Worldbuilding General - Making not-so-realistic Sci-Fi settings edition

>>Is it independent, or part of a larger kingdom?
Part of two-city state. Not exactly kingdom in traditional sense, it's called principality and is run like a republic
>>What are its relations with the rest of kingdom (or its immediate neighbors) like?
It's a capital. The other city is a rival trading hub, they often try to fuck each other over, but the capital just has better position. Outside the city camping somewhat civilized nomads who once joined effort to make the state what it is. Many want to become proper nomad again and pillage the city. Their major trading partners are a feudal kingdom across the land and a Mysterious Orient type of nation across the sea. They are menaced by non-allied nomads
>>How old is the city?
About 4 centuries. Timeline needs some adjustment, but this sounds about right
>>How many ethnicities are present?
Inside the city it's mostly one. However, some nomads married urban people, moved into city wall and sired mixed-raced children.
>>How is it run?
It is run by elected Prince-Successor and city assembly. De facto some wealthiest people control entire districts where they are the law. In slums very little gets run at all.
>>What are some of it's major and/or most interesting laws?
Unfortunately the only one unusual law I have so far is practiced in different place.
>>How does it keep order?
It is civil duty of full citizens to patrol the streets. Some of the wealthiest outfit their own watches to protect places where their business interests are clustered
>>Is it known for any specific food?
Molluscs. They have mastered mollusc farming and it's some of the most vital part of their diet since agrarian areas are full of nomads
>>What are it's major exports/imports?
They aren't so much export and import something by themselves as they control the crossroad the world. There's no other way to connect South and West but through them, so their business revolves around assisting trade - banks, shipbuilding, security

Why are they undead? Are they sustained by external force? Are they vampires who feed on their own? Or they just normal people but a bit rotten? Did they mortify their own flesh to never properly die?

I'd define what keeps them going and built their habits around it.

So, I hope that this isn't in the wrong thread, but since this is about worldbuilding... I'm trying to put together a post-apocalyptic fantasy world, of the "fantasy world blown to shit, dungeonpunk style" variety. Sort of Fallout by way of Eberron, if that makes sense.

Problem is, I'm really new to the whole worldbuilding thing, so I don't know where to go or how to work. I was hoping I might get some tips?

If it helps, this is what I've figured out:
* I intend to use this as a D&D setting (5th edition), just in case that's relevant.

* The Old World was dominated by three major factions/races; Humans, Elves and Dwarves. There might have been other races, but they were on the margins - these three held everything important in their grip.

* Highly magically developed, with the three major factions all enjoying magitek of the "industrialized magic" variety (ala Eberron).

* Everything went to shit because the dwarves and the elves started a war with each other. Humanity tried to mediate, and... well, it didn't work. Humans do have some part of the actual blame in the world going boom, but for the most part it was the elves & dwarves who fucked things up.

* Things just got worse and worse, each faction being willing to do awful shit. For example, Orks in this setting didn't exist until dwarves took elf prisoners and used alchemical concoctions to mutate them into expendable warrior-slaves, creating the first Orks. Of course, that shit went disastrously wrong for them and the orks turned on them. Still unsure if gnomes should be the result of forced dwarf/elf interbreeding done by the elves to try and harness the dwarfin natural affinity for alchemical technomancy, though.

Had to break my post due to length.

* Eventually, things just blew up. World war erupted and was ended with magical weapons of mass destruction that just fucked up everything. The modern term for it, "the Glow", is a catch-all phrase for a diverse array of magical plagues, mega-curses, living spells, psionic distortions, and other remnants of the sheer magical fuckery that the three races wove up.

* Emphasis is on a Fallout style "grimbright" setting. Yes, everything's a mess, between the magical not!radiation, the killer monsters, the mana-spawned mutants, raiders, psychos, etc. But, things can get better, if people are willing to make the effort.

* As you've probably guessed by this point, "The War" is a big origin point for most of the non-Trinity races. I just haven't figured out what races I should actually include. Orks, taking fluff from a mixture of Tolkien (origins as corrupted elves) and Wicked Fantasy (basic culture, pain-worship), are definitely in. I've also toyed with the idea of gnomes (as mentioned above), kobolds (the malformed offspring of dragons, who haven't been able to breed true since the Glow was created), ratfolk and/or Burmecian-expies, Warforged expies, thri-kreen and aranea. But, really, I should be worrying about the world setup, the Trinity, and how the world fell apart before I worry about them, right?

>Is it independent, or part of a larger kingdom?
It's a small city, barely large enough to be called one, but is the capital of collection of large towns and villages.
>What are its relations with the rest of kingdom (or its immediate neighbors) like?
It's only nominally in charge due to being the largest, and it has little authority.
>How old is the city?
About three centuries. The area was settled after a forest fire took out a few thousand acres of... forest.
>How many ethnicities are present?
Most of the population is made up of descendants of former hunter-gatherers. Each winter the city hosts a large number of current hunter-gathers, who they consider distant cousins. In the last century or so, there has been an influx of foreign traders and such, who make up less than 10% of the population and are typically segregated into a trade quarter.
>How is it run?
It has a king, but he's elected from one of the major noble families. He mostly serves as the head of a council of elders, but has much more authority during emergencies.
>What are some of it's major and/or most interesting laws?
>How does it keep order?
Gonna combine the two. Each town, including this one, is partnered with one or more tribes of hunter-gatherers. They serve as the standing army/police in exchange for winter housing and food. By this point, the noble families are interbred with tribal leaders. In this way, the nobles control two different societies.
>Is it known for any specific food?
Hadn't thought about it. Domestic animals are rather new, and the grains are fairly basic. Oh, beer. They make really good beer.
>What are it's major exports/imports?
Exports: grain, furs, really good beer, and high-quality lumber (and furniture and such). They also get work as mercenaries on occasion.
Imports: textiles, metal, and salt. The nobles are also getting into the slave trade, mostly as a status symbol.

Sounds pretty interesting. I see you're taking pains to have good reasons in -your- setting for including otherwise old school tropes, which is always nice. Are races still segregated, or have they started to work together to survive?

I'd imagine they'd have a large book-keeping/bureaucracy/scribe industry. Lots of translators, record keepers, and mediators for business.
The Mistborn books had something called Obligators. Their presence was required for any business deal to be considered legal.
It might be interesting if you incorporate something along those lines. The city/kingdom itself only allows business if they have some part of it, likely with them having some responsibility to force each party to keep their end of the bargain.
Oh, and insurance would be a big business as well, but that kind of goes along with the banking idea.
I like the sound of it.
All human, I imagine?

Am close to finishing this, I'm just having trouble on deciding the number I should put on the scale thingy in the bottom right. Anyone got suggestions? The way I envisioned it, the continent part of the map it's about half the size of Hammerfell, although I'm not too sure

I figured that there's an element of segregation, but usually the bigger settlements are working together. More hands means more hope, and all that.

I'm not sure if there should be any real prejudice against humans/elves/dwarves, or if they're just mostly isolationistic, or if it's a mix of the two - like, dwarves & elves really don't want to interact with anyone, just hiding in their villages and trying to survive for themselves, and the other races hate them for it, but humans are willing to try and help out, so they're not quite so hated.

If I link to a Google doc of my setting ideas, would any of you guys want to look it over? I don't want to paste the whole thing into the thread.

Couldn't hurt, user.

Could I get some help with the world map I've been working on? I've been working on it during my lunch breaks at work whenever I can, (sorry for the grainy quality of the pic-- our copier is a piece of crap). I'm in need of advice on where to stick mountain ranges and breaking up the northern landmass really.

I was thinking about putting another island where the circle is on the map. An unexplored, mysterious isle conveniently covered up by the compass rose to spice up the exploration for the PCs when the time comes.

I got a bit of a plot outline.

The main character volunteers to get cryogenically frozen in the early 21st century and doesn’t get thawed out for another 500 years. During that time the Earth has been quarantined (to clean up the pollution) and humanity lives on one of two colony planets.

MC freaks the fuck out at the culture shock and the first half of the story is mostly establishing the new society and interacting with the 3 other alien species.
Eventually MC runs into an alien humanoid who turns out to be royalty in hiding (possibly the two become love interests?) and ends up getting tangled in interplanetary political and cultural intrigue, and ends up having to prevent an ancient war re-igniting.

when building a new d&d campaign. how would you approach it? create the whole setting? just create the basics and a town and let the setting evolve itself in time?

Here's muh space opera setting notes: docs.google.com/document/d/1S-YHNjlPKkWc0qHtC60q_tlafWyCj-sfQaK5XiFolNk/edit

I assume the black part is the ocean, right? Or is it the other way around?

Caerus, Blue Jewel of Sayal.

>Is it independent, or part of a larger kingdom?
It is the capital of the Kingdom of Sayal.

>What are its relations with the rest of kingdom (or its immediate neighbors) like?
It can be thought of as a sort of analogue for Constantinople, with a bit of Mecca thrown in. It has a commanding position on sea trade routes and hosts a number of temples key to an old, fading religion.

>How old is the city?
Utterly ancient. It's a millennial city, with all the twisting undercrofts and catacombs that implies.

>How many ethnicities are present?
Several, all drawn from surrounding lands. Pilgrims to the blue-halled temples have always been common, and in this day and age, tourists have come from the other side of the world to visit the same places.

>How is it run?
Trade goes in, trade goes out. While land and air transport are starting to take over in the modern era, the sea still represents the most effective means of shipping goods, and Caerus has forever expanded its ports to accommodate larger freighters. The city government is also the kingdom's, with the king being both master of the capital and master of the realm.

>What are some of it's major and/or most interesting laws?
A curious law has stood for centuries regulating the display of the color blue. Originally, this was a matter of controlling the supply of Sayal's famous blue pigment, but these days is more a city beautification measure. Only government and religious centers can display the color.

>How does it keep order?
Through the usual methods: royal guards for the palace, police officers for the common streets.

>Is it known for any specific food?
Blueberries, of course.

>What are it's major exports/imports?
Caerus has always been famous for its export of pigments, chief among them Sayal Blue, made from grinding up local lapis lazuli, and for its stones, with turquoise and sapphires both finding their way out of the city's old workshops in stunning jewelry.

I want to build a world in which to set a sword-and-sorcery fantasy series. How should I organize my notes and everything? Like, what's the best software with which to do it? Or should I just keep it in a big binder?

I use the binder idea. Another problem would be to make a pdf, quick would allow you to tag pages for easy reference.
A wiki-style website might work as well

Writing some history for my fantasy setting. I find it rather therapeutic after a hard day at work.
I'd like to know how I'm doing, especially considering I'm basically making it up as I go along.
>pastebin.com/pELParZj

Problem I ran in with undead is how fucking strong they are if you don't nerf em. Ended up resorting to placing most of them behind a wall of bullshit that keeps most of them locked up as they regularly attack the walls. Luckily the defenders can hold because many of the stronger undead have something better to do or they simply lose track of time(very common problem among the older undead) but a few strong ones take part often enough to remind the living holding those walls. Not to mention those aren't ordinary walls they harbor very powerful secrets that suppress the undead. Very important given how strong those ancient bastards can get.

I feel terrible about it but without some kind of limitation given time they start wiping everybody else out especially if its an old setting when they had time to build up.

So in my setting the undead are around and very powerful force to be reckoned with. Fortunately for the living their older bastards have a bad habit of losing track of time but often enough being very powerful.

So most the time it isn't so bad...most of the time. Things go to hell in a hand basket real quick when some of their ancient fuckers get off their bony possibly ghostly asses. At such times if enough of their oldies get active it can become a huge crisis for the living.

YOU try fighting off the best undead magi in millinia who been busy studying and undead warriors who been training all that time too. It ain't pretty so long as enough of them get active around the same time.

Things really go to hell when that happens.

>I'd imagine they'd have a large book-keeping/bureaucracy/scribe industry. Lots of translators, record keepers, and mediators for business.
>The Mistborn books had something called Obligators. Their presence was required for any business deal to be considered legal.
Yes, all this too, but I was running over post limit
>All human, I imagine?
Yes. I prefer to have all human worlds unless non-humans are really non-humans.

So, can folks point out any other stuff I need to focus on clearing up so I can start hammering this idea into something more coherent? was helpful with its asking about racial segregation, but anything else?

Oh, here's a query I had for it on my own part; just how much damage can I believably get away with inflicting? Should I stick to Fallout style craters, slagged cities and polluted oceans, or could I get away with things like broken moons in the sky from whatever apocalypse doomsday spell helped annihilate one faction?

emergent political powers post-apocalypse

what kind of governments do they form, who are the leaders, where were they and what did they do before the apocalypse, what are their goals now? how do they achieve them? yes, the world will naturally shape itself after all that shit went down, but organizations and powerful individuals will dramatically expedite that process. this will help you with direction after you've finished up physical details. your stories just kind of write themselves after you start asking yourself what a faction would do in their current position.

regarding your last question, do whatever you want. creating a world is like painting a picture. there are no rules, tailor it to your vision.

>Is it independent, or part of a larger kingdom?
It's the capitol of the kingdom.
>What are its relations with the rest of kingdom (or its immediate neighbors) like?
Being the only major city in the kingdom, it's highly associated with the nobility and with governance. Opinion depends on whether you're daydreaming about attending court balls or griping about taxes.
>How old is the city?
Who knows? It was "renovated" by royal decree around 200 years ago. It's effectively a new city built on top of the old one. A lot of old records were damaged, thrown out, or lost during that time.
>How many ethnicities are present?
Two, but they've bred together long enough that they can probably be considered the same. There's more distinction between the two in other parts of the kingdom. Being a fairly large city, you can also find all your normal fantasy races in small numbers.
>How is it run?
A constitutional monarchy, with a king presiding over a council formed of each of the four Dukes (and provisionally the Lord of the West March, who rules an area equivalent to a dukedom but doesn't have a noble house), a representative from the comital court and one from the baronial court, and the Magistrate General, who isn't actually a royal subject but rather something of an ambassador from the kingdom to the east, but is also the highest judiciary position in this kingdom. So traditionally there's 8 positions on the council where one is sometimes not invited to attend, but currently there is one more whose vote is understood to count for slightly less than the others.
>What are some of it's major and/or most interesting laws?
Most of the laws are written and enforced by the church, which is the government ruling the kingdom to the east. The law is fairly simple and lenient, you have to fuck up pretty hard to get in any serious trouble. There's also laws enacted by the ruling council, but that's mostly contract law and the like; nothing that really affects most people.

1/2

The black part is water, yes.

Good point. I was actually planning on setting this about a century or so after the big blowup, just to give things a chance to restabilise, but still, this is an important aspect to tackle.

I don't really have many ideas for it, though. Two ideas that immediately spring to mind are the Last Army - a huge force of warforged who, having survived the destruction of their masters, are now trying to figure out what they're going to do now - and two nameless factions of orks; one content to just try and survive in the wasteland after the blast, the other out to punish the dwarves who made them and the elves who abandoned them and so are hated for being warmongers in a time when nobody has time for that shit.

Hmm... how do I go about doing this? Just randomly throw up faction concepts and get feedback on which ones can be expanded, salvaged or scrapped?

I think you should invert it. At least for me, subjectively, logic tells "If it is black on white, it's what matter painted.

I have a blank of the map, I'll give your suggestion a go in paint or something and see how it looks.

print out a bunch of revisions and waste all their black ink

really though i would just start over desu

>How does it keep order?

For any settlement with more than around 50 people, there's a Judicar Militant for every 200 people or so (so in a village with 70 adults there would be one, in a town of 1500 there would be 7 or 8) that has been trained extensively by the church and sent to the settlement. Below him, there's 1-3 Wardens drawn from his ward to serve as his aides. Wardens that are particularly promising are sent to be trained as Judicars themselves. It's the Judicar's job to train his ward in combat (the entire population is a militia, everyone is expected to show up to drill at least two nights out of a week of ten days), preside over minor cases of law and settle disputes, serve as a counsellor to those that come to him, and organize his ward in communal activities (barn raisings and such).

>Is it known for any specific food?
I hadn't really thought about it, but no. Nothing in particular. The common people tend to favor simple, hearty meals. They're big on potatoes and thick stews, and a soft but dense bread that makes foreigners wonder if there's a block of steel inside. A quiche or pot pie might mark special occasions. The nobility often imports chefs from exotic places to cook for them.

2/3 apparently

>What are it's major exports/imports?

The city itself thrives off of trade, and isn't really known for any specific product. But the Royal Road is the only large, well-kept, and patrolled road to neighboring kingdoms, and the Hallanripa river passes right through it, so it's a huge trade hub.
Food is a big export for the kingdom: fruits, vegetables, salted meats, dairy, and the like. Also related products like leather and wool. The country is hilly, perhaps even mountainous, and cut through by deep river valleys, but not particularly steep and nearly the entire kingdom is fertile grassland. The main imports are building materials: stone is found either too deep below the soil or too high in the peaks to make quarries profitable, and the only large forest in the kingdom is the Kingsforest, which is a (huge) hunting reserve that provides a staggering amount of game meat.

Once you make fill land with features it would be more clear, but you probably could make ocean less dense. Make it filled with horizontal lines or something.

Nah, I've got some blanks like I said-- only made one copy of the blacked in map.

That's a good suggestion, thanks

Yeah, the problem I think is once you turned off legit death, it becomes hard to comprehend at what point they are supposed to die.

One of my weirder ideas of undead was to depict skeletons as enchanted floating sculls with all the other bones attached telekinetically to serve as conduit.

Can a society be devoutly religious if it doesn't have priests?

Speaking of a scenario where the religion is viewed as a social and legal code with holy value behind it. There wouldn't be any churches, priests, or organized worship, instead they worship the government that enforces this code.

As someone who knows nothing about Confucianism I think this is what Confucianism is.

So it's a theocracy without the church, and the religion is just legal guidelines?
As in, it's just a Lawful (probably Good)-aligned country full of Lawful (probably Good)-aligned people.

>religion-less theocracy
>citizens worship the state
So, like, the USSR?

Can a plateau be adjoined to mountain range that rises over it, or it wouldn't make sense?

>>Choose a city
Neo-Babylon
>>Is it independent, or part of a larger kingdom?
De Jure independent, de facto in total anarchy and split between various factions and roaming bands of vagrants. Think Mordheim but with more Cyberpunk.
>>What are its relations with the rest of kingdom (or its immediate neighbors) like?
Everyone wants to control it as it's strategic, political, and religious value is immense in a world where Christianity never caught on.
>>How old is the city?
2450 years old and counting, the year is 3000 A.D.
>>How many ethnicities are present?
Uncountable, most can be grouped into a wider "Babylonian" group, while others are either Nova-Romans, Persians, Varangians, Greeks, Turks etc. It's a long story.
>>How is it run?
Military governorship in the occupied parts of the city, near total anarchy throughout the rest with little that resembles official law. It's a clusterfuck.
>>What are some of it's major and/or most interesting laws?
Well what parts of the city have laws have some more dictatorial measures in place. Curfew, no Public Meetings, rationing etc. Some of the more fanatical vagrants have taken upon themselves to impose their variants of religious law on certain neighborhoods, which in this universe varies from "Fuck anything that moves" to "Celibacy or death". Quite insane
>>How does it keep order?
>Implying
>>Is it known for any specific food?
Well in the past when food was plentiful numerous wines and beers were widely produced and consumed, as well as what can best be described as grilled goat kebabs. Now people eat anything they can find, including each other if they're desperate enough.
>>What are it's major exports/imports?
Exports: Bad news, refugees, illegal organs.
Imports: Mercenaries, weapons, soldiers of fortune.

Gonna post another one, although less developed yet
>>Is it independent, or part of a larger kingdom?
Part of a large (By local standarts) feudal kingdom
>>What are its relations with the rest of kingdom (or its immediate neighbors) like?
Third in size out for important cities. Like all, it is ruled by a duke who doesn't REALLY bothers to answer to the king most of the time.
>>How old is the city?
Very old. Although back in a day it was wooden and kept burning down. It's stone now, burns down significantly less
>>How many ethnicities are present?
Two. It used to be controlled by Fantasy!Slavs who eventually lost control of the plain and retreated to woods. Their blood is still present in local population, making some dislike them
>>How is it run?
Duke owns the city and land around it as a warlord. People who serve them are called knights and get a plot of land to collect food and men-at-arms from for their service as military elite and commanders
>>What are some of it's major and/or most interesting laws?
Like the rest of the kingdom locals are parcticing punishment known as "The sack". Those who commited an offence against other people are sewn in a large sack which is hanged from the tree. Guard posted nearby stops everyone who passes by, explain the crime and makes them hit the sack with a cane. If they refuse or don't show enough effort they must pay the fee for not loving the justice hard enough. After a given time (depending on offence) criminal is released and any money collected are given to the victims. For serious offence condemned might never be released and dies from hunger, thirst or being hit by a cane, what comes first
>>How does it keep order?
Well enough.
>>Is it known for any specific food?
Fish. The city overlooks a rift lake, teeming with fishes found nowhere else.
>>What are it's major exports/imports?
Food and some ores.

I run a GURPS 4th Edition game set in a fantasy world. The top pic is the main continent that my players will be traversing, should they choose not to go full retard, which they might. Bottom pic is the city they've spent a few sessions in. I haven't finished that map yet, but it's coming along.
I've got some questions for you guys about them.
>Is the world populated enough with major landmarks/cities/things? Everything shown has a description and a little fluff to give it character, but I'm not sure it's enough.
>Is the city a waste of time, or is it a nice addition to the game?

Giant inland body of fresh water surrounded by desert. No rivers, in or out. Any objection from geologists?

Sure, why not. I made mine the filled in caldera of a dead volcano.

Great map, first of all, I usually dislike 'blob island' world maps, but this one has so many nice details that I'll make an exception.

It's difficult to speak about population without knowing the scale. Based on the look of it, I'm assuming 'real big', in which case it is a little sparse. If you don't want to document every tiny village, cottage in the woods, etc. I'd suggest making a few non-location-specific place descriptions to use whenever necessary. Travellers would probably expect at least an inn every day's travel or so, as a rule of thumb.

The city looks good as well, assuming you know what all the coloured squares mean. Although I'd hesitate to draw every damn house, especially for clusters with no clear roads in them. A big cloud of tiny, randomly arranged squares doesn't convey any more information than a single large block, really.

Enjoy your new salt flat

So, it's inevitable? It will get salty and maybe dry eventually?

More for a book than a game, so feel free to tell me to fuck off, but I'm working on a faerie setting and keep flip flopping on whether I want humans included at all.

On the one hand, like someone on Veeky Forums said, faeries work best when their, well, fae nature is contrasted with humans, and I'm a bit nervous that not including humans sets off a 'trying too hard to be different' alarm. On the other hand, there are plenty of lesser fae and changelings that could replace humans well enough, and if the setting is entirely in Faerie, why would humans even exist there?

It'd be kind of weird not to have any humans. At least to not even have reference to humans--even Watership Down acknowledged that humans exist.

That said, would you need to twist the story out of shape to include humans?

Sounds like it'd have to be an oasis, or for it to be as big as the map shows, probably a whole bunch of springs close together.

How would you do a fantasy setting about Not-Ancient Greeks travelling to and building colonies in Not-North America?

That's way too broad a question. I'm not gonna do your job for you.

Then I will because its fun.

It would depend on what kind of not-Greeks were talking about as each city had a different code of ethics and laws to live by. If you just fast forward and make them Romans then you could have another chapter in the Big Book of Roman Conquest. Imagine a legion in full formation fighting on the plains of North America against an army of natives. Eventually they have to meet the Aztecs and Mayans and one big bloothbath is sure to follow.

Veeky Forums does anyone here have autistic stories from their childhood that they have considered using as an RPG setting?

I have a setting that is pretty generic but could work for players. The problem is letting them into that sort of personal world that is meant solely for you. It's hard to explain.

I have other settings to work in, I just sometimes entertain the idea of using it. It's caustic as fuck though and I'm worried I'd ruin it just trying to make it palatable to normal people.

Anybody have more realistic spaceships or a resource for them? I want to make an Age of Sail type of space game on board a freighter. Big stigma on AI and such, so it'll still have lots of manual labor.

The Greeks were pretty prolific in colonising the Pontic, Southern Italy, etc. I'm sure there's plenty of research out there that could be helpful.

Off the top of my head, the society would be very coast-based, with huge amounts of trade in strange new resources and eventually wars over trade rights and ownership of key trading cities. In Greece, Byzantium was such an important city because it controlled the trade between the Aegean and the Black Sea, where much of Greece's grain supply came from.

I imagine it would be a good time for bands of adventurers and mercenaries who, in the absence of established citizen armies, do the bulk of the fighting and exploring. Some would eventually settle and try to found new cities, either in fresh land, or as vassals of already established princes. Land would be a common reward for great service, and lords would be happy to use former-mercenary vassals to sure up the defence of their fledgling kingdoms.

>if the setting is entirely in Faerie, why would humans even exist there?
exactly this, you don't need humans for it to be a good setting. If having humans in the setting serve no purpose or they have to be shoehorned in, just leave them out.

Depends how fantasy we are going. Is this just an alternate history world? Or are we including things like magic, greek monsters, gods, demigods and titans?

I hate to agree with Veeky Forums, but they're kinda right. Most fairies and such are defined by how they interact with humans. It's a rather big part of their lore.

Bump

I'm taking a slightly different approach to making a D&D campaign setting.

I haven't decided much about it other than it's in a somewhat isolated peninsula like Italy or Spain. The setting is something of a dark age which began 2000 years ago during a war of the gods -- this is why there are random magic items across the land. This is the extent of my normal top-down approach of worldbuilding, then regionbuilding, and getting down to where the PCs start.

What I've been doing is looking at the 1e Fiend Folio and Monster Manual 2 for less well known monsters to populate this land, and then building the geography out of their habitats in a sort of Gygaxian realism. I want to do something a little different than goblins, orcs, kobolds, and trolls.

Has anyone else tried this approach?

>Fiend Folio

Yes, this does mean motherfucking FLAIL SNAILS among other things

I saved this and another one from a while ago.

...

>Sounds like it'd have to be an oasis, or for it to be as big as the map shows, probably a whole bunch of springs close together.
No, I'm not the guy with the map. I'm unrelated. Just want to make setting where everyone is grouped around a huge lake. Wonder if I should make it magical.

benis :D

>setting idea

A high fantasy setting during the apocalypse -- meteors raining from the sky, demons invading the world, whole continents being swallowed by the sea.

It is kind of a slow apocalypse though, so the world won't be destroyed for another year or so.

Some groups are trying to stop the apocalypse, despite there really being no clear way to go about doing so, if it is even possible. Naturally they all have different ideas about why it is happening and don't get along.

Most people are just trying to get by. Just because the world is gradually ending over the next year doesn't mean they aren't also hungry right now.

So, Warhammer fantasy end times?

honestly I didn't even think about that until halfway writing that up

back to the drawing board I guess

I am so fucking tired of these buggy "click verify until there are none left" captchas. I swear the new admin has some deal with Google to make these harder so he can rake in more pass money

What do you think is the proper mindset for people who spent the last 500 years being immortal and infertile?

really damn forgetful. Exhausted. Melancholic. Either emotionally spent or emotionally unstable.

A bad scene in general.

I'm going to give them superhuman memory. Otherwise I agree.

>We murdered our god and ate his flesh to gain his awesome powers. Now what?

If the star is a red star, would it always be Tidal Blocked with only the Twilight area being habitable? What is necessary for the planet to wobble like Mercury?

What's so special about red stars to tidally lock planets?

If a planet is close to its hosting star (like small stars), it has many points to be tidal locked and have no moons.

At the World's center stands the White Spire, seat of the Empress Eternal. Her power keeps the World harmonious and can be granted to anyone, any person who is summoned to the White Spire, in the form of a charm called The Blessing, but only for as long as She wishes.

From the foot of the White Spire, all kinds of lands, literally ALL kinds, stretch out as far as the eye can see and beyond. If you were immortal and had a lot of time, you could walk forever in one direction and never circle back around... but at the same time, the White Spire is the same distance from every point in the World.

Underneath the surface of the World lie the Unseen Chasms, remnants of the Seedbed, a place of complete and utter darkness that is said to have been the cradle of all living things when the World was created. But everyone knows the World has always been like it is, never born and never changed in its fundaments. There has always been a Spire, there has always been an Empress, there has always been a Blessing.

In close vicinity of the Spire, a kingdom rose to power under the rule of a merciless conqueror. Holy Queen Grimhyldis of Hyldholm, descendant of Hynrek the Dragonslayer, sent forth soldiers in black carapaces, the Black Vigil: untiring and mindlessly cruel warriors that drew their power from the darkness contained in the Unseen Chasms. Quaris, Exile of Amarganth had drawn out its true strength in course of his search to find the Worldmatter and Royal Magus Hector bound it to the bodies of men using hexes that lay beyond human comprehension. Commanding this force was Cyrenne, First and Last of the Black Vigil, blessed to see them rise and doomed to see them wither and fall. Vigil soldiers could feel the carapace gnawing away at their insides, eventually leaving only a hollow suit of armor that was inexplicably drawn to seek the Unseen Chasms. (1/2)

Tidal planets would also have no seasons whatsoever and very predictable climates as you approach one face or another of the planet (permanent winds and temperatures). Perpetual twilight in the habitable zone.

That said, smaller stars have a tendency for violent solar flares.

I know what tidal lock is. I just don't know why should red stars lock them.

The habitable zone is closer to the star, so tidal forces from the star are stronger.

Grimhyldis sealed her fate, and that of the World itself, when she laid siege to White Spire. In her arrogance, she thought to usurp the throne and make herself Empress. Aethelred, Her Royal Aegis broke down the doors of the Spire's Inner Sanctum and the Queen tore the Blessing from the hands of the Empress, taking her as a prisoner. But the Blessing's power can never be taken by force. In the hands of Grimhyldis, it became the Curse. Instead of granting her wishes, it twisted them, at the cost of her memories, and eventually sanity.

Hyldholm fell into ruin as more and more Vigil soldiers departed in their search for the Chasm. Neither force nor reason were able to stop them. Soon after, Aethelred was overcome by madness, lashing out at his servants - it is said that one night, he shed his skin and escaped into the open as a mindless beast. Either way he was never heard from again. Some say Prince Hyur, born with a hideously deformed goat's head, but adored by his mother nevertheless, was his son.

From the World's borders the Void draws ever closer, its hunger sparked by the Curse, swallowing entire kingdoms whole. And with the Empress locked up deep below Hyldholm Castle and the Queen not to be reasoned with, who would dare claim the Blessing and restore order?

>>Is it independent, or part of a larger kingdom?
Independent
>>What are its relations with the rest of kingdom (or its immediate neighbors) like?
Neighbours aren't too happy since the people seceded and have proven that they can look after themselves, setting a precedent for other groups of people
>>How old is the city?
A few decades.
>>How many ethnicities are present?
All ethnicities and races are present and tolerated.
>>How is it run?
It's a collection of ships lashed together, and anyone wanting to join merely has to connect their ship at one of the assigned locations to ensure the ability for previous people to disconnect is preserved.
>>What are some of it's major and/or most interesting laws?
No stealing, no murder. Anyone who is wronged can bring a case before a jury of their peers to resolve a dispute.
>>How does it keep order?
Anyone who causes excessive danger to the inhabitants is locked out, or even worse, thrown into the deep. Aside from that, it's largely anarchist.
>>Is it known for any specific food?
Fish delicacies are the main culinary distinction
>>What are it's major exports/imports
Jewellery made of fish bones, like the currency, is highly popular on the mainland, but mainland officials try to stop trade with the Free State of Meropis because they "belong to us and broke our laws".

Who here makes flags for their countries?

Honest question: Have any of you actually used the settings you do here in a game? How much of the autismal detail is even mentioned?

I've used settings I've made myself. Never so much as worked on one in one of these threads so far. Just decided to join in today because I want to work on a setting for a book/series.

I know you can use a homebrew setting, but people here fixate on stuff like realistic types of government or geography, or the minutiae of their magic system, and I feel most that stuff is too much work for something that isn't ever going to come up in an actual game unless you shove it in the face of the players

Yeah, I agree. I suspect many of the people here are either making settings to publish, doing all of that just because they enjoy it, making settings for fiction, or some combination of the above.

I've only sketched out one.

Haven't yet, still working on it. Depending on their character and starting location though they'll be given anywhere from a few pages of common knowledge to a dossier of shit-they're-supposed-to-know.

I do it mostly because because I enjoy developing. In its current state it's not very playable because it doesn't have enough adventure fodder

Not many ever surface, but I believe it's good to have foundation in place so you can have derivatives that actually matter align. Nothing takes me out of the setting faster than derivatives that do not align with common cause.

Is there any utility that helps generating flags for people with arms growing from wrong places?

You mean for people what cannot draw? Yeah.

Warning: Some Plebbit links
flag-designer.appspot.com/#d=9&c1=5&c2=4&c3=0&o=6&c4=5&s=14&c5=6
reddit.com/r/vexillology/comments/2ei5wf/flagmaker_17_flagmaker_jr/
reddit.com/r/worldbuilding/comments/1i0eq6/flagbuilding_a_guide_to_flag_design_for/

This flag, for example, was made with the program in the middle link. were all made with the first link (or a brief period in MS paint, for the bottom right)

Thanks, the second link is pretty good, although seems to have centring issues. The first one was very barebones, I found it on my own and it was poor.