I have added some images to various posts to try and give a feel for the game and because I like cool looking fantasy art. The following posts have been edited:
Kallista
Hu'Maa
The Sundering
The Palace
The Labyrinth
Recent History
The Beginning
The City
Showing posts with label Setting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Setting. Show all posts
Thursday, 17 July 2008
Tuesday, 15 July 2008
Performace Anxiety
I realised today that my first game where I have to try and make all of this stuff into some sort of coherent whole is less than two weeks away. I have four full relationship maps oozing with possible drama but I haven't really sat down and thought out what might come out of all of this.
So, in an effort to try and get the creative juices flowing over here I am going to adopt a technique from the last Cottagecon, Headlines. In brief, when we played Call of Cthullu the GM produced a little Headline for each section of the game. I am going to try and do the same for the possible issues which I think might form the basis for sessions of 4e.
Of course I am going to have to keep them at least a little bit vague to maintain some of the mystery. What I really need is some private spot where I can post some of my ideas in a palce my players cant see, word documents just dont really do it for me.
These are all Heroic Tier possibilities. I have various Paragon and Epic Tier options but I imagine the game setting will have changed so much by that time that they may well be obsolete.
The Prodigal Son
The Garden of Lost Loves
Hunting the Hounds of Shadow
The Key of Time
Bloodied blades in the shadow of the Sun
Thunder at the Gates of Time
Old Friends and Hard Choices
Flight of the Windrunner
Masters of Fire and Iron
The Iron Lord Walks
Curiosity Killed the Cat
Dark Rises, night of the living shadows
The Man who loved too much
Hard words and harsher lessons
The long dark teatime of the soul
Death is just the Beginning
These are not in any particular order.
So, in an effort to try and get the creative juices flowing over here I am going to adopt a technique from the last Cottagecon, Headlines. In brief, when we played Call of Cthullu the GM produced a little Headline for each section of the game. I am going to try and do the same for the possible issues which I think might form the basis for sessions of 4e.
Of course I am going to have to keep them at least a little bit vague to maintain some of the mystery. What I really need is some private spot where I can post some of my ideas in a palce my players cant see, word documents just dont really do it for me.
These are all Heroic Tier possibilities. I have various Paragon and Epic Tier options but I imagine the game setting will have changed so much by that time that they may well be obsolete.
The Prodigal Son
The Garden of Lost Loves
Hunting the Hounds of Shadow
The Key of Time
Bloodied blades in the shadow of the Sun
Thunder at the Gates of Time
Old Friends and Hard Choices
Flight of the Windrunner
Masters of Fire and Iron
The Iron Lord Walks
Curiosity Killed the Cat
Dark Rises, night of the living shadows
The Man who loved too much
Hard words and harsher lessons
The long dark teatime of the soul
Death is just the Beginning
These are not in any particular order.
The People: Non Humans
Three major non human races are present in or around the City of Kings. This article gives a brief look at their daily lives.
The Dragonborn
The High Lightning Clan are the only Dragonborn remaining on the continent. They are the remnant of a once powerful army which served the Warlord Reptos. The Sundering, warfare and attrition have reduced them to a single remaining Clan. Whether more still live on other continents is as yet unknown.
A fiercely proud and warlike people the High Lightning Clan dwell mostly in the foothills to the West. Their society is modelled on an ancient Legion structure with strict caste roles and tight discipline. Each Caste appoints a Commander and from this Council of Four a Warlord is chosen who possesses ultimate authority over the actions of the Legion.
Rumours persist of a rift between the current Warlord Najentus and Nihlil, Chief Priest of the Temple of Vulcan, the Clans patron deity. This is vehemently denied by most but what is known is that Nihlil has not been seen for over two years and is believed to be in hiding in the Cults hidden Temple base. Some have begun to call for a new Temple Commander to be chosen in his absence.
The Tieflings
The Tieflings of the City of Kings are almost exclusively members of the Great Houses, the one time nobility of the Empire of the Warlord Reptos. Once those Houses held enormous power throughout the world, now they have been hubmled by the powers of a Cabal of Human magicians.
Of the nine Houses which once ruled now only three remain, House Trak'Ar, House Turath and House El. A dozen or so lesser Houses also remain present in the City but their fortunes have fallen so low as to be indistinguishable from the other rabble fighting to eek out a place in the City.
Having been stripped of their power in the City the leaders of the Great Houses mostly entertain themselves with fighting amongst each other for influence, prestige and petty revenge. Blood fueds exit between them going back hundreds of years and these are often played out in the Arena, through public humiliation, poisoning, or outright assassination. It is not unusual for those involved to use all sorts of thieves, bandits or other adventurers as catspaws in their schemes with one another.
One other area of contest deserves special mention, the City's ancient Role of Laws. Since the rise of the Cabal the only law in the City has been the rule of the strong. However, the City possesses a mass of ancient, often conflicting legislation now rendered obsolete. The Great Houses set great public face to still obeying these ancient laws and often expect their underlings to do so as well. Dozens of complex legal cases between the Great Houses often run for years as they continue to seek advantage over one another.
The ancient Publica, once the City's administrative heart, still sits at the apex of the City, one half of the ancient Imperial Palace. There hundreds of scribes, clerks, lawyers and Judges continue to work to enforce a legal code which has been dead for three hundred years.
The Kireshi
Little is known about the Kireshi desert nomads save that they have always lived in the desert. Some claim they warred with Reptos himself, others that they were spawned in the great Fall of Empire, part demon and part something worse. All are agreed that they are a dangerous, temperemental people who think nothing of slashing a mans water bottles and leaving him to die in the desert.
The Kireshi mostly inhabit the lands to the south and even travel into the Suns Anvil, the most inhospitable and sun baked salt flat at the heart of the desert. They are a nomadic people but rear no animals, travelling everywhere on foot and disdaining the mounts of the Pashtun who they consider weak.
The Kireshi conceal their features from outsiders. Women are always veiled while men wear painted bone face masks, the less elaborate the higher the mans status. Their society is divided into roles strictly defined by sex. Men are hunters and defenders of the tribe. Women keep the home, work magic and protect their precious water supplies. Whilst it is possible for a Kireshi to break the gender barrier such invidiuals are exiled from their own Clan to either live alone in the desert or to seek out a new Clan to join in their new role.
The Dragonborn
The High Lightning Clan are the only Dragonborn remaining on the continent. They are the remnant of a once powerful army which served the Warlord Reptos. The Sundering, warfare and attrition have reduced them to a single remaining Clan. Whether more still live on other continents is as yet unknown.
A fiercely proud and warlike people the High Lightning Clan dwell mostly in the foothills to the West. Their society is modelled on an ancient Legion structure with strict caste roles and tight discipline. Each Caste appoints a Commander and from this Council of Four a Warlord is chosen who possesses ultimate authority over the actions of the Legion.
Rumours persist of a rift between the current Warlord Najentus and Nihlil, Chief Priest of the Temple of Vulcan, the Clans patron deity. This is vehemently denied by most but what is known is that Nihlil has not been seen for over two years and is believed to be in hiding in the Cults hidden Temple base. Some have begun to call for a new Temple Commander to be chosen in his absence.
The Tieflings
The Tieflings of the City of Kings are almost exclusively members of the Great Houses, the one time nobility of the Empire of the Warlord Reptos. Once those Houses held enormous power throughout the world, now they have been hubmled by the powers of a Cabal of Human magicians.
Of the nine Houses which once ruled now only three remain, House Trak'Ar, House Turath and House El. A dozen or so lesser Houses also remain present in the City but their fortunes have fallen so low as to be indistinguishable from the other rabble fighting to eek out a place in the City.
Having been stripped of their power in the City the leaders of the Great Houses mostly entertain themselves with fighting amongst each other for influence, prestige and petty revenge. Blood fueds exit between them going back hundreds of years and these are often played out in the Arena, through public humiliation, poisoning, or outright assassination. It is not unusual for those involved to use all sorts of thieves, bandits or other adventurers as catspaws in their schemes with one another.
One other area of contest deserves special mention, the City's ancient Role of Laws. Since the rise of the Cabal the only law in the City has been the rule of the strong. However, the City possesses a mass of ancient, often conflicting legislation now rendered obsolete. The Great Houses set great public face to still obeying these ancient laws and often expect their underlings to do so as well. Dozens of complex legal cases between the Great Houses often run for years as they continue to seek advantage over one another.
The ancient Publica, once the City's administrative heart, still sits at the apex of the City, one half of the ancient Imperial Palace. There hundreds of scribes, clerks, lawyers and Judges continue to work to enforce a legal code which has been dead for three hundred years.
The Kireshi
Little is known about the Kireshi desert nomads save that they have always lived in the desert. Some claim they warred with Reptos himself, others that they were spawned in the great Fall of Empire, part demon and part something worse. All are agreed that they are a dangerous, temperemental people who think nothing of slashing a mans water bottles and leaving him to die in the desert.
The Kireshi mostly inhabit the lands to the south and even travel into the Suns Anvil, the most inhospitable and sun baked salt flat at the heart of the desert. They are a nomadic people but rear no animals, travelling everywhere on foot and disdaining the mounts of the Pashtun who they consider weak.
The Kireshi conceal their features from outsiders. Women are always veiled while men wear painted bone face masks, the less elaborate the higher the mans status. Their society is divided into roles strictly defined by sex. Men are hunters and defenders of the tribe. Women keep the home, work magic and protect their precious water supplies. Whilst it is possible for a Kireshi to break the gender barrier such invidiuals are exiled from their own Clan to either live alone in the desert or to seek out a new Clan to join in their new role.
Thursday, 26 June 2008
The People: Humans
The City of Kings and the great desert which stretches soulthwards all the way to the edge of the world is home to many different people of many different races. A stranger travelling the great market of the City is likely to meet people from a dozen different cultures. Those daring to travel the night market are in for even greater surpirses. Here we take a brief look at some of the major races active in the region.
Humans
Without a doubt humans are the most numerous race throughout the entire region. They are split into four main groups:
The Pasthun, also known as the people of the desert. A dozen different tribes wander the hidden pathways of the desert, their lands denoted by the Oases they control. Each tribe has its own myth about how the world came to be and their place within it but all of them revere the spirits of the desert, representing wind, heat and scouring sand.
While a nomadic people no true Pashtun will ride a horse for they are the animals of Reptos the Enslaver. Instead the Pashtun ride a variety of desert animals, camels, zebra and antelope being the most common. One tribe of Pashtun is even said to ride the giant lizards of the deep desert but they are held in great suspicion even by their own people.
It is said that the tribes maintain hidden strongholds in the depths of the desert from which they conduct occasional raids against those merchants greedy enough to travel their territory without paying their due.
The most foolish or desperate traveller might be tempted to use a Pashtun watering hole but such transgressions are inevitably noticed and the tresspassers will quickly find themselves lost in the desert with their water supplies poisoned.
The City Dwellers are drawn to the City from dozens of different cultures, from the frozen lands to the north to the great expanse of the western oceans. These however are not the people of the City. The true Citizen of the City of Kings knows he is favoured by the gods and it is considered, mostly by the inhabitants of the City, that the lowliest beggar born in the City is accorded greater respect than the wealthiest foreign Prince.
Many of the ancient laws of the City granted significant rights only to true Citizens. Only they could own land or slaves within the bounds of the City and if a Citizen slew or harmed a foreigner he would be assumed innocent unless guilt could be proved. With the fall of the Empire and the rise of the Cabal most of these laws have fallen into disuse but many of the great Houses still consider them binding and do not treat kindly foreigners who break them.
Of course it is possible for one to purchase Citizenship and many have, but a native Citizen must sponsor the applicant.
The Slaves. The Empire of Reptos was one built on an army of slaves drawn from every city, kingdom or continent that fell under his sway. Their descendants remain to this day, a homogenous mass of people who once were the scions of a dozen different civilisations crushed into subservient obediance.
However, rumours continue to circulate about secret cults, strange rituals and dark shapes moving through the city at night. Somehow, amongst this downtrodden group of people, some spirit still remains.
The Lokarnos are the people of the great oceans of the world. Ship builders, monster tamers and weather wizards they ply their trade in vast city sized ships. Their society is one of rigid hierarchies and castes and is bound about by ritual, ceremony and rules of etiquette.
Once they were the backbone of trade in the Empire of Reptos but with his fall they found themselves coming under increasing attack from those who were oppressed by the Empire. The Captains of the seven great City Ships came together to protect their people and created The Sundering, an enourmously powerful magical ritual that sealed the oceans to travel by any but themselves.
The Sundering failed two years ago. No one knows how it happened or who was responsible but now the ships of many nations once again sail out into the Ocean. As a result Lokarnos society is undergoing something of a renaissence. Their rigid society is being exposed to new ideas, beliefs, religions and ways of life for the first time in four thousand years and tensions are mounting. Change is coming, it just need a spark to set the fire blazing.
Humans
Without a doubt humans are the most numerous race throughout the entire region. They are split into four main groups:
The Pasthun, also known as the people of the desert. A dozen different tribes wander the hidden pathways of the desert, their lands denoted by the Oases they control. Each tribe has its own myth about how the world came to be and their place within it but all of them revere the spirits of the desert, representing wind, heat and scouring sand.
While a nomadic people no true Pashtun will ride a horse for they are the animals of Reptos the Enslaver. Instead the Pashtun ride a variety of desert animals, camels, zebra and antelope being the most common. One tribe of Pashtun is even said to ride the giant lizards of the deep desert but they are held in great suspicion even by their own people.
It is said that the tribes maintain hidden strongholds in the depths of the desert from which they conduct occasional raids against those merchants greedy enough to travel their territory without paying their due.
The most foolish or desperate traveller might be tempted to use a Pashtun watering hole but such transgressions are inevitably noticed and the tresspassers will quickly find themselves lost in the desert with their water supplies poisoned.
The City Dwellers are drawn to the City from dozens of different cultures, from the frozen lands to the north to the great expanse of the western oceans. These however are not the people of the City. The true Citizen of the City of Kings knows he is favoured by the gods and it is considered, mostly by the inhabitants of the City, that the lowliest beggar born in the City is accorded greater respect than the wealthiest foreign Prince.
Many of the ancient laws of the City granted significant rights only to true Citizens. Only they could own land or slaves within the bounds of the City and if a Citizen slew or harmed a foreigner he would be assumed innocent unless guilt could be proved. With the fall of the Empire and the rise of the Cabal most of these laws have fallen into disuse but many of the great Houses still consider them binding and do not treat kindly foreigners who break them.
Of course it is possible for one to purchase Citizenship and many have, but a native Citizen must sponsor the applicant.
The Slaves. The Empire of Reptos was one built on an army of slaves drawn from every city, kingdom or continent that fell under his sway. Their descendants remain to this day, a homogenous mass of people who once were the scions of a dozen different civilisations crushed into subservient obediance.
However, rumours continue to circulate about secret cults, strange rituals and dark shapes moving through the city at night. Somehow, amongst this downtrodden group of people, some spirit still remains.
The Lokarnos are the people of the great oceans of the world. Ship builders, monster tamers and weather wizards they ply their trade in vast city sized ships. Their society is one of rigid hierarchies and castes and is bound about by ritual, ceremony and rules of etiquette.
Once they were the backbone of trade in the Empire of Reptos but with his fall they found themselves coming under increasing attack from those who were oppressed by the Empire. The Captains of the seven great City Ships came together to protect their people and created The Sundering, an enourmously powerful magical ritual that sealed the oceans to travel by any but themselves.
The Sundering failed two years ago. No one knows how it happened or who was responsible but now the ships of many nations once again sail out into the Ocean. As a result Lokarnos society is undergoing something of a renaissence. Their rigid society is being exposed to new ideas, beliefs, religions and ways of life for the first time in four thousand years and tensions are mounting. Change is coming, it just need a spark to set the fire blazing.
Thursday, 19 June 2008
The Inner Sea
The Inner Sea basin
One area of the seas, similar in style to the Med forms a semi enclosed basin. Recent earthquake and volcanic (Divine?) activity caused a change in the ocean currents supplying the basin with water, in effect causing the sea level to (very) slowly begin to lower as the water evaporates away. The channels into this basin now have more swiftly flowing currents (eventually to be waterfalls) but one of the Lokarnos City ships if effectively now trapped and unable to leave a (slowly) dwindling inner sea. If nothing can be done, this will eventually be left stranded within a barren salt lake. Although slight, the changes in salinicity are already beginning to drive creatures of the depths into more shallow waters, and who know, what ancient ruins will slowly become nearer and nearer the surface. Imagine if the Med started to evaporate in our world.
One area of the seas, similar in style to the Med forms a semi enclosed basin. Recent earthquake and volcanic (Divine?) activity caused a change in the ocean currents supplying the basin with water, in effect causing the sea level to (very) slowly begin to lower as the water evaporates away. The channels into this basin now have more swiftly flowing currents (eventually to be waterfalls) but one of the Lokarnos City ships if effectively now trapped and unable to leave a (slowly) dwindling inner sea. If nothing can be done, this will eventually be left stranded within a barren salt lake. Although slight, the changes in salinicity are already beginning to drive creatures of the depths into more shallow waters, and who know, what ancient ruins will slowly become nearer and nearer the surface. Imagine if the Med started to evaporate in our world.
Saturday, 14 June 2008
The Dragonborn
The Dragonborn
The Dragonborn are now a scattered remnant of what they were in the past. The mighty Empire of the past is no more and the five great clans are scattered throughout the land. Each clan or legion is organised on strict military lines with each Dragonborn assigned to a specific unit. The Assaulter section is the largest and made up predominantly of fighters and paladins, the Scouter section holds the rangers and rogues, whilst the Scatterer section is made up of wizards and warlocks. The Steadier section holds the clerics and warlords, who are also the spiritual leaders of the clans.
The council of four, drawn from each unit, runs each legion and one of these four are always voted as Clan chief. Due to the logistics of supporting such a legion, the individual members of a legion are often scattered over a large area and are only summoned together when they have a contract that needs the clan. A fully formed clan is almost a nation in itself, a rare sight indeed. Dragonborn gods represent the elemental nature of the world with portfolios including fire, thunderstorms, rivers etc.
The Dragonborn are now a scattered remnant of what they were in the past. The mighty Empire of the past is no more and the five great clans are scattered throughout the land. Each clan or legion is organised on strict military lines with each Dragonborn assigned to a specific unit. The Assaulter section is the largest and made up predominantly of fighters and paladins, the Scouter section holds the rangers and rogues, whilst the Scatterer section is made up of wizards and warlocks. The Steadier section holds the clerics and warlords, who are also the spiritual leaders of the clans.
The council of four, drawn from each unit, runs each legion and one of these four are always voted as Clan chief. Due to the logistics of supporting such a legion, the individual members of a legion are often scattered over a large area and are only summoned together when they have a contract that needs the clan. A fully formed clan is almost a nation in itself, a rare sight indeed. Dragonborn gods represent the elemental nature of the world with portfolios including fire, thunderstorms, rivers etc.
Sunday, 8 June 2008
Blood Tattoos
Blood Tattoos
The Tiefling masters of days past held many slaves in their subterranean palaces. Faced with a choice between sacrifice to their Dark God masters or life as servitors, many humans succumbed to the lash and pledged their lives and afterlives to their new masters. As a mark of their triumph over the pure blooded humans, the Tieflings marked their slaves with tattooes powered by now long lost blood magics. These marks, burned into the flesh, marked not only the mortal body but also the immortal soul. The marks passed from generation to generation, visible only to those empowered by the fiendish. They marked a bloodline of servants, concubines and worse. Nowadays, those that are blood-marked walk freely amongst us and only the Tieflings know their darkest secrets and the oaths that were sworn on their souls.
The Tiefling masters of days past held many slaves in their subterranean palaces. Faced with a choice between sacrifice to their Dark God masters or life as servitors, many humans succumbed to the lash and pledged their lives and afterlives to their new masters. As a mark of their triumph over the pure blooded humans, the Tieflings marked their slaves with tattooes powered by now long lost blood magics. These marks, burned into the flesh, marked not only the mortal body but also the immortal soul. The marks passed from generation to generation, visible only to those empowered by the fiendish. They marked a bloodline of servants, concubines and worse. Nowadays, those that are blood-marked walk freely amongst us and only the Tieflings know their darkest secrets and the oaths that were sworn on their souls.
Sunday, 1 June 2008
The City
The Ancient City of Kings
An older-than-man's-memory City with bleached walls, winding narrow streets, exotic bazaars, strange temples and ritual days, being over looked by a glorious palace. The City is so old that men have even forgotten its name. It is called by many the City of Kings as it has long been the capital of many different Empires, all of which have blown away into dust.
Now the City is ruled over by a Cabal of Sorcerors who overthrew its last King. They seclude themselves in ancient towers served by semi naked slave girls, hulking eunachs and protected by slavering demons while they contend with each other for control of the city's magical energies. They have wrought terrible pacs with ancient beings, pacts which threaten to weaken the very fabric of existence.
Many noble families make up the previous ruling elite of the City. Permitted to survive after pledging terrible oaths to the Cabal they continue to scheme amongst each other for influence and power. They alone still adhere the City's ancient Code of Laws, using them against each other to vie for dominance. Many Tieflings are to be found within these noble Houses and some claim the Houses have become corrupted by their closeness to the Cabal.
From far and wide, traders, mercenaries and adventurers gravitate via the caravans that seek the ancient City of Kings vibrant markets. Situated on four major trade routes, all material seems to, at one time or another pass, through the City enriching the populace, despite the danger. Outside the city walls lies the 'tent city' the haven of foreign merchants, nothing can be bought and sold - on pain of death - for the bazaars of the city are the place of trade (and so the sorcerers get their cut).
All are welcome at the City of King's Bazaars be they Dwarf or Orc, Paladin or scheming Undead, the Cabal of Sorcerers caring not of your colour, breed or culture, only that you bring coin with you. This "tolerance" is enforced by the Sorcerers feared and horrific cadre of Iron Golems, who bring swift and terrible "justice" to any who dare disrupt the flow of coins to their corrupted masters by committing violence in the Bazaar area. Away from the Bazaars though law and order is a matter of strength and courage. Guilds of thieves operate openly, paying heavy levy's to the Cabal, and it is a well-known fact that only those people with a good sword arm (or good hired swords) venture away from the main bazaars and safe areas in this otherwise Den of Thieves.
An older-than-man's-memory City with bleached walls, winding narrow streets, exotic bazaars, strange temples and ritual days, being over looked by a glorious palace. The City is so old that men have even forgotten its name. It is called by many the City of Kings as it has long been the capital of many different Empires, all of which have blown away into dust.
Now the City is ruled over by a Cabal of Sorcerors who overthrew its last King. They seclude themselves in ancient towers served by semi naked slave girls, hulking eunachs and protected by slavering demons while they contend with each other for control of the city's magical energies. They have wrought terrible pacs with ancient beings, pacts which threaten to weaken the very fabric of existence.
Many noble families make up the previous ruling elite of the City. Permitted to survive after pledging terrible oaths to the Cabal they continue to scheme amongst each other for influence and power. They alone still adhere the City's ancient Code of Laws, using them against each other to vie for dominance. Many Tieflings are to be found within these noble Houses and some claim the Houses have become corrupted by their closeness to the Cabal.
From far and wide, traders, mercenaries and adventurers gravitate via the caravans that seek the ancient City of Kings vibrant markets. Situated on four major trade routes, all material seems to, at one time or another pass, through the City enriching the populace, despite the danger. Outside the city walls lies the 'tent city' the haven of foreign merchants, nothing can be bought and sold - on pain of death - for the bazaars of the city are the place of trade (and so the sorcerers get their cut).
All are welcome at the City of King's Bazaars be they Dwarf or Orc, Paladin or scheming Undead, the Cabal of Sorcerers caring not of your colour, breed or culture, only that you bring coin with you. This "tolerance" is enforced by the Sorcerers feared and horrific cadre of Iron Golems, who bring swift and terrible "justice" to any who dare disrupt the flow of coins to their corrupted masters by committing violence in the Bazaar area. Away from the Bazaars though law and order is a matter of strength and courage. Guilds of thieves operate openly, paying heavy levy's to the Cabal, and it is a well-known fact that only those people with a good sword arm (or good hired swords) venture away from the main bazaars and safe areas in this otherwise Den of Thieves.
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