Anyone want to collaborate on an urban fantasy setting?

[sentry0]

Per the title; is there anyone interested in collaborating with me on a little side project?  It's a setting that I'm working on for an Urban Fantasy game and I could use help with writing and art.

 

The elevator pitch is this: the players are immortals, called Blooded, who have a connection to a mythic force that comes from their otherworldly blood.  There are nine different Bloodlines that all have a different mystical focus such as Fae or Draconic power. The Bloodlines organize themselves in a medieval hierarchy with Kings and Queens, Dukes, Knights, and peasants.  There's lots of opportunity for political intrigue and conflict as well as conflict from outside Blooded society with Elemental Lords, witch hunters, and mortal agencies.

 

I have a short document created if you're interested in seeing what I have so far.

 

 

[Duke Bushido]

It ain't that I don't want to-- I'd _love_ to help with something like that.

 

I've just got too much on my plate already....  

 

 

[Scott Ruggels]

Sounds interesting, What do you need?

[sentry0]

3 minutes ago, Scott Ruggels said:

Sounds interesting, What do you need?

 

Anything really ?

 

I know you're an artist so anything you care to do in that regard would be greatly appreciated.  It would be awesome to get symbols for the Bloodlines tbh.

 

I have written a couple if sentences for each Bloodline but I want to flesh them out more.  A couple of paragraphs at least for each Bloodline would go a long way.  

 

The layout of the doc is really basic too and could use some TLC.

 

 

[Killer Shrike]

Sure. Hit me up. 

 

What's the name of the setting?

[Tjack]

     I’m always around if you want someone to bounce ideas off.  I’ve always been pretty useless at the number crunching, but I’m strong with the characterization & story side of the Force.

   As it stands it sounds like you’re going for a mix of the Blood from Champions, some Nine Princes in Amber from Roger Zelazny (which I always thought was an inspiration for the Blood anyway) some of the White Wolf games ‘verse and a little Highlander on the side.

   I’m interested in seeing the document you mentioned,  if you’ld like you can send it to my E-mail address if I don’t get anything I’ll figure you’re all set for help.

 

[Doc Democracy]

I would be happy to contribute.  I am a better proofreader and idea suggester than author but am happy to contribute on whatever.

 

Doc

[sentry0]

5 hours ago, Tjack said:

     I’m always around if you want someone to bounce ideas off.  I’ve always been pretty useless at the number crunching, but I’m strong with the characterization & story side of the Force.

   As it stands it sounds like you’re going for a mix of the Blood from Champions, some Nine Princes in Amber from Roger Zelazny (which I always thought was an inspiration for the Blood anyway) some of the White Wolf games ‘verse and a little Highlander on the side.

   I’m interested in seeing the document you mentioned,  if you’ld like you can send it to my E-mail address if I don’t get anything I’ll figure you’re all set for help.

 

 

You're absolutely right about taking inspiration from White Wolf.  Back in the 90s my friends and I played those games a lot and had a blast with them.  There's a dash of Highlander in there too with a pinch of American Gods maybe a hint of Game of Thrones.

 

I'm hoping that we can pull it all together into something cohesive.

[sentry0]

26 minutes ago, Doc Democracy said:

I would be happy to contribute.  I am a better proofreader and idea suggester than author but am happy to contribute on whatever.

 

Doc

 

Great, I'll send what I have your way.  I understand what you mean about authoring...I write code for a living not verse.

[tkdguy]

Since you mentioned Highlander, here are the wrirte-ups of a couple of the characters from the TV show. Keep in mind they're for 5th Edition, so you'll have to make a few adjustments.

 

http://surbrook.devermore.net/adaptationstv/tvchar.html#high

 

I did a Highlander Hero document a long time ago. Alas, it didn't survive the purge. I don't know if you'll need all the details from my work, but I'm more than happy to reupload it if you want.

[Duke Bushido]

1 hour ago, tkdguy said:

 

I did a Highlander Hero document a long time ago. Alas, it didn't survive the purge. I don't know if you'll need all the details from my work, but I'm more than happy to reupload it if you want.

 

 

So.... Uhm..... 

 

Is that a question for just anybody, or.....? 

 

 

 

[Tjack]

    I read it, and it’s a very interesting backstory, but in the words of Pinky “What are we going to do now, Brain?”  

   Are players going to work against each other like in the Amber (from the Zelazny books I mentioned) diceless game?  Are they an experienced, mixed team of Troubleshooters working for a council of kings to take care of problems that concern the Blooded as a whole?  Or maybe they’ll be a group of foxhole buddies on the run from the forces that want them to join their respective societies?

    I do have a question about how one of the laws applies to the modern day. The one about not owning land...I get how it works about not building castles, but the way it’s worded no one could buy a house or start a business without getting permission from the King.  An expansion of this is;  What do the Blooded want as a whole?  and What do the individual Houses want?  

   Are they looking for dominion from behind the scenes over Humanity?  Do they want power over the other houses?  

  Think about the motivations behind the Vorlon and Shadows in Babylon 5.  The simple questions “Who are you?” and “What do you want?” drove five years of exceptional television.

   Lastly, would you prefer do work on this board, so that other GM’s can help or as e-mails direct to you so we don’t scare the neighbors?

                                                                 Here’s to a great start, and a new universe being born,      Tjack

    

[tkdguy]

9 hours ago, Duke Bushido said:

 

 

So.... Uhm..... 

 

Is that a question for just anybody, or.....? 

 

 

 

 

If anyone is interested, I'm more than happy to share.

 

Should I post it here, or in its own thread?

[sentry0]

1 hour ago, Tjack said:

    I read it, and it’s a very interesting backstory, but in the words of Pinky “What are we going to do now, Brain?”  

   Are players going to work against each other like in the Amber (from the Zelazny books I mentioned) diceless game?  Are they an experienced, mixed team of Troubleshooters working for a council of kings to take care of problems that concern the Blooded as a whole?  Or maybe they’ll be a group of foxhole buddies on the run from the forces that want them to join their respective societies?

    I do have a question about how one of the laws applies to the modern day. The one about not owning land...I get how it works about not building castles, but the way it’s worded no one could buy a house or start a business without getting permission from the King.  An expansion of this is;  What do the Blooded want as a whole?  and What do the individual Houses want?  

   Are they looking for dominion from behind the scenes over Humanity?  Do they want power over the other houses?  

  Think about the motivations behind the Vorlon and Shadows in Babylon 5.  The simple questions “Who are you?” and “What do you want?” drove five years of exceptional television.

   Lastly, would you prefer do work on this board, so that other GM’s can help or as e-mails direct to you so we don’t scare the neighbors?

                                                                 Here’s to a great start, and a new universe being born,      Tjack

    

 

Thanks for taking the time to read over the doc and giving your feedback...I really appreciate it!  To answer your question about direct email or here, it's really up you and what you feel comfortable with.  I'm hesitant on posting the doc here right now because it's in such an early stage of development so there's a bit of a context gap for people lurking in the thread.  At any rate, I leave it up to you.

 

To try and answer your main question; I think that I want conflicts to be both internal and external.  I don't foresee players working against each other...instead I'm envisioning them banding together for survival.  One of the ideas that's been bouncing around in my head is the concept of Guilds or adventuring companies (adventurers in the D&D sense).  I like the idea of having the players formally form a Guild or adventuring troupe, sort of like a hero team in Champions.

 

There's lots of opportunities for conflicts within Blooded society itself.  Those are mostly a political driven constructs and would vary from kingdom to kingdom or even between kingdoms.  There's also the war between The Avalonians and The Lord's of Blight for control of Blooded society as a whole...this conflict needs more thought about what it means to the setting.  Is it a burning fire of a conflict or more of a slow burning background thing?

 

External antagonists are pretty vague at this point...still thinking on it.  Witch Hunters, mortal wizards, and Elemental Lord's are what I've been throwing around as the short list.  The Elemental Lords concept is this: the Blooded are in conflict with the raw forces of creation.  In medieval Europe alchemists saw the classic elements as the building blocks for the universe.  I like the idea that the Elements are basically trying to erase them from existence because the Blooded are inherently unnatural.  I picture them being highly dangerous and powerful foes.

 

Lots to think about still...thanks for your comments.

 

[Duke Bushido]

2 hours ago, tkdguy said:

 

Should I post it here, or in its own thread?

 

Doesnt seem right to dilute Sentry0's thread any further.  ;). 

 

 

[sentry0]

6 hours ago, Tjack said:

    I do have a question about how one of the laws applies to the modern day. The one about not owning land...I get how it works about not building castles, but the way it’s worded no one could buy a house or start a business without getting permission  from  the King.   

 

That's one of the Laws that calls back to medieval Europe where peasants had no right to own land.  Instead they payed rent to work on a Lord's estate and were taxed for doing so.  I called it out as one of the Laws that tends not to be enforced in the modern era but left it in because a King may decide to enforce it depending upon the King.

[Tjack]

4 hours ago, sentry0 said:

 

That's one of the Laws that calls back to medieval Europe where peasants had no right to own land.  Instead they payed rent to work on a Lord's estate and were taxed for doing so.  I called it out as one of the Laws that tends not to be enforced in the modern era but left it in because a King may decide to enforce it depending upon the King.

 

 

   This could still be a hook for a GM to use to start a run. (For some reason I’m thinking in Shadowrun terms for this.)  

   A King calls in one of the group and points out that they’ve broken that law.....”Now if you and your friends could take care of a little problem for me,  I’m sure I could forgive this little transgression.”

[sentry0]

1 hour ago, Tjack said:

 

 

   This could still be a hook for a GM to use to start a run. (For some reason I’m thinking in Shadowrun terms for this.)  

   A King calls in one of the group and points out that they’ve broken that law.....”Now if you and your friends could take care of a little problem for me,  I’m sure I could forgive this little transgression.”

 

Yep, I could see that ?

[sentry0]

I've been working on Blooded magic lately, I built out 49 spells across 8 spell lines and have put them into the setting doc.  Made a prefab for them too

 

Still looking for feedback, let me know if you want to help.

[sentry0]

I'm still plugging away on the document and I have added a new spellcasting mechanic to the setting.  The mechanic is called a "Mythic Breach" and it's a tear in reality that has an increasing probability of happening depending on the number of failed spell rolls in short period of time in a set area.  All Blooded magic has this side effect and by extension has a chance of creating a Mythic Breach on a bungled cast.

 

 

 

 

[Mick Price]

Is the world basically modern day plus secret magic people?  And if so how do you explain  the lack of effect of magic on the world?

[sentry0]

58 minutes ago, Mick Price said:

Is the world basically modern day plus secret magic people?  And if so how do you explain  the lack of effect of magic on the world?

 

Firstly, check out this thread for the doc and the most up-to-date conversations about it.

 

The short answer to your question is; they have laws forbidding them from revealing themselves to mortals.

 

Long answer: during the middle ages the Blooded were decimated by the witch hunts.  They realized that the mortals were capable of overpowering them and that they were severely out numbered so they created laws to hide their existence from mortals.