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Post by Mr Darke on Feb 9, 2015 18:56:11 GMT -5
My initial assumption of the game was that it took place on a fantasy Earth, possibly during the Dark Ages. When I began to DM I brought with me ideas from Arthurian Legends, stories of heroes like Robin Hood and various myths and legends. As I progressed I brought in ideas from The Hobbit, LOTR and some other fantasy literature. However, I was not a big fantasy fan in those days so everything was more based on Earth's legends than they were on fantasy stories.
My first games were assumed to take place in Germany and Eastern Europe with some forays into England. The end of these campaigns saw something like the Holy Roman Empire form and the end of an Arthurian style of kingdom. When I discovered campaign settings I moved to FR, Greyhawk and others but still could not shake my initial ideas. I kept looking for analogs to Earth and used as many as I could.
When I burnt out on AD&D, canned settings and needed to take a break from DMing I began to look back to those early ideas for inspiration. I wanted to go back to my roots and go with a world that was more like ours and something that would be familiar to other players. What came was a question that I wanted to answer: What happened after Arthur? This was as good a starting point as any and I decided to play with it. I came up with the following:
* Arthur and Lancelot goes to war which would be the catalyst for Mordred's war. (In this story Mordred is Arthur's nephew, not his son)
* The aftermath of the final battle sees Lancelot captured and executed for treason and Guinevere is exiled to Brittony.
* Merlin is discovered to have been a dark wizard who was manipulating the events against Arthur. Merlin and his apprentices are condemned to death and have scattered.
* The surviving knights choose Constantine as Arthur's successor to Camelot. Constantine immediately continues the war with Mordred's sons and tries to keep Briton unified. (This comes from Geoffry of Monmouth)
* As the years go by the conflict shifts to the invasion of the Saxons, a rise in humanoids and the utter fall of Rome. Only a few of Arthur's knights are still alive and they have went back to their homelands.
* Fifteen years after Arthur's death the Knights of the Round Table are disbanded when there are confusions over succession, a lack of knights of the needed quality and Constantine dying at a battle in Scotland. Cadbury Castle (Arthur's true Capitol) is sealed and abandoned and the table disappears.
* Twenty years after Arthur dies there is no true king, England is broken up and the ideals of Arthur are dying. The Saxons have gained a major foothold and the Norsemen have begun raids. The campaign begins.
Additional ideas have been borrowed from some fantasy literature, alternate history and legend. To account for humanoids like Orcs and goblins I decided that part of the pre-history would include Balor of the Evil Eye as a Sauron like figure who created the Formorians who were the ancestors of goblin-kin and orcs. Going farther back there would be Atlantis which was an evil kingdom ran by a race of lizard beings that opened gates to the Underworld and partially merged Earth with the Netherworld.
Another feature of the setting is that Christianity does play a role in the game. Given that many of these stories come to us from Christian authors (or were revised by them) and that OD&D has crosses instead of holy symbols this fits. While this is no where near the real world faith (it stays in the background) it is a part of the world and the campaign. The faith itself is being worked on and will be detailed.
Over my next few posts I hope to detail England, Europe and how things like magic works. Thanks for reading.
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Post by tetramorph on Feb 9, 2015 19:22:24 GMT -5
Wow, I love your setting!
Our settings are incredibly close so we are going to have to talk some more!
I love everything you describe except one thing:
Merlin is a real hero for me so I am bummed to read he turned out bad in your campaign!
But if you decide to do a PbP on the boards, count me in!
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Post by Admin Pete on Feb 9, 2015 20:30:48 GMT -5
Wow, that sounds like a lot of fun. Looking forward to hearing more!
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Post by Mr Darke on Feb 9, 2015 23:10:10 GMT -5
As far as Merlin goes I threw that in as a twist for the players. I anticipated them wanting to go and find him first thing so I added in something to keep them from doing so. Now, as to how evil he is will be open to debate as we are talking of a possibly immortal being with goals and a morality beyond the normal scope of things. Also early tales had him named Myrddin so maybe there is a difference between Merlin and Myrddin?  |
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Post by Admin Pete on Feb 10, 2015 0:10:40 GMT -5
As far as Merlin goes I threw that in as a twist for the players. I anticipated them wanting to go and find him first thing so I added in something to keep them from doing so. Now, as to how evil he is will be open to debate as we are talking of a possibly immortal being with goals and a morality beyond the normal scope of things. Also early tales had him named Myrddin so maybe there is a difference between Merlin and Myrddin? Sweet! |
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Post by Mr Darke on Feb 10, 2015 18:16:01 GMT -5
The Faith of Arthur
I figured I rather tackle this sooner rather than later. As you may have guess the main faith of this world is a version of Christianity. Much like Tetramorph I see a connection between medieval fantasy and Christiandom that has been lost in the game. Now this is not meant to force conversion, cram my beliefs on anyone or further an agenda beyond providing flavor in the world. Typically religion stays in the background of my games but a framework is still needed. (Remember that this is tentative work. Help is welcome)
With that here we go. . .
Obviously, Arthur and his knights would be of a Roman Catholic style faith given the ideals of his kingdom. While I am not going to go into details you can assume that a basic knowledge of the Medieval Church would suffice. The only difference would be that the teachings of Christ would have been a bit different given the nature of the world having humanoids, dragons and such in it. I don't think it would be out of bounds to assume that these would be identified as some type of demon and that it would be fair to kill them. While some my think this borderline blasphemy, remember that Tolkien used a fictional version of God for Middle-Earth. So I see no issue with doing any of this.
For the campaign I am assuming that there would be a split between Rome and England over various details. Thus the Church of England would have come about much sooner. The Church itself would still be considered Catholic in practice if not in association. However, the head of the church would be the synod at Canterbury led by the Archbishop with a loose connection to Rome. What I am thinking is a semi-autonomous Church based in England and its current holdings.
So what I have now is a faith that is loosely based on the Medieval Church and its practices. Clerics would mostly come from this tradition and I am having druids be a sect based off teachings a a certain saint or saints. The only issue I am having is how demi-humans would be seen. Personally, I would see them as a part of Christiandom and have the same mix of those that converted and those that did not. Would it be too far out to have demi-human saints in this scenario?
So far this is what I have and help is appreciated.
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Post by Admin Pete on Feb 10, 2015 19:13:34 GMT -5
If you have read the Deryni novels by Katherine Kurtz that shows one way to use Christian flavor in a fictional setting. I think using a Christian flavor as the basis of the religion in your campaign world is as valid as making it completely pagan and polytheistic, I would in fact prefer it.
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Post by Necromancer on Feb 11, 2015 8:11:19 GMT -5
Interesting setting! It is so inspirational reading about other people's creative ideas. tetramorph has some great ideas about Christian faith applied to a fantasy world in his Dun Kells campaign setting. I wouldn't be surprised if he could offer some good advice on that topic, Mr Darke.  |
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Post by tetramorph on Feb 11, 2015 13:14:42 GMT -5
The Faith of Arthur
Much like Tetramorph I see a connection between medieval fantasy and Christiandom that has been lost in the game. Now this is not meant to force conversion, cram my beliefs on anyone or further an agenda beyond providing flavor in the world. Typically religion stays in the background of my games but a framework is still needed. (Remember that this is tentative work. Help is welcome) Obviously, Arthur and his knights would be of a Roman Catholic style faith given the ideals of his kingdom. While I am not going to go into details you can assume that a basic knowledge of the Medieval Church would suffice. The only difference would be that the teachings of Christ would have been a bit different given the nature of the world having humanoids, dragons and such in it. I don't think it would be out of bounds to assume that these would be identified as some type of demon and that it would be fair to kill them. While some my think this borderline blasphemy, remember that Tolkien used a fictional version of God for Middle-Earth. So I see no issue with doing any of this. For the campaign I am assuming that there would be a split between Rome and England over various details. Thus the Church of England would have come about much sooner. The Church itself would still be considered Catholic in practice if not in association. However, the head of the church would be the synod at Canterbury led by the Archbishop with a loose connection to Rome. What I am thinking is a semi-autonomous Church based in England and its current holdings. So what I have now is a faith that is loosely based on the Medieval Church and its practices. Clerics would mostly come from this tradition and I am having druids be a sect based off teachings a a certain saint or saints. The only issue I am having is how demi-humans would be seen. Personally, I would see them as a part of Christiandom and have the same mix of those that converted and those that did not. Would it be too far out to have demi-human saints in this scenario? I like the C of E starting earlier than the Reformation! But, well, maybe it really did!  I try to avoid calling anything "Roman Catholic" before the Reformation. From a secular historical POV, the RC church is just as much a result of the Reformation as the various Protestant bodies. I am not saying that to pick a fight! But to say that a generic, western Christendom "catholic church" (lower cases chosen deliberately) helps to keep a fantasy setting generic enough that players recognize it but don't have to fear that their current denomination is being either parodied, or left out. The papacy was nothing like that of the Reformation during the earlier middle ages and so-called "dark ages," so I wonder if you really need such a deep divide between Rome and Canterbury. They could be "in communion," while allowing Canterbury some serious relative autonomy. Just my 2cp there. I talk about some of this (and will do some more!) over on my blog. I think the "teachings" aspect doesn't have to change much. But in a fantasy world, Jesus isn't just metaphorically the king of heaven, but quite literally so. His throne sits at the top most sphere of the heavens. So demons and dragons can quite literally come out of the underworld and be fought! I kind of like that. Anyway, I like what you are doing. It would be fun to play in your campaign someday! |
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Post by Mr Darke on Feb 11, 2015 14:55:20 GMT -5
The Faith of Arthur
Much like Tetramorph I see a connection between medieval fantasy and Christiandom that has been lost in the game. Now this is not meant to force conversion, cram my beliefs on anyone or further an agenda beyond providing flavor in the world. Typically religion stays in the background of my games but a framework is still needed. (Remember that this is tentative work. Help is welcome) Obviously, Arthur and his knights would be of a Roman Catholic style faith given the ideals of his kingdom. While I am not going to go into details you can assume that a basic knowledge of the Medieval Church would suffice. The only difference would be that the teachings of Christ would have been a bit different given the nature of the world having humanoids, dragons and such in it. I don't think it would be out of bounds to assume that these would be identified as some type of demon and that it would be fair to kill them. While some my think this borderline blasphemy, remember that Tolkien used a fictional version of God for Middle-Earth. So I see no issue with doing any of this. For the campaign I am assuming that there would be a split between Rome and England over various details. Thus the Church of England would have come about much sooner. The Church itself would still be considered Catholic in practice if not in association. However, the head of the church would be the synod at Canterbury led by the Archbishop with a loose connection to Rome. What I am thinking is a semi-autonomous Church based in England and its current holdings. So what I have now is a faith that is loosely based on the Medieval Church and its practices. Clerics would mostly come from this tradition and I am having druids be a sect based off teachings a a certain saint or saints. The only issue I am having is how demi-humans would be seen. Personally, I would see them as a part of Christiandom and have the same mix of those that converted and those that did not. Would it be too far out to have demi-human saints in this scenario? I like the C of E starting earlier than the Reformation! But, well, maybe it really did! I try to avoid calling anything "Roman Catholic" before the Reformation. From a secular historical POV, the RC church is just as much a result of the Reformation as the various Protestant bodies. I am not saying that to pick a fight! But to say that a generic, western Christendom "catholic church" (lower cases chosen deliberately) helps to keep a fantasy setting generic enough that players recognize it but don't have to fear that their current denomination is being either parodied, or left out. The papacy was nothing like that of the Reformation during the earlier middle ages and so-called "dark ages," so I wonder if you really need such a deep divide between Rome and Canterbury. They could be "in communion," while allowing Canterbury some serious relative autonomy. Just my 2cp there. I talk about some of this (and will do some more!) over on my blog. I think the "teachings" aspect doesn't have to change much. But in a fantasy world, Jesus isn't just metaphorically the king of heaven, but quite literally so. His throne sits at the top most sphere of the heavens. So demons and dragons can quite literally come out of the underworld and be fought! I kind of like that. Anyway, I like what you are doing. It would be fun to play in your campaign someday! How about this: The Church of England is basically a diocese of sorts in the church proper which stays in communion with the Church as a whole. It could be one of several regional bodies along with Rome, Antioch, Jerusalem and other European entities that meets to decide matters similar to the older councils. As far as the teachings go I want to keep that as vague as possible and only have them come up if needed. You are spot on with Christ being the literal king of the Heavens the only thing I would add is that when you have Satan being a usurper of that kingship (Prince of the Power of the Air, god of this world) you can set up all sorts of conflicts especially in the late game. I would love to have you in the campaign, however we're still playing mainly at the store level. But, once I get more versed in a PbP game I may do a short campaign here. |
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Post by tetramorph on Feb 11, 2015 15:20:31 GMT -5
Mr Darke said: Yes, that is great. I like it. Yes, totally. That makes sense. That could be totally Dante / Milton meets modern RPG! Thanks, man! Let me know when.
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Post by The Semi-Retired Gamer on Feb 11, 2015 18:21:38 GMT -5
Man, that is great stuff - a setting based on Arthurian legend with a fantasy version of Christianity is right up my alley! I will be watching with great interest.
As an aside, I must say all of the setting information posted by the various members has been a cut above and really interesting. Bravo, all around! I must say that I need to step up my game before posting in great detail about my setting, Toldara.
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Post by Admin Pete on Feb 11, 2015 18:44:45 GMT -5
Man, that is great stuff - a setting based on Arthurian legend with a fantasy version of Christianity is right up my alley! I will be watching with great interest. As an aside, I must say all of the setting information posted by the various members has been a cut above and really interesting. Bravo, all around! I must say that I need to step up my game before posting in great detail about my setting, Toldara. I am looking forward to seeing Toldara! |
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Post by tetramorph on Feb 11, 2015 18:50:57 GMT -5
I must say that I need to step up my game before posting in great detail about my setting, Toldara. Don't disparage yourself man! Please do share, as soon as you are comfortable. |
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Post by The Semi-Retired Gamer on Feb 11, 2015 18:56:31 GMT -5
Thanks, guys! Information is coming soon. We're finishing up a move at the moment but it shouldn't be too long...
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Post by Mr Darke on Feb 12, 2015 16:59:42 GMT -5
If you have read the Deryni novels by Katherine Kurtz that shows one way to use Christian flavor in a fictional setting. I think using a Christian flavor as the basis of the religion in your campaign world is as valid as making it completely pagan and polytheistic, I would in fact prefer it. I have heard of those novels. I will look into them. |
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Post by Necromancer on Feb 12, 2015 17:07:58 GMT -5
If you have read the Deryni novels by Katherine Kurtz that shows one way to use Christian flavor in a fictional setting. I think using a Christian flavor as the basis of the religion in your campaign world is as valid as making it completely pagan and polytheistic, I would in fact prefer it. I have heard of those novels. I will look into them. I've only read Camber of Culdi and it was many years ago, but I remember it as really good. |
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Post by Mr Darke on Feb 13, 2015 17:00:29 GMT -5
England
Note that I am writing this up in a more Greyhawk style of a few paragraphs. This is to provide expansion at later times.
The landmass of what is tentativly called England has been shaped to a single island. The nations of the island are what you would expect; Briton, Wales, Ireland and Scotland. There is one additional kingdom known as Calontir (Name stolen from the SCA) which serves as the midlands/breadbasket of the land. Calontir is where the main part of the campaign is taking place. All in all the layout of the nation is the same. Though landmarks like Hadrian's Wall will be a bit longer and some forests will be a bit bigger. Since the geography and climate is similar to what we know there is little need for discussion on it. The political situation is different. The continued war with Mordred's remaining son, nations pulling away since Constantine's rule and invasions by Saxons, goblin-kin and now a few Norsemen has taken toll on the land. Tensions between the kingdoms are now rising and war is coming but is some years away. Many of Arthur's knights are either dead or in retirement and have no desire to return to service. Their children and grandchildren have seen the ideals of Camelot as passed and many have not become knights. Recent events have been a split over choosing an heir to Constantine. With two houses competing for the throne a few nobles have begin to push for an official dissolution of Camelot. Brittony has also been looking to join France as it has been occupied by England since the war with Lancelot. They charge that the crimes of Lancelot have been atoned for and want to have a final break from the past. There are also rumors that Guinevere secretly had a child that may be Arthur's and that he will want to claim the throne. Many doubt this claim and consider the child, if he exists, Lancelot's bastard. The decline of England has been long and drawn out. Invasions, rumors of war, and political intrigue has led to an economic depression and a populace not trusting of its leaders.
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Post by tetramorph on Feb 15, 2015 15:36:15 GMT -5
Very cool, Mr Darke. I wonder if you would ever run a PbP here? |
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Post by Mr Darke on Feb 18, 2015 9:21:36 GMT -5
I will have to see what time allows and get some experience with running that type of game.
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Post by Necromancer on Feb 18, 2015 18:12:27 GMT -5
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Post by Mr Darke on Feb 18, 2015 21:55:20 GMT -5
Thanks. It was an outline map that was redone in MS Paint. Basically a mock up of the idea.
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Post by Mr Darke on Feb 23, 2015 20:41:38 GMT -5
Ok, I did put in for a forum since the interest is holding and that the idea is expanding beyond the original scope. One other change has been with my face to face campaign being switched up due to players moving in and out. The campaign at the store is going to a more Old Style Dungeon Crawl but is set in the same world. The forum will help keep everything together so let's hope it gets going.
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Post by Necromancer on Feb 24, 2015 12:38:13 GMT -5
Great to see you've got yourself a place of your own here, Mr Darke! It'll be cool to see what you make of it! |
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Post by Mr Darke on Feb 24, 2015 18:42:15 GMT -5
I'm looking over Ideas now.
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Post by Admin Pete on Feb 24, 2015 18:50:18 GMT -5
I'm looking over Ideas now. I like the sound of that! Ideas with a capital I! |
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Post by Admin Pete on Aug 5, 2016 9:30:23 GMT -5
England
Note that I am writing this up in a more Greyhawk style of a few paragraphs. This is to provide expansion at later times.
The landmass of what is tentativly called England has been shaped to a single island. The nations of the island are what you would expect; Briton, Wales, Ireland and Scotland. There is one additional kingdom known as Calontir (Name stolen from the SCA) which serves as the midlands/breadbasket of the land. Calontir is where the main part of the campaign is taking place. All in all the layout of the nation is the same. Though landmarks like Hadrian's Wall will be a bit longer and some forests will be a bit bigger. Since the geography and climate is similar to what we know there is little need for discussion on it. SNIP After I got back from vacation I had a lot to catch up on and I saw that you had recently posted your map at The Map on your blog and I was curious how far you were on filling in the details of the map and how much of those details would be available to your players. I also took note of your posts concerning " Plane Shift is an ongoing series that I will be doing that continues the ideas given in Plane Shift: Zendikar and working toward playing D&D with ideas and flavor from Magic: the Gathering." your mashup of D&D and MTG[/a and also Plane Shift: Zendikar. A good beginning.Also, I just wanted you to know that the new Rules/Campaigns Projects (Both Joint & Singular) forum (which was just added recently) is for both Collaborative projects and One Person projects and that your Plane Shift project would be very welcome if you would like to bring it here. |
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Post by Hexenritter Verlag on Feb 19, 2018 3:29:02 GMT -5
I like it - though I've not been a big fan of Arthurian Legends or historical fantasy tropes in role play, this sounds interesting. Some people might assume because of my username I'd poo-poo this, but it intrigues me. If I was more versed in the lore & tales I might even consider such a setting, though I would come at it differently but respectfully. As a fan of Guy Richie's King Arthur & the Seven Deadly Sins anime/manga I have been reconsidering my stance on what can be done in a historical fantasy setting; though mine would be far more based on myth and history than those films and series but they do inspire me to think of what I could do if I chose to run such a campaign.
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Post by Mr Darke on Feb 21, 2018 22:13:47 GMT -5
Thank you. The coming revision does change some things. I am also not going for historical accuracy either as I am combining different things I like and am interested in concerning European history. I am currently working on the backdrop of the setting which has Rome existing as a few city states in Southern Italy, Byzantium on the rise and one of the dominate powers, the Germanic tribes being brought together and an actual Nordic Empire forming in the north. However Europa is in shambles after a long series of wars that set this stage and is close to moving into a dark age. Not forgetting the demi-humans and humanoids you have orc/goblin armies forming in the east, Elves of the Black Forest trying to build a new homeland, Dwarves of the Alps looking to conquer some of the old Roman lands and an army of undead forming around northern parts of the Black Sea.
That's the nutshell version anyway.
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Post by Hexenritter Verlag on Feb 21, 2018 23:18:29 GMT -5
Thank you. The coming revision does change some things. I am also not going for historical accuracy either as I am combining different things I like and am interested in concerning European history. I am currently working on the backdrop of the setting which has Rome existing as a few city states in Southern Italy, Byzantium on the rise and one of the dominate powers, the Germanic tribes being brought together and an actual Nordic Empire forming in the north. However Europa is in shambles after a long series of wars that set this stage and is close to moving into a dark age. Not forgetting the demi-humans and humanoids you have orc/goblin armies forming in the east, Elves of the Black Forest trying to build a new homeland, Dwarves of the Alps looking to conquer some of the old Roman lands and an army of undead forming around northern parts of the Black Sea. That's the nutshell version anyway. , it sounds real cool, I am looking forward to reading more on this setting. |
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