I saw someone else do a thread like this, and decided I also wanted to try. I have a semi-fleshed-out fantasy setting, and want to work on fleshing it out. Give me a question, and I will answer. If I have no answer, I will make one.For a basic tldr, humanity exists as fractured pieces of its former self, with countless ruins of the ancients dotting the land. Elves and their cohorts make grand plans of manipulation, while the underground rumbles incessantly with the march of the ever-warring ant people. All the while, nameless djinn and the three kingly beasts await the time to finally make their move.Also, theres a bird that tastes like NyQuil chicken
What do they eat? I mean besides the bird.
>>96894984Alright, but what is their tax code?
>>96895012Humans eat whatever you would expect a human to eat. That said, giants are their sister race, and ate dinosaurs before they became endangered.Elves can eat most anything, but theyre tree people so the best thing is carbs to account for all the extra calories they need to keep up. That said, snail gardening is a popular elven pastime - and the elves in Schwarzwald do enjoy a good boar. Any reports of them eating humans are falsePucca/pookah/whatever are people that can go through the whole furry scale for a single animal. Depending on their current form, they can eat from either side of their soul.Goblins can and will eat just about anything.Menopters (ant people) eat whatever they can in their area.Pic is the lullabird, aka nyquil chicken
>>96895073Humans are living under monarchs for most of the setting's history, so a lot is more of what youd typically expect in a feudal civilization. Elves like taxes, but love finding non-monetary means of taxation with magically-bound contracts. Pucca pay or enforce taxes, not set them. Goblins have a supernatural affinity for tax evasion. Menopters don't know what taxes are, but every ant is indebted to their mother from the day of their birth (which means that while workers are usually still loyal to new queens, they owe no debts and often find ways to take advantage of that).
Do snake people, or sneople if you will, exist in your setting?
>>96895330I too have an intense need to know.
>>96895330Not as of current, just because i dont much care for squamates. However, demons (beings that turned their backs on the universe to gain power, and their own universe which overlaps the normal one) can turn their followers into eidolons (beings with identical powers and shared features; for example, all vampires have the same powers and look pale for their original race).With that in mind, a demon (likely andromalius) has probably made serpeople as eidolons. I guess thats what his followers are now
>>96895442Yeah unfortunately the only race with a tail bottom half are merfolk (though they can also change their tails into legs so idk how much they count)
>>96894984This is an oldie but a good way to check your world building to make sure its playable.
>>96895549So my setting isnt for dnd and plenty dont line up exactly, but I'll do my best here.1) the main religions are Ortaism (followed mostly by humans), the Three Heavens (followed mostly by elves and other peaceful faeries), and the Eternal Sun (a false religion created by the giants of the north).Ortaism focuses on Orta (the god of heroism) and looks like a bizarre mix of eastern orthodox christianity and sikhism (based on region). Theres an idea that the strong are both blessed and entitled to protect those less fortunate from forces beyond them (faeries, djinn, demons, etc.). This doesn't have much of an impact on magic use itself, though magic use is pretty rare among all outside of higher-up clergy members and students of the sole magic school in the west.The Three Heavens focuses on a trinity of gods depicted by the sun, the moon, and the star (each representing certain virtues which shift with time like celestial bodies, and coming together at conjunctions), and looks catholic despite following the "fuck around, find out" morality that elves follow. Followers of the religion have more rules governing the appropriate times to use magic (moreso in that prayers are considered sinful outside of their required hours than that they just wont work)As for the Eternal Sun, its basically just that giants lied to people in their lands that they were the new gods after the old ones "died" - and that thule was a holy land. In reality, giants tried to take over the world and got their collective shit in before being magically banished to the northern continent - and that was such a shitshow that all of the primordial gods decided to enter a mexican standoff to keep each other from meddling in mortal affairs. In any case, spellcasting doesnt change, but like a lot of shamans a priest would need to learn each spell from an elder giant (along with learning all of the intricacies of preaching to laymen without teaching them the spells within the prayers)(1/?)
>>96894984How's trade? Are the various groups trading amongst each other, or is trade mostly an internal phenomena? Is being a travelling merchant a normal profession, a lifeline for distant communities, or a rare curiosity?On the matter of communication, how do rumors/stories spread, and how far can they be expected to go outside of their origin point? Are people in bumfuck human-ville at the edge of the world hearing news from the ass-bottom of the world where ants are buzzing about it?What about medicine? Are people getting treatment from family with hot soup and bedrest, wisemen with strange poultices, proper doctors with formulated medicine and surgery, or clerics with divine power over wounds? What about people with serious damage, like missing limbs, congenital illnesses, birth deformities, and other horrors your setting produces?Elves are playing manipulators, how are their conspiracies protected? Are they still in the planning stage? Is the thousand year grand conspiracy in motion, or are they involved in more low-level, simple plots? Do they have a reputation for being shady and manipulative, or have they successfully managed their reputation towards outsiders?
>>96895549>>968959632) since ive run a couple of different systems for the setting (with different expectations in each), theres not really set standard equipment. With that being said though, a lot of supplies that "adventurers" might want can be obtained through noble patrons, suppliers to merchants, or the odd blue goblin caravan - though you're best off not asking how the latter came into contact with their goods. (Picrel)3) in the west, the kingdoms most full of weirdos would probably be Frankonee and Schwarzwald. The former is just french and has a magic academy, so they tend to have connections. Given the fact that magic cant directly affect metal though, it'll still take a while. Schwarzwald is an elven kingdom in the woodlands, where the nobility enjoy keeping fantastical pets (note that these pets may be sentient humanoids). It will be a lot quicker to get custom armor there, but a lot more dangerous (around elves, watch yourselves).4) this one is tricky. Even if pinning down to the usual time period i work with (1400s, also called the age of adventure), and discounting mortals that became gods or demons - a lot of people would all boast that they hold the title, with differing reasons. The magus that knows the most spells girl named Damynia - though she's a shoddy magic user at best. Meanwhile, one of the most powerful magic users is Caco, the first black witch - who's dozens of thousands of years old. Other contestants would be the immortal saints of Orta like Xiphon or Becquerel, though they hold power imparted by a god.5) similarly in contention, though in the age of adventure it's probably yet again one of the saints (though more likely Pique or Gada in particular).6) the richest person in the world during the age of adventure is Mairu, one of the giant princes. Though not a person, a large magpie-like monster called the Filch has amassed a hoard that could fund a kingdom over the last several millennia.2/?
>>96896064>How's trade?Wrt human settlements, theres three types of locations: inner lands, inhabited and surrounded by outer lands (near wilderness or non-human kingdoms), and points of light (surrounded by harsh natural or supernatural conditions).Most humans live in kingdoms of the former two types, and merchants tend to travel with the flow of money (villages and specialty towns to larger cities). Points of light need merchants to stay afloat. For example, the city of Olgorod is surrounded by mountains and needs mammoths to carry your goods part of the way. However, that isolation makes it the perfect place for merchants dealing in rare or magical artifacts.All that said though, blue goblins exist to throw a wrench into things>how do rumors/stories spreadWhen it comes to rumors, part of the matter is whether the parties involved use magic. Whether or not they use magic, the most powerful and wealthy human rules seem to know every rumor or the surface of the lands between the seas (main continent). Elves have magic but usually avoid sending messages telepathically (to avoid surveillance); they instead use magic powers to jump far distances (for those who know one piece, its like moonwalk). Giants "have their ways" of finding out rumors and goblins spread them like a cheap hooker. The ants have tons of goings-on - so much so that news generally becomes out of date by the time you got it.>MedicineHumans have normal medieval medicine (the old medicine dealer can help you but seems shady), though if a situation warrants "special" attention (such as a disease of clear magical origin), the inquisition might be called in and one of their secret magic users will fix the situation while playing it off.ElvesElven plans usually dont individually last longer than a few hundred years, since elves become trees at the age of 1000. That said, despite things that have been long in the works, elves keep themselves the "civilized and friendly" face of the faeries
Are there cute species with animal ears and animal tails in this setting?
>>968961437) similarly to 3, you either want to find a student of the school of magic (at the school itself or by recognizing a former student who became a bishop), go to schwarzwald (and hope you dont get your soul shredded), or go to an inquisition base and hope you dont get arrested.8) poison cures can be acquired through talking to old medicine men or buying from the goblins. disease was talked about in >>96896301. if you want a curse fixed you might actually want to find a witch to remove the geas (a curse would be a type of geas in the setting). no level drain cuz thats cringe. lycanthropy isnt really a thing; if you started turning into a wolf its because you were a puca and didnt realize it. if you wanted to fix a transformation, you unfortunately might have to roll the dice on a faerie or djinni fixing it. theres no alignments in setting/system. for fixing death you dont (D:), and for fixing undeath you use a sword.9) closest you can get to a magic guild is going to the school of magic. only problem of course is dealing with the school setting itself on fire and being filled with yellow goblin employees.10) some major cities have sages serving as advisors to local lords while laying low. Otherwise, a lot of sages, alchemists, etc. do their work in isolation where people cant bother them.11) in a couple kingdoms (namely ones bordering faerie territories), mercenaries are in big enough demand to have their own autonomously-managed and funded towns12) in most kingdoms following ortaism, magic is either outright illegal or only allowed by members of the clergy. in the north, magic and swords are both tied to either the clergy or military.13) yes14) theres tons of weird chimeric monsters like leofrages, knuckers, and toves; killing them is generally gonna make. illing even one demon (especially if its a dragon) will make you famous.3/?
>>96896422theres a collective race of shape changers called puca/pucca/pookah/however you wanna spell it. the way that they work is that they can assume any form between a human and a single mammal that doesnt change limbs. for example with a cat its: human, human with cat ears and maybe a tail, werecat (maximum mass between a human and cat, with maximum amount of cat features ((claws, muzzle, whiskers, etc.)) in a humanoid body form), direcat (maximum mass between a human and cat in a cat body form), and then a cat (is fine too). a centaur is not a possible transformation for a horse pucca, but a horse with a human head on a horse neck is.
>>96895549>>96896635So 15 is gonna be the last one i do before passing out (and if there are more questions ill answer once up), but its honestly part of why i made the thread15) There is a war going on in the age of adventure called the war of heaven unto earth. It starts off in the 1430s, and the big climactic ending is in 1441. The settings history is far from a 1:1 with reality, but something shared is that in 1440 the printing press is invented, which has a side effect of letting people mass print spell scrolls. Not long after this, Beelzebub (one of the three leaders of the ars goetia along with Lucifer and Astaroth), Lucifer, the Ravenous Dark (a black dragon from the dark side of the moon that absorbed all the other black dragons), Caco (one of the first two witches), and a pair of angels (a being who has undergone full ego death and exists as a non-existant being in the void beyond the universe) all come out to cause trouble either directly or indirectly.The problem I have is that those don't constitute a war, so something else should be the cause of major international conflict. Maybe its tied to another plot point in the setting about an alien ship crashing and countries wanting to fight over the parts. The problem is that even that feels like something that comes up as a secondary reason for a major conflict to start, so im really just scratching my head
This is the same setting used for the 'In the Home of the Elven Queen' RPG, right? I thought the players being bound retainers for dryad/elf nobility was a really cool concept in that.
>>96894984I wanna fuck that Elf.anyways how is magic balanced and do guns exist?
>>96897072Yeah in the home of the elven queen is part of this setting (how do you know about that game though)>>96898868>MagicMagic is autistic enough to probably need its own post, and has multiple pages on a wiki i made to organize my notes.Using magic itself just costs magical energy your body stores, but the main balancing factors are in needing chakras and metal repelling magic. The body has chakras which resonate with specific groups of concepts, and being able to use magic in the first place requires that you awaken at least one of them (unlocking more also allows you to make your spells and astral projections stronger). Meanwhile wrt metal, magic users just cant wear too much metal without issue, as their magic will be blocked by the armor. If you were to cast a fireball while wearing metal armor and gauntlets the magical energy would get partially trapped in the casting and risk blowing yourself up.>GunsGuns exist, but metal's interactions with metal cause magic guns to work differently. Magic guns usually dont rely on magically propelling metal bullets, but opt to propel non-metallic bullets or create projectiles wholesale. Also due to the existence of magical guns, the flamethrower got invented several centuries early (though magic guns are overall rare due to mixed acceptance of magic and increased difficulty in construction).>>9689683216) Theres a gladiator arena in Orcus, Calatia. It hasn't seen much use since a gladiator became a major demon, though...17) there are a couple of sinister secret societies, though your milage may vary. If you're a woman (and using magic mainly in thule) you can join the coven of black witches. In addition, a cult exists in the east called the Weeklings which seeks to prop up a group of seven djinn to godhood (expanding the dominion of each to a day of the week).18) that ones really on the campaign level, but a change compared to irl is that new world peppers exist in small quantities in the old world.5/?
>>96898868Oh yeah forgot but also>ElfYou would be the first to say so for that one, anon. Then again, the fact shes 13 feet/400 cm tall wasnt stated in OP
>>96899199>how do you know about that game thoughI was going through all the games on notepad anon's website and It stood out as one of the more interesting ones, so I ended up reading through it and rolling up a few patrons.
>>96899613Show me your patrons, if you still have them. Also i wonder now if notepad included the retainer and patron sheets i made in that gdoc>>9689919919) weirdly enough I don't think of artifacts that are legendary - but a couple that come to mind are the sword of the king and the gold and silver steeds. The sword of the king is a greatsword made of pure gemstone that can make anyone submit to it if the wielder is pure of heart. The gold and silver steeds are a pair of sentient metal unicorns created in the age before metal repelled magic. Its been rumored that they have been dormant somewhere in the abyss below the city of orcus.20) another campaign-scale one so i cant say much on it
>>96894984Tell me about your setting's penguins. Where do they live? What is their culture? Do they have membership with the Merchant's Guild? How much physical trauma does it take to incapacitate them? Can they rap?
>>96902940...?Depending on if you mean penguins or false penguins, they live on islands in either the far north or far south. Normal penguins behave similarly to normal ones (collecting rocks, dancing to impress mates, etc.). However, penguin harpies try to do their best to improve the logistics of their avian kin (though their best isn't that good since harpies are still bird brains). Penguins and penguin harpies do not hold seats in the merchant's guild even in the modern day, because of the "polished turd" incident of the 1100s. It takes half a seal clubbing to incapacitate a penguin. Normal penguins cant rap. Penguin harpies cant either, but they're pretty sure they can.
>>96901584My first one was an 857 year old Clementine Margravine with an unorthodox combat method and no magical ability. Her domäne has a subsistence level of prosperity, and has a 'grove' level of wylderland infection. Her quirks are that she surrounds herself with a cadre of retainers and that she seized her domäne from the previous ruler in a revolution. Without extra points from the players, she has 4 Wealth, 3 Mystique, 2 Noblesse, 1 Terror & 1 Grace.My notes on how I would characterize her if I ran a game are basically that she'd be an elf with a lot of grudges who is out for revenge: her revolution happened recently and the victim was an old rival of hers who had taken part in basically exiling her from the court ages ago. She'd be siccing her retainers on other elves who sometimes might not even remember her.
>>96904411didnt expect anyone else to really read that game desu. take a lazy doodle
>>96904576Wow, thanks. The stool is very funny, I imagined she would just comically make demands of her retainers from kneecap height, but this is more fitting.
What addictive substances do people use?
>>96908977Humans from inner regions consume normal illicit substances (alcohol, smoked herbs, cola nuts, etc.), but many humans in general have also gotten their hands on nugs lately. Despite the name, nugs are a bean that comes in varieties more like coffee or more like marijuana, but with a flavor like matcha. It can be smoked, brewed, or used in cooking - and both varieties are hallucinogenic in high quantities.More fantastical things people have consumed are elf blood (highly sweet, but rumored to induce a torpor-like state when distilled), and psilocybin grasslings (there are tiny elves that have hybridized with grasses and fungi, and eating a mushroom elf is so hallucinogenic that the trip actually becomes real)
Bump.Do the elves like it when you rub their ears?
What are the gangs like in your setting?
>>96912779No (yes)>>96912781Y'know i dont really know much about modern day organized crime, so I cant really do much to answer there. The best that I can think is that there tends to be racial divides between gangs, though somehow every gang that lasts longer than a few years has some goblins to throw under the bus.
