Veeky Forums homebrews a fantasy setting

Humans have no magic but do have guns.

Sparta had two royal families, could work with three, especially if the society isn't an absolute monarchy.

The three crowns could each hold dominion over a separate but equally powerful portion of the government in a quasi-checks and balances system; say, Military, Church and Government for example. One makes the laws, one enforces the laws and protects the homestead, and one is the heart of the people.

An empire where the emperor spends two months on vacation, three in the royal palace governing and the remaining time travelling between all the kings and dukes, in order to keep the empire somewhat stable.

This empire is predominately populated by half-elves, though humans are somewhat common in border settlements.

Actual elves are quite rare in the modern world. In ancient times they ruled over several sprawling, primitive civilizations but countless centuries of human expansion and interbreeding almost drove them extinct.

It has taken countless centuries for elves to breed enough to recover as a species, though they are almost universally a small minority. Modern elves are xenophobic towards humans, and their hatred ranges anywhere from being somewhat standoffish to outright lynching trespassers.

Elves live in the wilderness as they always have, though they've adapted to modern society somewhat, they're still considered somewhat backwards. As a result of their near extinction, elves were forced to breed with close relatives for generations, as a result, elves look extremely similar to one another and are only slightly more intelligent than humans on average.

> There are three types of magic in the setting.

> Vibrokinesis, which involves the subtle manipulation of vibrations in the space-time continuum, allowing casters to control momentum, entropy, friction, and temperature, among other things.

> Ferokinesis, which involves the overt manipulation of extraplanar energy, allowing casters to cast wards and curses, create illusions, and teleport, among other things.

> And last but not least,

> Nanokinesis, which involves the precise manipulation of ancient nanomachines, allowing casters to control the elements, transmute matter, and enchant items, among other things.

So I suppose the technology level is around the late 1500's?

>Humans have no magic due to the iron in their blood
>Humans still use iron weapons when fighting magical races

>angels live on clouds made of vaporized holy water

>truly powerful magical rituals can be invoked by throwing a massive temper tantrum until the universe gives you what you want

Due to iron's antimagic properties, most half-elves and elves use enchanted copper and bronze to meet their needs.

But does steel remove Iron's antimagic property as implies?
If so why haven't elves moved on to Steel? Tradition? That would imply Elves are sticklers for Tradition, even to the point of it hindering themselves.

Maybe the world hasn't yet advanced to the Steel Age?

Because working steel means working Iron at some point. Nobody wants to do the latter?

That seems fair

Humans already have guns, but you make a point.

I'm not trying to be a dick, I swear. I just saw an opportunity to expand on the Elves.

This user here. I'm not trying to be arbitrary, that sounds good, I was just thinking an enchanted bronze/copper vs. mundane iron dichotomy would be pretty cool. Then again, if steel also had antimagic properties, there's no reason we couldn't have an enchanted bronze/copper vs. mundane iron/steel dichotomy.

Kinda tying some contextual bits together and adding a little.

>humans are most likely to adapt steel, but would need outside help to accomplish it, probably from dwarves who would know metals the best but still be averse to iron. Even then, they would have to choose a trade off between keeping a pure iron edge for fighting magical races, or going pure steel for greater overall durability.

>most civilized nations are on the verge of a renaissance but are being held back by warfare, which is constantly changing due to new and experimental magics and technologies.

>those who fancy themselves "alchemists" are responsible for black powder, studying a precursor to science and cry for attention, but there doesn't seem to be much they can accomplish that can't be done by an existing branch of magic with a bit extra study or adaptation. Intellectual warfare occurs in the city and the battlefield in nearly equal measure.

Fair enough user. Though I like the idea that Steel loses its' anti-magic capabilities. So Humans use Steel against each other, and for more common uses like nails and such, and Iron against magical foes. Including iron bullets instead of lead ones.

>In certain woods, there exists an exotic plant known colloquially as Liftwood. It's extremely lightweight and flexible but easily splintered and can be treated with a simple magical process to be able to float in air, being able to lift many times it's own weight without falling.
>It requires a specific environment for growth, and that environment is only in the territory of the full-blooded Elves.
>small samples have gotten to larger countries and has become highly sought after for adaptation to new dirigible designs that many think are he next wave of warfare and public travel.
>elves see no reason to extend trade. Tensions brew.

>Elves trying to stop muh airships
Oh it is fucking on!

>great helm with a gorget

Think of it in terms of alchemical purity. Iron is superheated and worked with coal in a process which could be interpreted to remove the "natural antimagical qualities of the strong, but inflexible element". Mithril, adamantine, other mythical ores and/or magical smelting techniques could serve to combine the strength of steel with the antimagical qualities of iron (or preserve them in steel with said methods) and/or the potential for intricate spellwork to br done on them.
Just throwing some ideas out there for you guys.

> qt redneck elves

I like where this is going.

This user here, you're right, that does sound more interesting than straight up steel>iron.

The fledging Human empire deprived of arcane ability embrace the natural sciences and believe their "manifest destiny" is to expand into the magical lands of the elves, dwarves, halflings, and gnomes.

This "Manifest Destiny" attitude is initially a small, but loud, minority. It only begins kicking into full gear due to

>Iron/steel are suitable for firearms but not enchanting
>bronze/copper are good for enchanting but too soft for firearms & other advanced weaponry without magical enhancement.
>mithril/adamantine are great against iron/steel and can take enchantments well but are both rarest to find in nature and hardest to work, requiring expertise for both.

>Dwarves guard their Mithril/Adamantine mines heavily, and only dole it out to other races in small amounts. Preferring to horde it to themselves.
>Their firearms are no match for Humanities, but they are trying to catch up.

> Dragons are technically immortal, but because they continue to grow bigger, they will eventually be so large that their legs/wings/hearts can no longer support them, and they slowly start dying.

>dwarves in their capital city have a secret, and that's that they know their rare mineral deposits are running low.
>they have made more contracts than they can fill but must keep their word. So they must either deplete their own reserves to fulfill their promises, broker a deal with Humans to trade hard resources for metallurgy knowledge, OR
>follow one of their songs of legend which tells of a great dragon that grew to the size of a mountain and died of its own size atop its hoard. They have dispatched small groups of hardened warriors and scouts to scour every corner of their incomplete maps to find the dragon who turned into a mountain, and recover what metals might lay beneath.
>these groups are not ambassadors and often unfriendly, but are under strict orders to not divulge their purpose under any circumstances or engage enemies unless strictly necessary.

Also
>gnomes are partial to science and magic both, but have few resources outside of knowledge to offer other races, as they prefer a more naturalistic approach to existence.
>halflings are good enough at either science or magic but are politically Switzerland and often are called upon for cooking talents more than anything. They're often told to get back in the kitchen when being looked down upon outside their own culture.

A giant brown dragon have been slowly dragging its body across the continent.
No one knows its destination and most people ignore it since it avoids civilization

Isn't that essencially what it has always been? Since, like, almost day one?

In my setting, I have a very flexible quasi-mineral made from alchemically treated treesap fromgiant Eldarwood trees.
The elves use forge it similar to plastic (allowing them to make some very intricuitly shaped, aerodynamic armour compared to metal-using races). They call it sapsteel and can even be made to mend itself if re-treated and left in sunlight. It takes on a deep green-amber colour.
Mechanically, all armour of Sapsteel improves the MAX DEX of armours by 2, lowers the amours hardness by 2, but provides +25% more HP to each vestment of Sapsteel.
There was a lot more, but I have it written out in a giant doc I don't feel like rifling through.
Hope someone finds this at least mildly interesting.
Pic related: just had my Autismo levels checked. It's gettin' up there..

Angels are kill machines powered by divine steam