lrojas Posted September 1, 2004 Report Share Posted September 1, 2004 Hi all, After getting my FH book about a week ago, i was struck by so much freedom that i finally decided to flesh a world that its been bugging my head since forever. As i am no expert game designer and have been for the most part constrained in a system where everything was distilled for me, my creative juices are, to say the least, rusty. So i will be posting in this thread how i think my world could work, any help/sugestion/correction is welcome. I have include a rough sketch of the world, it represents the terrain available for further development as well as to mark where the playing field is in relation of the world in general. The Space betwen the 2 yellow lines represent the ecuatorial region with a weather similar to that found in the caribbean. The white circle represents where the "Playing field" is, the known lands and where civilization exists. The world is about as big as Jupiter and has a Halo/Ring surrounding ( kind of how saturn has it ), there is also 9 moons/asteroids circling the planet inside the halo/ring in an arrengement that causes the natives to refer to them as "The Pearl String". Obviously this makes stargazing dificult because the night sky is too bright for the other stars to shine througt and they are also blocked by the ring that is beyond the moons. I would apreciate any help in asigning names to geographic features, regions, cities. Later on, perhaps some could help with some fiction for the world. Thanks in advance Luis R. Rojas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gauss Posted September 1, 2004 Report Share Posted September 1, 2004 Re: Help with campaing fleshing! I am sorry that this is not exactly what you asked for, but this is what jumped out at me: Something that might affect the way cities are built/placed and sea trade in general for your world might be tides. With 9 moons of varying size and distance from the planet they could be quite fickle or complex. Being a navigator on a ship might be a VERY highly paid position (with the dangerous tides revealing hidden reefs AND the lack of visable stars), and in cities there could be mages whose exclusive responsibility is to prevent the city from flooding and harness the power of the tides for other purposes. Another possibility is that the tides are as predictable as they are on Earth, but with a much wider range (think 100 meters as opposed to 2-4 or whatever). Floating cities perhaps, that move with the tides? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lrojas Posted September 1, 2004 Author Report Share Posted September 1, 2004 Re: Help with campaing fleshing! hi, back again. First, i forgot to put in the previous post. Dhar'maray is the sole surviving word from a long forgotten language. It's original meaning was "Where the heart is", is comon use in the world is when refering fondly/lovingly to one's home. The first people i wish to discuss i have yet to name, they hail from the island ( as yet to be named also ) marked in the attached map by a lilttle circle. to give a sense of scale, that tiny island in the map is rougly 800 miles wide and around 1,300 miles tall, wich, if you turn the united states 90 degrees to the right should be pretty close. The following is some flavor text i am doing for the race, please be kind but stern if i need something pointed out. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Living in the chain of islands located on the southernmost part of the main continent, they enjoy a tropical weather all year round, Even tho their islan has impressive terrain extensions they are basically a coastal civilixation. prefering the jois of living by and off the sea. The interior is largely unexplored, prefering them to populate the coastal region. they usually stand from 4' 5" to 5' 5" ( 5 foot, 5 inches ), they sport a permanent tanned hue to their skin, and usually have curly hair that varies from Purplish-Black, Bluish-Black and Jet-Black, the eyes are round and open usually blue, sometimes green. They resemble humans but for their hair color and pointy ears. There are 2 things they love more than anything, Sailing and cooking. You can picture them as a "Laid Back" society, giving them that islander feel to them, peace loving and comerce oriented, they will still fight fiercely to protect what is theirs and their loved ones. Their usual ocupations are : Sailor, navigator, Merchant, Weather Mage, Shipwright, Fisherman, Tinkerer, Alchemist. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ok, some notes regarding that text. the world is magical but i would put it as a High-Low fantasy or a Low-High fantasy setting. The gods do not mess too much with the land, so the D&D cleric is no where in sight. wich brings me to the point of magic. I am not sure how to do it, but i want it to be flavorfull, for instance, the Weather Mage, is a magic user that focuses on weather control and prediction. but nothing over the top. No flying, no teleport, etc. Still, an experienced weather mage could be a fearsome figure to opose. One other thing, these guys i just described could very well be humans, so i am not sure if making them into a race is worth it. Waiting to hear your thougts, Luis R. Rojas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lrojas Posted September 1, 2004 Author Report Share Posted September 1, 2004 Re: Help with campaing fleshing! I am sorry that this is not exactly what you asked for' date=' but this is what jumped out at me: Something that might affect the way cities are built/placed and sea trade in general for your world might be tides. With 9 moons of varying size and distance from the planet they could be quite fickle or complex. Being a navigator on a ship might be a VERY highly paid position (with the dangerous tides revealing hidden reefs AND the lack of visable stars), and in cities there could be mages whose exclusive responsibility is to prevent the city from flooding and harness the power of the tides for other purposes. Another possibility is that the tides are as predictable as they are on Earth, but with a much wider range (think 100 meters as opposed to 2-4 or whatever). Floating cities perhaps, that move with the tides?[/quote'] hi gauss, thanks for replying, yes indeed, i have thought along the same lines as you, but you brought up a couple of neat ideas that are worth thinking about. Floating cities ( or cities build on huge Pilons ) could be workable in the setting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arcady Posted September 1, 2004 Report Share Posted September 1, 2004 Re: Help with campaing fleshing! A world the size of jupiter? I presume magic keeps them all from being crusshed like little bugs beneath a semi's wheels... I would suggest more diversity of land - put in more continents on such a vast globe. Also, I strongly recommend this book before you go one step further: A Magical Society: Ecology and Culture You can learn more here: http://www.exp.citymax.com/page/page/960851.htm And, read this website: Demographics made easy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lrojas Posted September 1, 2004 Author Report Share Posted September 1, 2004 Re: Help with campaing fleshing! thanks, impressive resources to say the least. I am afraid i cant shell the 20 bucks that the pdf document cost right now... ( for me is more akin to 800 bucks with the exchange rate ), i am saving to get turakian age, and the grimoires. Other than that, jave you any avice about my islander race? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Posted September 1, 2004 Report Share Posted September 1, 2004 Re: Help with campaing fleshing! A world the size of jupiter? I presume magic keeps them all from being crusshed like little bugs beneath a semi's wheels... That's because the planet is hollow so it only has enough mass to produce earth normal gravity Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lrojas Posted September 2, 2004 Author Report Share Posted September 2, 2004 Re: Help with campaing fleshing! so, what do you guys think? how best to make the Package Deal for that race.. or just make it a Cultural Package Deal? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trencher Posted September 2, 2004 Report Share Posted September 2, 2004 Re: Help with campaing fleshing! Whenever I make a race I always go for the less is more aproach, since your race here is not descriped as beeing any stronger/weaker/smarter/dumber than ordenary people then I figure you do not need any racial package deals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CourtFool Posted September 2, 2004 Report Share Posted September 2, 2004 Re: Help with campaing fleshing! A world the size of jupiter? I presume magic keeps them all from being crusshed like little bugs beneath a semi's wheels... Beat me to it! I am wondering why he wants the world so large. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lrojas Posted September 2, 2004 Author Report Share Posted September 2, 2004 Re: Help with campaing fleshing! *sigh* well i could say is to compensate for my wants at being born in an island... when you can go from one extreme of the island to the other i less than a day... but overall, i wanted it to be big so there was no way to have the whole world explored. this way i can introduce something later on and i could just say that it was always there, ppl just didnt saw it before... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CourtFool Posted September 2, 2004 Report Share Posted September 2, 2004 Re: Help with campaing fleshing! but overall' date=' i wanted it to be big so there was no way to have the whole world explored. this way i can introduce something later on and i could just say that it was always there, ppl just didnt saw it before...[/quote'] That could still be easily accomplished with an earth-sized world. Just do not allow mega-scaled movement powers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Markdoc Posted September 2, 2004 Report Share Posted September 2, 2004 Re: Help with campaing fleshing! But why does the world have to be earth sized? Why not make it very large and hollow? There's no practical disadvantage that I can see, and it allows plenty of space to sprawl. Also there's the questions: why is it hollow - and who lives inside, which could lead to interesting questions. Silverberg's Majipoor is a huge world and that doesn't seem to have harmed the stories any.... cheers, Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trencher Posted September 2, 2004 Report Share Posted September 2, 2004 Re: Help with campaing fleshing! Go for a big world if you want to in a setting where giants walk the earth and gargantuan ants prowl the wastelands gravity is a relative factor anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lrojas Posted September 2, 2004 Author Report Share Posted September 2, 2004 Re: Help with campaing fleshing! thanks guys.. i was planning to have a secret in my world and with markdoc idea of a hollow world it makes more sense.... the name Dhar'maray, steeming from the ancient phrase Dharma Maray wich means "Where the heart is", well i planned to have this thing in the world that was refered by the name, now i think i will just make it a Huge Magic Jewl that floats in the center of this hollow world, the whole planet is a cover for it. Hidding it.... but from whom? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Posted September 2, 2004 Report Share Posted September 2, 2004 Re: Help with campaing fleshing! But why does the world have to be earth sized? Why not make it very large and hollow? There's no practical disadvantage that I can see, and it allows plenty of space to sprawl. Also there's the questions: why is it hollow - and who lives inside, which could lead to interesting questions. Silverberg's Majipoor is a huge world and that doesn't seem to have harmed the stories any.... cheers, Mark That was my point exactly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arcady Posted September 2, 2004 Report Share Posted September 2, 2004 Re: Help with campaing fleshing! Mostly the idea of large and hollow doesn't actually work physics wise, so you come back to 'the game is set on the back of a giant turtle'. Or rather, something magical keeps them being being squashed like little bugs beneath a semi's wheels. You can do that, but you should then be lookin at all levels of your design with that particular magical feature in mind - seeing how else it makes the world off from the baseline. At this point, you might as well put it on the back of a giant turtle, because the absurd becomes easier to swallow when it is logically, or rather consistantly and themed into absurdity. It is for example, easier to accept the reality of Toon than it is the reality of Shadowrun for many gamers... even though Toon is less real, it is themed and consistant about it and has its own internal logic that it does not violate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Posted September 2, 2004 Report Share Posted September 2, 2004 Re: Help with campaing fleshing! It is for example, easier to accept the reality of Toon than it is the reality of Shadowrun for many gamers... even though Toon is less real, it is themed and consistant about it and has its own internal logic that it does not violate. That's just wierd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeropoint Posted September 2, 2004 Report Share Posted September 2, 2004 Re: Help with campaing fleshing! Not so much. I'd say that internal consistency is one of the biggest factors in making a world seem real, if not the biggest. A science tidbit: there is no gravity field inside a hollow sphere, so you can't (without invoking magical artificial gravity) have people walking on the inside of the sphere. Also, while there may be some "centrifugal force" pseudo-gravity, it will be directed perpendicular to the axis of rotation, which means that the equator is the only place where it will be perpendicular to the ground. Zeropoint Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trencher Posted September 3, 2004 Report Share Posted September 3, 2004 Re: Help with campaing fleshing! Did you not hear him IT IS A MAGICAL GEM! Anyhow last time I checked the force that is gravity was a not really that well defined or understood. Another thing if no one has a problem with giants in basic fantasy hero then you should not have much of a problem with really big world's either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lrojas Posted September 3, 2004 Author Report Share Posted September 3, 2004 Re: Help with campaing fleshing! i really dont know why this causes so much problem for some people. Is just a world, yes is big, but is still fantasy... i am not saying is ok to disregard all senses of rationality but we are talking of a place where there is magic, giants walk and dragons fly... shall i worry about the aerodinamics of the dragon flight? can you picture one of the big dinosaurs with a couple of wings attached, being super-smart, breathing fire and flying around? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arcady Posted September 3, 2004 Report Share Posted September 3, 2004 Re: Help with campaing fleshing! You should always be able to answer the quesiton 'why' about every aspect of your setting. In fact, a person should be able to answer that question in detail about all aspect of their life, but that's an off topic point. This is an issue of internal logic and internal consistancy. Why is it so big, and why does that not kill everyone? Whenever you stray away from baseline logic in a world's design, you're going to need to be able to say not just why, but how it impacts the rest of the world as well. You can do good world design in teo basic ways: Start with the real and logical and change something, then let that change filter out through the setting and examine its impact. Start with the absurd and give it its own set of consistant to each other rules, then apply those rules as you develop the world. The second of those is why something like Toon works. A lack of either is why so many fantasy settings in gaming are lacking and cause people to 'break out' of the world logic and 'break out' of the story at odd moments when -suddenly- one of the flaws from not following the above two methods comes up in the story / game / whatever. So, returning to the basic questions... Why is it so big and how does this impact it, or rather, what lets it be so big? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arcady Posted September 3, 2004 Report Share Posted September 3, 2004 Re: Help with campaing fleshing! thanks' date=' impressive resources to say the least. I am afraid i cant shell the 20 bucks that the pdf document cost right now...[/quote']The websites are free of course, but what really wanted to mention is that part of one of the PDFs is free as well: http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=2444& (How to make world maps) http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?manufacturers_id=406&products_id=1678& (How to make cities) http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?manufacturers_id=406&products_id=3069& (Fantasy story seeds) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CourtFool Posted September 3, 2004 Report Share Posted September 3, 2004 Re: Help with campaing fleshing! i really dont know why this causes so much problem for some people. Is just a world' date=' yes is big, but is still fantasy... [/quote'] It is your world. Make it however you want. I was just curious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lrojas Posted September 3, 2004 Author Report Share Posted September 3, 2004 Re: Help with campaing fleshing! It is your world. Make it however you want. I was just curious. is cool man, i asked for opinions and sugestions, and i been getting them, just never expected to be confronted in the "How big the world is" arena. Please dont take offence at my previous post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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