My brain is percolating again..

[gridlore]

Between reading Girl Genius and boning up on D&D 4th Edition, I've started working on a campaign setting.

The setting is Asia Minor and the Greek Islands.

For centuries, the Dwarf Empire has ruled the men of Greece. The great armies came and conquered the cities one by one, using both the disciplined dwarf legions to destroy armies and the bestial orc slave fighters as shock troops. The elves fled north into the great forests and mostly vanished from the world. The Dwarves drove away the old gods and imposed their own strict faith.

Generations passed, with men raising crops under the steely gaze of the overlords. Human sailors plied the seas between Greece and the Anatolian mainland, and the dozens of isles became a haven for runaways and pirates. Human legions were even raised to guard the frontiers against attack. For the most part, life was tolerable. Some men rose to power and riches, while others plotted for decades to throw off the yoke of dwarf rule.

Then, 15 years ago, something happened. Mages across the empire were seized with fits. Storms more massive than any in memory blew across the Aegean in great waves. The very earth shook, and in every town the temples of the dwarf gods tumbled. Rioting broke out in many cities, open rebellion in others. Very soon it became clear that despite desperate appeals for help from the overlords, no help was coming from the empire.

The Chaos (as it is known) lasted for nearly five years before humans began ascending the thrones of the old city-states and rebuilding. Wars and skirmishes delayed this process and even today parts of Thessaly are overrun with brigands and fell beasts. But soon a human empire, centered on Corinth and under the iron rule of Kypselos, began expanding and absorbing the cities of the peninsula.

In the present day, Kypselos Rex rules over the Peloponnese and up to (with varying degrees of control) Thrace, which he has just conquered. He is trying the bring the corsairs of the islands to heel, either through force or by buying them off. But one question consumes him (and most Greeks, to be honest)

What happened to the Empire? The brave sailors who make the crossing report shattered cities, roving bands of leaderless orcs, and monsters that defy description, but no sign of the dwarves beyond scattered bones. A few brave souls have returned from the east with ships weighted down with gold, but many who go never return at all.

Obviously, I'm stealing from classical period Greece (and happily scrambling dates, having the Persians win, etc. etc..) for the setting. I'm not going much beyond that, except for flavor items to make it clear that we're not in a Tolkeinesque Western Europe. I like the island setting because it discourages plate armor (glug) and, well, I like pirates, even pseudo-Classical Greek pirates.

One of themes I'm going to follow is the return of the old gods. Playing a cleric might be a very interesting path in this game.

This will be a game of exploration, mysteries, a few dungeon crawls, and puzzles.

Suggestions? Comments? Cold hard cash?

Comments

[twfarlan.livejournal.com]

I like it.