Mr. R

When I was younger, much younger, high school younger I found a friend who was an escapee from Aparthied with his family. They were Zulu, and his father had 3 - 4 shields and 3 Asagai, all beautiful weapons. I am not large. At 17, I was 1.7 meters tall and a strapping 39 kg. and the weapons were beautifully balanced, they flowed in ones hand but the real surprise were the shields. Varying in length from 1.2 meter to 2 meter and up to 1 in width. A cruciform substructure with an oval of withy overlaid with bull hide (apparently the best are made from Cape Buffalo Bull hide) the vertical portion of the cruciform is sharpened top and bottom, to allow the holder to stab an errant foot or a misplaced jaw. It's almost as dangerous a weapon as the bloody Asagai. Finally the Asagai can be used as a brace weapon form. My friends father would dance with the Asagai's on occasion and it was awe inspiring a true thing of beauty! 

I just had an idea for warriors!  D&D had the Book of Nine Swords.  Different styles that gave you almost magical abilities with your weapons.  There were Stances, Strikes, Boosts, Blocks, Counters.  Blocks are already in FH.  A Counter is what it seems, a counterstrike when someone attacks.  It is the strikes, boosts, and stances that almost go over the top.   Some I remember:
 
Fire Wurm- a full move that leaves a trail of fire behind you! (FH 2d6 RKA only along run path + Extra Running)
Fire Sword - for the rest of the melee, your blade is on fire and deals extra damage (FH +1d6 RKA, no range linked to HKA)
Healing Stance- you regen 1d6 hp per round of combat (FH Heal 1d6 At post 12 recovery)
Healing Strike - Hit an opponent, heal yourself (FH 2d6 Heal linked to HKA)
Diamond Strike - do a touch attack, hit for full damage (FH hit opponent and disregard any armour-PD-ED.  So it turns your attack to a NND does Body)
 
 
 
 

Killer Shrike has a bunch of Abilities for warriors.  Some I liked:
 
 
 
There is even one that allows a shield bash and you don't lose the +3 DCV (Depending on size) that the shield gives.  
 
Just the following is making a warrior tough
Second Skin (+3/+3 to PD/ED)
Active Shield Defense (+4 to PD if using a shield)
Behemoth Recovery (+12 to Rec )
Last Gasp (Add a Healing Body on top for that "It's only a flesh wound!" feeling)
 
I am not sure about your armour values, but assume Plate at 8/8.
Now we have 15/11.  And it isn't enchanted yet!
 
 
 
 
 

Go to this thread, near the bottom, is a pdf about four basic fighting styles
One Hand
Paired weapons
Sword and Board
Two handed weapons
 
So he has a 30 pt Martial Art for each.
 
 

Killer Shrike has a bunch of Abilities for warriors.  Some I liked:
 
 
 
There is even one that allows a shield bash and you don't lose the +3 DCV (Depending on size) that the shield gives.  
 
Just the following is making a warrior tough
Second Skin (+3/+3 to PD/ED)
Active Shield Defense (+4 to PD if using a shield)
Behemoth Recovery (+12 to Rec )
Last Gasp (Add a Healing Body on top for that "It's only a flesh wound!" feeling)
 
I am not sure about your armour values, but assume Plate at 8/8.
Now we have 15/11.  And it isn't enchanted yet!
 
 
 
 
 

I think we should remember that the Linear fighter trope was from DnD 3rd.  
 
In DnD 2nd Fighters were NASTY.  Why?
Best hp
The Best THACO progression
Best Saving Throw table
Access to weapon specializations
 
Yeah Wizards were scarry, but they were purpose built glass cannons.  There is a thread on RPG net about a guy describing their all wizard campaign.  Everyone was 15th to 18th level with appropriate gear.  And all those spells didn't help at all when a group of trolls ambushed them.  CLAW-CLAW-BITE results in dead wizard.  
 
So play up the Warrior's toughness and Combat Prowess.  AND at the same time play up the Squisheyness of the Wizards.  And the BIG SPELL has ONE USE.  Yeah he can blow his load of spells, then he becomes a glorified normal.  Some see the forgetting of spells as a bug, NOPE it was a feature!

Canada has three western "prairie provinces" stretching from the US border to the Canadian far north: west to east, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. The first two each have pairs of major cities, one to the south closer to the border, the other in the north on the Saskatchewan River. Edmonton in Alberta is the northernmost city in North America with a population of 1 million+, while Saskatoon is Saskatchewan's largest city at over a quarter-million, and over 300 thousand in its metropolitan area (and growing fast). Both are at roughly the same latitude. The growth of those cities in the modern era has been spurred by development of natural resources in the north, namely oil and mining, to which they're both called "gateway" cities.
 
Manitoba has only one city in that class, Winnipeg in south of the very large and long Lake Winnipeg (around 750,000 population), a major rail and air hub. In the north on that same latitude the Saskatchewan River flows first into Cedar Lake in the west, then on to Lake Winnipeg. In between there's a three-mile stretch of rapids which in the past was a serious block to water travel. Today there's a major hydro-electric dam on the site. The town of Grand Rapids, on the shore of Lake Winnipeg, has a bridge crossing the Saskatchewan River for the province's main highway. There are also several Cree First Nations in the region.
 
I propose a couple of "what if" changes to the history of that region. First, a "smoothing out" of the Saskatchewan River between Cedar Lake and Lake Winnipeg, freeing up water transport and facilitating expanded construction where Grand Rapids is now. There would undoubtedly be considerable road, rail, and water traffic between a new city there, and Winnipeg. Second, the discovery of some valuable mining resource in the Canadian Shield to the north. I would suggest high-grade uranium, although in a "super" world you could substitute something more exotic. Uranium would spur the growth of high-tech industries in the city diversifying its economy, as well as provide excuse for all kinds of criminal hijinks.   A nuclear power plant could also replace the hydro-electric dam. I would think all of that would justify a city of at least half a million.
 
Besides science-related plots, the city can be the jumping-off point for wilderness adventures to compromised mines, hidden villain bases, and the like. The presence of First Nations can weave in native spiritual traditions, as well as conflicts over land development and aboriginal land rights. As the province was originally settled by France and still has a substantial Francophone minority, the city could also be functionally bilingual (both languages have official status in Manitoba), as well as having representation from the distinctive Metis community (descended from mixed French and native).
 
As this was jelling in my head, a name suggestion popped into it for the new city: Northgate.

M&M had an Atlas of the World and in it's description of Canada was the City of Dominion.  It was from an alternate timeline, very advanced (Nano tech in everybody)  But the Security Chief of the city (A very powerful cyborg) wanted to take over Canada and later THE WORLD!  So the AI running the city exiled him and set the city TPort device to random.  It now will randomly appear somewhere over Canada for anywhere from a day to a week and sometimes a month.  (It is basically a Plot device for new heroes to be created in its shadow due to tech or the nanos reacting or... what ever)
 
HOWEVER
 
Tone down the extremely high tech, make it about 100000 natives, and set it down in Norther Saskatchewan.  You have a ready made town, with infra structure, and locals flocking to cash in on the tech boom.  This could easily push the population to pass 500000.   Go from there! 
 
Adventures
Stopping illegal sales of high tech
Preventing Villains and Villain organizations from stealing said tech
Local Ecology
Nanites gone wild
Spirit beings take umbrage at this new city, high tech vs magic
 
 
 
 

BC.  North of Vancouver.  Make it a Port town.  Fishing. Logging, Mining.  Basically take San Angelo, and move it NORTH.  

Like the city of Teotihuacan in the Valley of Mexico, abandoned over eight centuries before the Aztecs arrived there, where the Aztecs believed the gods gave birth to the universe.
 
(Sorry for going on about this. Personally, the farther a civilization is from the conventions of the modern Western world, the more it fascinates me.) 😌

I made two NPCs as an experiment for Steam Punk Supers:
 
Princess Alladina- From New York, she was going to be sacrificed by (insert cult) when a mystical being bonded with her, basically her Genie.  She is basically a normal with two abilities.  The first is she can summon a Genie (a 200 pt flying brick with resistant defenses and some regeneration).  The second is she can go invisible, but only after summoning her Genie (it is a SFX of people forgetting about her because they concentrate on the Genie).  Change the origin a bit, make it a spirit animal....
 
Voyantte- A precog with no conscious control.  BUT she can see short term into the future to make her a great gambler (she can see the roll before it is done, she is barred from many casinos) and investigator.  She also knows Savate and carries a re-enforced umbrella at all times (it acts as a club).  Also he precog makes her extremely hard to hit in combat as she can see what is about to happen (+5 to DCV).  Change the background a bit.....

I made two NPCs as an experiment for Steam Punk Supers:
 
Princess Alladina- From New York, she was going to be sacrificed by (insert cult) when a mystical being bonded with her, basically her Genie.  She is basically a normal with two abilities.  The first is she can summon a Genie (a 200 pt flying brick with resistant defenses and some regeneration).  The second is she can go invisible, but only after summoning her Genie (it is a SFX of people forgetting about her because they concentrate on the Genie).  Change the origin a bit, make it a spirit animal....
 
Voyantte- A precog with no conscious control.  BUT she can see short term into the future to make her a great gambler (she can see the roll before it is done, she is barred from many casinos) and investigator.  She also knows Savate and carries a re-enforced umbrella at all times (it acts as a club).  Also he precog makes her extremely hard to hit in combat as she can see what is about to happen (+5 to DCV).  Change the background a bit.....

This is what I want.  Also I find Bronze age more mystical.  And since my main opponents are Goblyns/Giants!

This is what I want.  Also I find Bronze age more mystical.  And since my main opponents are Goblyns/Giants!

Though there's the risk of players staring at you blankly because they don't understand any of it. Whaddaya mean the knights wear jaguar pelts and wield atlatls and clubs edged with shards of obsidian? Where's the plate armor and chainmail, steel swords and longbows? Where are the wizards shooting fireballs? Where are the elves? 'Cause I wanna play Legolas!
 
As always, know your players' limits.
 
If you think your players can handle at least a little exoticism, the idea of a bronze/iron overlap has possibilities. Maybe steal a bit from Exalted, in which magic weapons and armor are typically made of steel alloyed with one of the Magical Materials associated with the various Exalted types: orichalcum (Solar Exalted), moonsilver (Lunar Exalted), starmetal (Sidereal Exalted), soulsteel (Abyssal Exalted, a.k.a. deathknights), or jade (Terrestrial Exalted, a.k.a. the Dragon-Blooded). But let's change things up by saying only bronze can incorporate the Magical Materials -- it's already an alloy, and as assault points out there were multiple varieties IRL. Possibly common soldiers wield "democratic iron" (as Homer put it) but heroes wear and wield magical bronze.
 
Of course you'll invent your own magical materials or alloys. But for a start, Orichalcum is Latinized Greek for "Mountain Copper," which to me suggests the old concept was some kind of bronze alloy. Wikipedia tells me there was also a form of bronze called Hepatizon, for its liver-like hue. Magical bronze can give a hint of the exotic without throwing players too much of a curveball.
 
Dean Shomshak

This is what I want.  Also I find Bronze age more mystical.  And since my main opponents are Goblyns/Giants!

I have to agree with those who feel bronze allows you to keep a lid on technology as we believe things to have been and to have developed. I’m not a fan of firearms and such in a fantasy setting so I’ve a definite bias. 

Thank you for the kind words, all, but the important questions are of utility:
 
* Does it make you want to game in the setting?
* Do you think it would help you make a character that would fit within the setting, and you'd enjoy playing?
*Does the style contribute to those goals?
 
(For the moment, try to ignore the underlying game system.)
 
Dean Shomshak
 

Here is a YouTube channel that is devoted to that.  I watched about four-five episodes so far and I find it very informative!
 
https://www.youtube.com/@WorldbuildingCorner/videos

As I said in Mr. R's "Help Me Flesh Out My City" thread, I wrote this for players of my latest D&D campaign. However, I tried to stay away from game terms, so I hope it's comprehensible even if you don't know D&D; and relevant to the forum because most of it is mechanics-independent.
 
The goal was to help players make characters who would fit well in the setting. Moreover, I hoped players would *want* to make characters for the setting. Most of the players came through (though I have very good players who deserve a lot of the credit).
 
I also tried to get away from the "encyclopedia article" style that sometimes afflicts setting descriptions, working character portraits and local anecdotes into the description. Less facts and figures, more people your characters might meet and bits of local history and culture that everybody knows. Please let me know if this works as intended, or if you think of other information that players should know.
 
Dunno how many GMs would want to put this much work into describing a setting, though!
 
To make it easier to read, I'll break it into chunks in separate posts and quote boxes. I hope you enjoy it.
 
Dean Shomshak

Part 2, beginning "A Tour of the City" with the boroughs of Exordium and the Waterfront. Would you like to visit?
 
Dean Shomshak

"A Tour of the City" continues: Lost Harbor, Quisquiline Island, the Candlestick, Quarters.
 
 
Dean Shomshak

"A Tour of the City" continues: Transfossa, Tasia, Almagest.
 
Dean Shomshak
 
Grr. dratted auto-merge...
 
"A Tour of the City": the Port Market, Extern, the Necropolis. (Don't fight in the Necropolis.)
 
Dean Shomshak

Last bit of "A Tour of the City": Gardens, Lochaeis, the Capulus. Hun, the City of the Sea is hard on pirates...
 
Dean Shomshak

Moving on, a few words about city government. But not much, because I don't think players care much about political minutiae. Also, coffee.
 
Dean Shomshak