the first to explore the forest and find the elven ruins and the secrets contanied within. The Husken, who call themselves the Yanna Ghani, appeared on the Northland about the same time that the Caprians did on the Southlnad. It took them a very long time to meet. The Caprians have yet to fully trust them.
That constitues the playing races on Natralis. The villianous Gorlim wil be discussed in a later post.
I wil have scans of all of them soon. really.
|
|
comments (1) :: post a comment :: permanent link
|
8.4.2006 - The Brass Tacks
Hello and welcome to world creation.
In previous posts i have talked about general topics, with some marginal specifics.
time for the brass tacks laddies.
Game Worlds need a theme, a unifying concept to help drive them. Lucas used environmental exclusivity, as did Frank Herbert, Roddenberry used ideology. D&D campaign settings like Dark Sun (magical blight) or Eberron (cinematic action) have a distinct idea behind them.
This is one of the reasons that my first world, Derranos, failed. While it was interesting and fun to play on it lacked focus. While on Aqualaria was about trade. There was only one giant continent, and humans were in the minority. Two aquatic races rules the seas and levied high tariffs on sailing vessels. Overland commerce and transportation became a big issue.
What would the focus of the new world be?
Starting from my choice of deities i moved on from there. LAW vs CHAOS. Obviously this world would be in a constant battle of those two forces, even if those two gods were distant. It also logically follows that the push for good vs evil wouldn't matter as much. That would take some getting used to, for me AND the players.
So, to advance that idea why not polarize the world even more? Let's make nighttime a time of Evil and day a time of Good. I summarize it as such: when the sun goes down the monsters come out. Sorta like cosby right? 10 o clock? old weirdharold! the monsters are out, how are we gonna get home?!?
exactly.
So let's think about what that would do to people (this is humans only or now).
1. they would stay inside at night, locking their doors, buying charms, enchantments and hexes to keep the monsters at bay.
2. They would build walls around their cities and enchant those.
-----
a word on magic.
in D&D and most fantasy RPG's magic is a mainstay. I like it and it is a part of Natralis as well. But it is also well known and has become "part of everyday life." that is not to say it is easily accessible or easy to perform, heavens no. But people are not looking for witches to hunt...
On Natralis, wizards and their ilk are called Castors. a term of respect, awe and fear.
--------
3. Traveling at night is not an option.
4. Camping by yourself at night is insane.
5. Which takes us to heavily armored caravans that travel between walled cities or kingdoms.
a jump of creation here:
6. Everything is only a days travel away .
now to bring that all together.
There are kingdoms, whose capitals are large cities, with in enchanted walls. Farmland surrounds this city. On all the major trade roads there either, villages, cities or garrisons ( all walled of course) where a merchant or farmer can stop for the night. They are also spaced for the slowest of the population: heavily laden wagons. A man on a fast horse might cover two days worth of land before he would be forced to stop for the night. This would continue all the way to the kingdom's border. This border would most likely be determined by the amount of farmland needed to support all the citizens of said kingdom.
ok. good.
NOW. kingdoms aren't a day away from each other. To reach one another it require some heavy travel through hostile territory. The armored caravans come into play here. As do mercenary guilds that hire themselves out for protection gigs. My friend Allen suggested that even out here there might be heavily armored garrisons or citadels a days travel from each other run by warlords, merchant kings or mighty Castors. Towns might have formed around them. I see good opportunities for racketeering, corruption and vice happening out there.
delicious.
On my map i had decided to place the races now. Humanity had the northland, divided into 6, then it became 7 kingdoms. 4 of which had a treaty signed. One was too far north to consider the treaty, another was separated by two mountain ranges and a large desert to make it efficient and the last one decided not to join.
I gave the Caprians the entire southland with two gigantic empires. Old ones too. They were on the planet before the humans.
The Husken showed up about the same time as the Caprians but on the western coast of the northland. those three large peninsulas are theirs. I also placed the primeval forest there.
The Dwarves ( by far the most ancient race) were under the mountains.
Each race dealt with the Problematic night in different ways.
Humans I have described
--------
a note on the elves.
elves were the first race on Natralis. Yes, they were there. With assistance from the giants they built a fantastic empire over the northland. Then one day, teh Gods took them. They disappeared. Not their stuff, just them. So there are a lot of elven ruins and nice little items out there to be found.
any Dwarf who happened to be on the surface witnessed this. freaked them out. They retreated down in to the Deep for protection. They have only recently ( according to them0 come back up.
in their culture this is called "the Vanishing."
------------
Husken were the first to delve into the elven ruins and learn the art of casting magic. They protect themselves with wards, wands and trees, not to mention fierce magic.
Dwarves build massive fortress complexes underground (and now above) that are almost impenetrable. Plus they use their divine magic to keep the monsters at bay.
Caprians just beat the shit out of them with steel, hoof and horn. The added reinforcement of divine and arcane castors made it even easier. I decided that they believe they have controlled the problem but their own hubris will blind them to the truth. In the process of "cleansing" the Southland they found an enemy: the Vampires. The Pale Princes of Shadow (for that is where they come from) and the Caprians have a millennia long feud. The Caprians have one advantage. They are immune to the Turning.
Without the ability to renumber their ranks in the Southland, the vampires have taken a hold of the nightlife in most major human cities.
Nightlife just got a LOT more intense.
I'll really have to describe the races in the next post. I'm getting a bit ahead of myself here and there.
|
|
comments (1) :: post a comment :: permanent link
|
7.21.2006 - The First Map
So now that I had a general idea of the Deities and the races that would occupy the world, (still as yet unnamed) I felt the need to draw the world. This is one of my favorite parts of world creation. Do careers in cartography sound interesting to you? well that sounds marvelous to me.
enough talk. here is the globe. Or the first map of it.
So that is my first step.
Get enough info down that I can work with it. Sketch, ink and place mountains. I tried to emphasize them for the web. Now if you have studied geography at all you know that mountains affect the land around them. I try to have this be true on my worlds as well. Deserts and forests are placed in key places because of them. Plate tectonics affect the mountain ranges. Magma is your friend. I'll have more terrain maps for you soon. I could go on about this for a long time. I'll spare you for now.
Some description! The main two continents on the right are where most everything happens. They are known as the Sisterlands and are home to most of the races on Natralis. ( Caprians, Dwarves, Gorlim, Human and Husken) The Starlined Islands, the ones here on the left are home to some "exotic" humans ( think asian, but not quite). There is an aquatic race that stays as far away from the surface that they can, so they don't enter tinto most race equations. A lot of odd stuff happens on Natralis, much of it amplified because of geography. And of course there are maps from the distant past that show a completely different world. Fascinating!
It's funny. I'm not used to thinking about this stuff so other people would know what I'm talking about. It's actually a bit weird. But the plan is to have a coherent package at the end of this. A product that, if so desired, I could submit to various companies as a fabulous portfolio.
more to come! thanks for reading.
|
|
comments (3) :: post a comment :: permanent link
|
7.20.2006 - It Begins
So, the new point of this Blog is to document the creation process of world creation.
Why create worlds? a couple of reasons.
1. it is fun.
2. comic books and D&D games are better set in a papable "somewhere" rather than an amorphous "anywhere."
And since I DM D&D and occasionally write/draw comics, I like worlds on which they exist. I'm up to three worlds now. My First world, Derranos, was created in college. A fine world, it suffered from clutter and cliche. My second world, Aqualaria, was also a good world. 7/8's water with one big continent, humans in the minority. good stuff. But not quite where I wanted it to be.
So now we come to world number three: Natralis. (of couirse it was called "new world" for a very long time)
Now. there are a couple of ways to start this process. Inside out, or outside in. Derranos was made inside out. I began with a small map of seven or so towns or cities with no real idea how they related to anything off that map. No deities, no culture, just some random names and places. Then gradualy I added to that map, I added some gods, some culutres and some history. Soon that became a globe with a whole pantheon of gods, different cities, countries and continents. Creating like this can be fun, if not disorganized and full of revisions. I don't feel it is the best way to go about it. Some people start even samller, with one town, or even an inn. a character. it's a good challenge.
Aqualaria and Natralis were built outside in, meaning the globe, the deities, races and cultures were all planned out before a city was thought of, maps were drawn etc. This determines alot of the circumstances that affect culture, technology and trade.
SO.
Let's begin shall we?
I needed a new world. The other two were fine, but I wanted to have something new. At the end of this summer a group of friends and I will be playing a new D&D game. I will be running it. Therefore I felt the need to create once again.
I usually start with map. Not this time. This time I started with the pantheon. Or lack there of. I didn't want my typical type of gods( sun, moon, four elements, war, peace, death, blah blah blah) this time I wanted something more cohesive. --
a side note on deity creation. there are a couple ways to look at this.
gods can be close or distant, involved in the affairs of motrals, or not. do they meddle or not? Remember clash of the titans for a good example of meddling.
Each culture/race has their own gods and converting "pagans" to your religion is a big deal. So there are many sets of gods, literally multiple pantheons that do battle with each other. fun, but horribly complex.
There is one god, or set of gods, and while different cultures/races have different names for them, they still answer the prayers.
There are no gods, just suprememly powerful mortals.
god sare deeply affected by their believers. If no one worships them, they cease to exist at worse or at best have no power.
or Gods are omnipotent and it doesn't matter what mortals do, these being created the universe and can do anything they want.
--
For Derranos and Aqualaria I went with one pantehon for all the world, deeply meddling in motral affairs, and omnipotent. I wanted to change that a bit for the new world.
For Natralis I decided to go with a family of gods. Law vs Chaos, instead of good vs evil, and have some of some them distant and some close. Law would be the mother, and Chaos the father, thier children in orer are, shadow(male), dream(female), and luck(male). I later changed Dream to Death& Rebirth. The parents would be distant, always fighting and the kids would be the meddlers. Now I did stick with the notion that these are the only gods. Different races wouldn't have thier own pantheons. This was it. So of course these Deities have proper names but each mortal race has their own names for them.
Race: When us gamers talk about race, we actualy mean it: not white black asain. We mean, Elf, Dwarf, Human.
On Derranos, there were SO many races, it was genereic D&D and eveything was there. Aqualaria was a bit more specialized, and with Natralis I decided to heavily limit the "playable "races.
Humans are a mainstay. so they are in.
I think Dwarves needed to be there.
I'm tired of elves so they were out. ( more on this later)
And i'm not fond of the little folk, ie gnomes and halflings. nix them.
SO that leavs only two. I created a race on Aqualaria that i really enjoyed called Caprians. I added them to Natralis. I also changed the dwarves a bit to make them bigger and more attractive to ease the relationships with humans to facilitate breeding between the two, creating fertile half dwarves.
Then a during a conversation with my friend Bill, a spark of an idea for another race came to me, and the Husken joined the world.
I'll give in depth descriptions and characterizations on these races later.
the other side of the coin is the so called "evil" races. I've always had issues with the evil races. Why do they breed? Why have children? To further the species I guess, but it still doesn't make much sense. As welll as the fact that it leaves no room for indiviual choice. If these races (goblinoids mainly) are intelligent enough to use armor and weapons and have clerics, they are smart enough to make up their minds on how to percieve the world morally.
So for Natralis I had to come up with something else. I got rid of orcs, goblins, kobolds and most of the intellegent 'evil' races. I kept hobgoblins, bugbears and ogres. All very dumb names for some cool "monsters." I combined them all into one race, the Gorlim. (not very far form goblin on purpose) The hobgoblins became the prime, the ogres are beta and the Bugbears are a sterile mix of the two. Long ago they had a ruler of the hitler type. His influence reached their clerics and became part of the their culture very early on. They are fanatically xenophobic. Not just afraid, but hating all other races. This might then explain why they go rape and pillage and have "human hunting" parties. When what you are fighting is not in the civilized realm of your culture, it's alot easier to mow them down....no?
I realize that if you have read this far you are a saint, a fellow gamer, or just really into me (HA!). I wll wirte more later.
stay tuned for MAPS! " I DO love maps! I have qite a collection!"
|
|
comments (0) :: post a comment :: permanent link
|
|
ME
friends
wignke
Tiramisue
TheAtomicTerrier
Nofret
sketchbooksessions
rainboy
Maizekid
corkbutt
gothickitsune
Denis
|
