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Idea for a fantasy setting
Aug. 18th, 2007 08:22 amAs many of you know, I despise the tradition fantasy RPG setting of a set of pseudo-medieval states (with the odd Imperial remnant thrown in for flavor.) It's so damn trite, and very few writers or gamers bother to actually flesh out the dynamics of such a setting. The also tend to ignore that established states mean laws and law enforcement. Very few nobles are going to accept a party of heavily armed warriors and their mage companions wandering through their territory swinging Swords of Magical Oomph with glee at everything that moves, at least not without collecting some tax revenue.
A common trope in these setting is the Big Magical Oops. Sometime, in the dim and distant past, the Glorious Empire of Magic Item Creation summoned something bigger than their collective heads and went down faster than the Titanic, leaving endless Places of Mystery and magical goodies for people to find. A typical example of this is The Rain of Colorless Fire from Greyhawk. The uniting factor always seems to be that the Big Oops is something that happened centuries, if not millenia, ago.
Let's change that.
For this setting, the fall of the Great Empire happened about a century ago; recently enough that the oldest folks can barely remember the glory that was, and the dark days of the collapse. Society has fallen, the legions have gone (or set themselves up as petty lords) and the barbarian/orcish hordes are riding with impunity over the old borders. Magic itself has changed, becoming harder and darker. Mages are hated and feared, so those who do follow the art are advised to keep a low profile or a lot of guards. The economy in most places has gone back to bartering for goods. What use is a gold coin when you need good iron for spear points?
Civilization is pretty much restricted to city-states that managed to survive the fall, and had the power and resources to survive the hard times. Some have started to expand into small kingdoms. There's a lot of room for fun here, as some places will be traditional places of evil ruled by cultists, some will be be beacons of light for our heroes to hail from, and many will be in dire need of someone to save them from the latest barbarian horde.
The old Imperial interior is fraught with peril. The few who have scouted out the old roads tell of twisted terrain, strange beasts, and strange citadels where none existed on the old maps. Rumors pass in whispers that the last Archmagi Imperial still occupies the Ocher Throne, an undead lich ruling over a court of shades and ghosts. Similar stories tell of the supposed fates of the great weapons made for various Imperial generals.
This is post-apocalyptic role-playing in Robert E. Howard land; evil sorcerers, dark gods, pirates, noble savages, dragons to be slain, and wondrous and terrible treasures to be unearthed.
What do y'all think?
A common trope in these setting is the Big Magical Oops. Sometime, in the dim and distant past, the Glorious Empire of Magic Item Creation summoned something bigger than their collective heads and went down faster than the Titanic, leaving endless Places of Mystery and magical goodies for people to find. A typical example of this is The Rain of Colorless Fire from Greyhawk. The uniting factor always seems to be that the Big Oops is something that happened centuries, if not millenia, ago.
Let's change that.
For this setting, the fall of the Great Empire happened about a century ago; recently enough that the oldest folks can barely remember the glory that was, and the dark days of the collapse. Society has fallen, the legions have gone (or set themselves up as petty lords) and the barbarian/orcish hordes are riding with impunity over the old borders. Magic itself has changed, becoming harder and darker. Mages are hated and feared, so those who do follow the art are advised to keep a low profile or a lot of guards. The economy in most places has gone back to bartering for goods. What use is a gold coin when you need good iron for spear points?
Civilization is pretty much restricted to city-states that managed to survive the fall, and had the power and resources to survive the hard times. Some have started to expand into small kingdoms. There's a lot of room for fun here, as some places will be traditional places of evil ruled by cultists, some will be be beacons of light for our heroes to hail from, and many will be in dire need of someone to save them from the latest barbarian horde.
The old Imperial interior is fraught with peril. The few who have scouted out the old roads tell of twisted terrain, strange beasts, and strange citadels where none existed on the old maps. Rumors pass in whispers that the last Archmagi Imperial still occupies the Ocher Throne, an undead lich ruling over a court of shades and ghosts. Similar stories tell of the supposed fates of the great weapons made for various Imperial generals.
This is post-apocalyptic role-playing in Robert E. Howard land; evil sorcerers, dark gods, pirates, noble savages, dragons to be slain, and wondrous and terrible treasures to be unearthed.
What do y'all think?
