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I recently gave more thoughts about this concept, and found that I like it a lot! Some updates and clean-up...
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This world is going to be a high fantasy setting using the Pathfinder RPG ruleset. In this world, there will be no human race, nor any dwarves, elves, Halflings, half-elves, half-orcs and gnomes.
Instead, this world is going to be wholly populated by the fantastical and mythological “monsters” as described in the Pathfinder RPG’s Bestiary.
This world will be rich in magic, which is going to be plentiful and commonly encountered. The ability of spellcasting however, is going to be a rare gift amongst its inhabitants. For the races that do not innately possess spell-like abilities, the ability to create magical effects is going to be perceived as a divine gift (regardless of their realm of magic – arcane or divine).
It should be said that this world will not include any deities as D&D/Pathfinder RPG knows them. No otherworldly deities are going to manifest themselves and reveal their purposes to its inhabitants. Yet, this should not prevent the creatures of this world from developing otherworldly concepts (usually involving speculations on life after death or on the origins of summoned creatures), they shall remain largely ignorant of realms beyond their own.
In this world, all summoned creatures will receive the appellation of “demon”, regardless of their provenance, type or alignment. Since the planes are going to be such an obscure concept, these “demons” will be feared and misunderstood by all but the most erudite scholar-gods.
While all character classes shall receive the same “godly potential”, high-level divine spellcaters will be generally acknowledged as THE definition of a god (especially once they get access to the miracle spell), with high-level arcane spellcasters coming close behind. Since these divine spellcasters have no gods to pray to, they shall be the source of their own powers. The more powerful they should become, the stronger their connection with their “domain(s)” of choice shall be.
This world shall know two types of people: commoners and extraordinary individuals.
When D&D 4th edition introduced their design concept of “points of light”, I must admit I didn’t think much of it at first. I didn’t see how well it could be applied to well to detailed settings such as Greyhawk, Forgotten Realms or Golarion for that matter. As a matter of fact, I still don't; but I think that this “points of light” concept would perfectly fit this world.
This world shouldn’t be developed around a detailed map – or at the very least, this map should not be presented to players. Different nations and locales should receive only so much description, leaving the details to be invented by the DM as he/she sees fit. In between, vast expanses of uncharted wilderness separate these islands of civilizations. This wilderness is generally filled with hostile predators, capricious or jealous spirits of the land and natural hazards/obstacles that make travel impossible but for the greatest heroes.
In the previous tread, a few members posted comments that I'm bringing-up and expanding upon here:
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Such a world would be a great vehicle to completely kick homogenous racial cultures to the curb.
That is, on far too many settings, humans get all the variety in culture, while non-humans, even dwarves, halflings, orcs, etc. get a single monolithic culture to bind them.
A setting without humans could easily force the issue. Harpies in the Great Salt Desert or whatever should have a very different culture from those islander harpies. Same for nomadic plainsmen centaurs and sedentery "Fertile Crescent" centaurs. Some medusas might go the route of the burqa for the sake of their neighbors, while others might live as an upper/ruling class while rocking the saris.
I’m going to fully embrace Mikaze’s idea of deconstructing the stereotypical conception of monsters as described in the Bestiary or popular D&D lore, “humanizing” these races by giving them a variety of cultures. Obviously, some of these cultures will be inspired from historical or fictional human societies despite the lack of humans per say, but that’s fine with me. A feudal Japan hobgoblin samurai? Why not? A pre-colombian mayan lizardmen priest? Sounds cool. How about a tribe of gypsy centaurs or a monastery of buddhist-like boggard monks?
I'm thinking bronze age technology would fit in well with this, a few large cities but mostly small farming villages and miles and miles of wilderness.
Blake’s dead on the spot with this: a more primitive level of technology would fit this world best. I’m going to go ahead and officially state that this world is at the end of its Bronze Age. However, some nations will have mastered the principle of making weapons and armors of steel, suggesting that the world is slowly entering a new Iron Age.
I would expect the inhabitants of this world to use tools made of mainly wood, stone and bronze, with a few utilitarian items of copper, silver and gold for the wealthiest. However, some civilizations have begun to extract and smelt iron with increasing efficiency and reliability – some of them have been doing so for several generations – but none possess the necessary raw materials, infrastructures or expertise to manufacture large amount of iron items.
Here and there, tools and weapons made of wrought iron are making their apparition to replace bronze version, but the real iron revolution consist in stronger and lighter steel allow which are far superior to their bronze counterpart. Such weapons should automatically be considered masterwork in this world. Similarly, armors should principally consist of leather and hide or bronze scale mails and breastplates, but chainmails of wrought iron and plate mails of chitins or carapace should also be found for the price indicated in the PHB. Again steel versions of chainmails and plate armors should automatically be considered masterwork.
I'm curious, with this god set-up, what does the cosmology beyond the Prime Material Plane look like?
Perhaps the afterlife is populated solely by gods that have passed on, while normal beings reincarnate again and again until they've built up enough positive(or negative!) karma to start ascending beyond their station.
Or do the gods dwell surrounded by their followers, gained both during their mortal lives and after their shedding of the mortal coil?
I kind of like this reincarnation cycle idea, but I think that in the end, the key concept will be that the inhabitants of this world will be relatively ignorant of their afterlife - or of any world outside their own for that matter. With the absence of omnipotent deities, the rarity of spellcasters and the lack of institutionalised religions, local folklore and believes are likely to run far and wild. Unlike our ancestors from Earth, the inhabitants of this world will have real creatures - many of which able to cast reality altering spells - and powerful spallcasters to adore. Religions and believes are likely to be revolving around those near-immortal yet tangible creatures/spirits/gods than around pantheonic or polytheist religions akin to the Greek or Norse mythologies.
Like other D&D settings, this world will be based on the Great Wheel cosmology but again, its inhabitants won’t know much of its intricacies. This may be explained by the fact that this world comes with a twist: outer-planes beings appear to be unable to influence or manifest themselves without being summoned or called. This planar barrier seems to work on mortal beings as well; once a traveler goes beyond the transitive planes, there seems to be no way back.
Because so many spells and creature’s abilities rely on the transitive planes of the Astral, Ethereal and Shadow planes to function, these are likely to be the best known planes of existence beyond the known world on the material plane. Still, this knowledge should be subjective and empirical at best, with many concepts mixed-up (thinks of travelling astrally while using the ethereal jaunt spell), misunderstood (believes that frequent use of Shadow Walk will turn one evil) or blissfully ignored (does not realize that one transits through the Astral plane while teleporting). Mostly, the inhabitants of this world will not see the transitive planes as three distinct and separate cosmological entities. Similarly, even the most learned scholars of this world should probably ignore that there is more to the material plane than their own little world.
Inner and Outer planes are likely to be confused with the transitive planes as well; seen as “pockets” of reality deep within or even beyond the astral seas. Local folklore and indigenous believes will sometimes strike close resemblance with some outer planes, probably weaved around half-truths gained through divination or given by a planar ally or similar entity.
A few more notes taken from the previous thread:
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Divine spellcasters are gods-in-the-making, referred to as “godlings” under 10th level and recognised as “true god” once they can cast miracle spells and such. In this world, divine spellcasters have no god to pray to and are themselves the source of their own power. While they have no one to answer to, they must “revere” the aspects of the domains they have selected, which is usually reflected in their “estate”.
Godlings are usually well protected by small coteries of extraordinary individuals (PCs and villains) and targeted by enemy factions. It should be expected that most PC groups include a godling, while the other PCs form its entourage. In these groups, the godling is always both ward and protector, but isn’t necessarily always the leader, nor the character around whom the whole story revolves.
Arcane spellcasters are “cheaters”, binding the essences of magic to their will rather than naturally manipulating them like other gods. Arcane spellcaster are often mad and sinister individuals, but some more lucid and good-hearted (yet no less mad) wizards or sorcerers turn out once in a while. Under 10th level, arcane spellcasters are either low key or isolated villains, but once they can cast reality altering spells à la wish etc, arcane spellcasters can be just as powerful and influential as high-level divine spellcasters are.
A few notes from the previous tread:
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In this world, appearances may not match the description of a creature. Goblin commoners are just that: goblins (lvl 1 warriors, as described in the Bestiary). But an extraordinary goblin may have totally different stats, yet remain a goblin for the sake of physical description.
For example, this band of goblin might be let by a particularly fierce and large war leader, blessed with regenerative powers that allowed him to survive many battles. This goblin uses the stats of a troll, fights like a troll, regenerates like a troll and does exactly everything trolls can do. Essentially, he IS a troll, but one that thinks like a goblin and looks like a goblin - albeit an extraordinary large one with particularly bestial claws and jaws. Similarly, a few bugbears could easily fill-in for elite goblins (everyone knows that meaner goblins are bigger right?)
More so than in other settings, the DM is encouraged to use a monster’s stats in another form. This should keep players on their toes and support the concept that people do not know their world as much as in other settings. For anything but villains and NPCs, this substitution should be preferred to humanoids with class levels.
Local gods, main villains and player characters should represent the majority of creature with class levels. In this world, people with character class levels have godly potential, and therefore, should represent a minority.
With the absence of Humans, Elves, Dwarves and other typical PC races comes the possibility of playing monstrous races. While this causes few problems with most of the “lesser” humanoids (goblins, boggards, lizardmen), it could cause balance issues with more exotic and powerful races (such as lamia, coualt, fire giant etc). There are many ways to deal with this potential issue, but most require some king of house-ruling to a certain extent.
Personally, I’d propose adapting the aesthetic aspects of the race to the mechanics provided by the core books, building from the rules provided for Elves, Gnomes, Halflings, Half-Orcs, Half Elves and Dwarves. Since the concept that extraordinary individual exists with abilities that are untypical for their kind has already been introduced, it would be easier to accept a PC version of a medusa that has not yet come into her own full power. Perhaps she will never develop its racial petrification gaze, which provides more than enough reasons for her to go “adventuring”.
In addition to the RAW progression of the character, I’d be incline to give a “special traits” at level 2, 6, 10, 14 and 18 - in other words, at each “empty” level of the Character Advancement and Level-Dependent Bonuses table. These special traits could represent large size, ability to fly or to breath water, or to have a permanent effect from a spell to be applied in order to emulate the particularities of that character’s race or abilities.
Although I don't know about the idea of restricting PC stats to existing races: for some people it's going to ruin immersion, and from my perspective it just cuts down on some interesting things that could be done.
I created a world and rand a D&D 3.5 game with a similar change, and it worked quite well.
I designated different PC races. They're all standard D&D fare, but with the rules tweaked to make them work as PCs balanced with each other:* Goblin
* Orc
* Kobold
* Bugbear
* Hobgoblin
* Half Ogre
* Half Minotaur
As I said, SilvercatMoonpaw and Blueluck both show that this method would be 1) no suitable to the taste of all and 2) only an alternative to other, potentially better houserules.
A few point of light locations given as examples:
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If one travels east beyond the volcanic plateau of the Fire Hills, he'll find a large and ancient forest home to several tribes of satyrs, elk-centaurs and water nixies communally known as the Sylvani. This forest is full of ancient and overgrown ruins, crevasses made by violent earthquakes, lingering auras of once powerful spells and other legacies of epic battles fought eons ago.
For as long as its inhabitants can remember, the Sylvani Forest has been the domain of a forest god known as the Great Horned One. This forest god rules over all fey and beasts and protect the Sylvani as if they were its own children. The Great Horned One is also master of the tree ghosts, an enigmatic race of shadowy forest spirits that guide the Sylvani in need of help and harass the forest’s would-be invaders .
The forest is constantly harassed by the goblins and ogres of the Fire Hills - along their minotaur slaves - but still hold its truce with the harpies and gnolls of the so called Sphinx King in the south. When war rages against the Fire Hills, the Great Horned One is not above leading his troops personally but otherwise, his lieutenant Hurong the dire boar, takes charge of the elk-centaurs and satyrs along his own boar warriors. Shinaa, goddess of the rivers and ponds that lie at the center of the forest is particularly associated with the nixies that tend to the healing springs. Her nixies also tend to the newborns and to the dead, returning their bodies to the soil and their souls to the trees. Once in a lifetime, every Sylvani must pay homage to the Oracle of the Forest by undertaking a pilgrimage to her land of dreams.
Legends tell of a time when the Oracle defied the Great Horned One and rebel against his reign. During that period, she managed to wrestle control of the tree ghosts from Him and turned them against the Sylvani. Despite the fact that these days are long over and that the tree ghosts have returned to the Great Horned One, the Oracle remains feared and coldly respected by most Sylvani.
Farther in the south - where the frost of winter has no hold - lies the (in)famous forests of Dun-Nanthar. Usually referred to in the plural, Dun-Nanthar is in reality one large forested realm crisscrossed by wide and deep canyons filled with rushing waters.
The luxurious trees provide such a thick canopy that the forest’s floor is perpetually cast in gloomy twilight, where various species of fungi grow and thrive in abundance. Most of these fungi are hostile to humanoids however, emitting all kinds of poisonous spores and toxins. Other species emit large urchin-like spores for which the forests get their name.
Along the cliffs of those canyons, three communities of tengus have built their villages. These villages also house a significant number of bugbears and since recently, rat-folk refugees from the neighboring wetlands of Ber-Igog. Despite their recent insertion, the rat-folk have brought a level of trade and commerce that Dun-Nanthar had never seen before.
The tengus of Dun-Nanthar have a few godlings of their own but otherwise pay homage to three mysterious mummified god-kings of unknown origins. Each of these mummies seems to have adopted one of the three tengu communities as its own, forcing a certain “competition” between the villages. While this competition has never degenerated to more than isolated skirmishes, cooperation is only seen in times of invasion or other serious threats. Of the inhabitants of Dun-Nanthar, the tengus are the only one practicing mummification upon their dead.
The people of Dun-Nanthar also regularly pay homage to the nymphs that guard the rivers and erode the canyons. Without these river goddesses, life in Dun-Nanthar would be near to impossible.
Between the wetlands of Ber-Igog and the imperial domain of the God-Emperor lies the Monastery of Ten Thousand Steps. Despite its relatively small size and apparent absence of powerful gods, the monastery plays an important diplomatic role as a politically neutral ground and a provider of impartial mercenaries.
In reality, the monastery is a complex of over one hundred separate buildings and training courts spanning over the tops of more than twenty tall and narrow mountains reminiscent of the Huangshan Mountains of China.
The monastery takes its name from the legendary stairs that lead to the original temple, counting exactly ten thousand steps. According to the legend, the stair was built as a physical representation of the ten thousand spiritual steps necessary to achieve enlightened perfection. While there are much better and easier route to reach the complex by now, any individual that wishes to be trained as monk there is expected to tread the ancient paths and climb the stairs of old.
The whole mountain range is protected by a flight of wind spirits the form of colorful winged serpents (coualts) who zealously patrol the area far and wide around the monastery. The wind spirits suffer the presence of walking creatures as log as they keep their feet on the ground - no matter how high they get - but jealously guard the skies against any attempt to fly from one mountain to another. Flying creatures must humble themselves to purely land-based movements while entering the mountain range or face the relentless wrath of the spirits of the wind.
Apart from than these wind spirits, the monks revere the monastery's former masters and mystics who have reached perfect self. Their statues adorn the original temple where residents and travellers alike come to meditate and offer gifts of flowers, incense and blood.
The present grand master of the Monastery of 10 000 Steps is master Hishumu; an old boggard on the verge to achieve self-perfection and vanish among the stars. Traditionally, the grand master chooses a successor among the the other masters - collectively known as the nine - long before his departure, but master Hishumu as not yet done so. Already, the competition among them is higher than ever and tensions start to rise between their disciples...
Located due west of the the Silvani Forest, the Fire Hills are an active volcanic formation known for the aggressive and expansionist politics of its inhabitants. It is a land of thunder and lava, of raining ashes, of rivers of fire and constant warfare. Despite the seemingly inhospitable landscape, the Fire Hills boast one of the largest metropolis of the known world: the ogre city-state of Kinaska.
Other than its volcanic activity, the Fire Hills are known for their warmongering god-king: the red dragon known as the Great Wyrm.
The Great Wyrm demands absolute devotion from his subjects; any other demostration of worship has been outlawed. Godlings hailing from Kinaska are permitted to exist only as long as they perform their magic in his name and pay all proper homages, which culminates with their own self-sacrifice to the dragon upon reaching the peak of their power (which the Great Wyrm evaluates at level 15th or so). Godlings of any other origin are not allowed within the metropolis under penalty of death.
Unlike divine spellcasters, wizards and other arcane magic users enjoy a better public image and possess much more spellcasting liberties, but rivalry between warlocks (as they are locally known) is such that most die before they can establish their godly status. Only a handful have raised themselves high enough to be publicly recognised as “untouchables”. These untouchables are the Great Wyrm’s favorite agents and while none would publicly revere them, they together hold nearly as much power than the Great Wyrm himself.
The city-state has a mixed population primarily consisting of ogres, goblins and their minotaur slaves. As the original inhabitants of the Fire Hills, the minotaurs have been enslaved by the Great Wyrm as a race. Very few communities of free minotaurs exist outside the Fire Hills, and rare are those communities totaling more than a dozen individuals. Within the metropolis however, the minotaurs are prised slaves treated with as much care as their station allows. They are used as elite soldiers in the armies and as bodyguards for the most successful ogres (use the hill giant stats for extraordinary ogres). The secular masters of the city are the black-skinned fire ogres (use fire giant stats) who live in tall manors along the river of lava that crosses the city. These aristocrats live in relative luxury and can afford riches such as armor and great swords made of the best steel alloys.
Surrounding the city-state, the volcanic plains are surprisingly fertile. There, the goblins grow all kinds of comestible fungi and plants. Because of the ever-changing (and inherently dangerous) nature of the plains, these crops are generally used as pastures for herds of giant insects that the goblins use as meat stock, beast of burden, mounts and war juggernauts. A few types of fungi grow fast enough to be harvested and ground into a flour suitable for baking. Many goblins also work in the forges and smithies near the river, downstream of the volcanoes. There, the minerals are extracted from the river’s sands and smelted into gears of war. While the iron is of good quality, the quantities are too scarce to allow cheap suits of armors, so their production consist primary of weapons. Due to the frequent seismic activity, typical underground mine working is simply impossible within the Fire Hills.
Providing, training, equipping and feeding soldiers are the principal activities of the whole nation. If only the Great Wyrm could find a way to regenerate his troops faster, the world would be his. Fortunately for the rest of the world, the Great Wyrm seems too greedy and impatient to consolidate his victories and concentrate his efforts on a single target. By lack of necromantic talents or fear of undeath, the Great Wyrm has never attempted to raise any significant undead hordes which would otherwise solve his need for instantaneous armies.
Before hitting the Southern Shield Plateau, the rivers flowing down the Spiked Forests slow down and dissolve into one big marsh called the Wetlands of Ber-Igog. While these rivers eventually flow into the sea, the kingdom of Ber-Igog is limited to the soft-water part of the delta. Its boggard inhabitant rarely go past the waterfall line of Ira as the the salty water is too harsh on their sensitive skin.
The wetlands primarily consist of shallow bogs and seasonally flooded marshes. Like the islands of a tropical archipelago, thousands of dry-ish islets a dot the wetlands, supporting the homes and workshops of the boggards. The wetlands are also criscrossed by an impressive network of slow and shallow rivers which are used as highways to travel across the kingdom. If the boggards are the kings of wetlands, the rat-folks or Ber-Igog are the true masters of its rivers.
To the north where the terrain gets more mountainous, the wetlands flood deep valleys in which large bands of lizardmen have taken refuge. Despite their low numbers and their lack of organization, the lizardmen are ever plotting to take over the marches and chase the boggard out of the wetlands. These lizardmen have long stood without a strong ally or leader, but a new king is rising among them with unprecedented evil and cunning. It is told that giant crocodiles have recently been imported into the northern wetlands, which the lizardmen that can use as mounts. Already, numerous rat-folk have fled eastward, leaving the northern boggards more isolated than ever against the increasing attacks of the lizardmen.
The wetlands are ruled by an old boggard hero named Hokarh who vanquished the omnipotent and thoroughly evil lich-queen that ruled the wetlands before him. Once very active and caring of his own people, Hokarh is now an aging and grumpy leader assailed by headaches and psychologically exhausted by his years of leadership. He would gladly step down and leave his throne vacant for a younger, more enthusiast king, but he feels that the rising unrest among the lizardmen of the north will require his axe to be sharpened, one last time.
Like most lands of this world, the wetlands of Ber-Igog have their own protective spirits. In addition to the usual marches-loving creatures such as striges and giant frogs, the wetlands boast a population of will-o’-wisps and rather sinister water nagas with whom the boggards and rat-folk are nevertheless on good terms. All but the most desperate avoid the southernmost portion of the wetlands: these are the hunting grounds of the froghemoth, a ancient monster which the bogards used to worship as a god in the time of their lich-queen ruler.
the no humans thing reminds me of Pan's labrynth or The Labrynth, lots of bipeds but none are the same
very interesting thread/concepts here, I may try it myself someday
more locales for this world without humans...
The (not so) recent publishing of the Advanced Race Guide also facilitate the adaptation of this world significantly for those who seek a more RaW way to play non-conventional characters.
Collectively known as the coastal realms of Iranar, these four independent city-states perform most of the trade in the southern parts of the continent. Sooner or later, everything transits through one of these cities.
While all are harbour cities dealing with sea travel, the coastal realms also include the whole basin of Ira in which the Great Orange River and the Wetlands of Ber-Igog drain before reaching the sea. Breathtakingly beautiful, the basin is nevertheless a dangerous land of wild cascades, deep gorges and numerous waterfalls featuring few safe passage or secure shelter.
Near the ocean, the gorges dissolve into thousands of tall and narrows islands detaching themselves from the cliffs. Most of these islands are virtually inaccessible and either stand deserted or hold the villas of Iranari aristocrats. Nested upon the biggest of these islands stand the four sister city-states of Medeasar (City of medusas), Lamiorie (City of Lamias), Harpina (City of Harpies) and Hagia (City of the Sea Hags).
Despite their segregated aristocracies (as specified above), all four cities share many resemblances in terms of culture, architecture and economy. Gnolls form the basis of their population, but all four cities are remarkably cosmopolitan. Merfolk constitute the gnoll’s primary trade partners and great part of these cities are built to accommodate their presence. The Iranari realms also sport a fair minotaur population which occupy a respected warrior-caste, as well as numerous merchants and ambassadors from the neighboring Hobgoblin Empire, Kingdom of the Sphinx and cyclopean city of Tirycenae. Rat-folks from the wetlands of Ber-Igog are a common sight, but unlike other neighbouring realms, they do not hold any permanent warehouses nor embassy in any of the city-states.
In each city, the medusas, lamias, harpies and sea hags respectively rule their matriarchal society. None are as evil as their reputation holds, and they collectively rule in wisdom for the benefit of the whole Iranari realms. There, the veil is every woman's right and in some cases, a necessity for life in society. Iranari women have developed an art of seduction based on their luxurious veils that is known across the continent, and the coastal realms are reputed for its exoticism and sensual pleasures. Whereas the hearts of young men are not literally devoured anymore, Iranari aristocrats remain nevertheless perilous women indeed!
If one sails west of the Iranari Realms along the shores of the Cerulean sea, he will find the cyclopean city of Tirycenae.
The Tirycean enjoy fair weather all year long, except for a period of tropical storms in the fall where sea travel becomes impractical for several weeks. During that time, the city is closed-off to strangers and the otherwise good-natured cyclops practice the bloody worship of their Storm-God; a cyclop god of extraordinary size, riding a winged chariot pulled by two red-eyed juvenile roclings.
During the absence of the Storm-God, the city is administered by the praetors: a council of elders who rule as proxies. The praetor perform civic duties only; religious rituals are only practiced during the storm season by none other than the Storm-God himself. No priest of the storm-god are known to exist, and cyclops who portray divine powers are usually executed by the Storm-God himself. Godlings of other provenance are tolerated within the city as long as they do not stay in the city for more than a moon, and make no demonstration of their powers. Arcane practitioners are viewed with suspicion but are not persecuted (unless when they disturb the peace by demonstrating their powers). The art of potion-making is even praised within Tirycenae, and a few cyclops have themselves become talented potion-makers.
The twin birdlings of the the Storm-God appear on the crimson shields of the cyclop’s soldiers, both as a symbol of their city-state and of their religious allegiance. Cyclopean soldiers wear bronze breasplates and helmets in battle, fighting with heavy spears and broad blades using efficient group tactics. Luckily for their neighbours, the cyclops are too few to cause a real invasion threat, but efficiently hold their borders despite their lack of military architecture.
The city of Tirycenea itself is made almost entirely out of gigantic stone masonry, built on a high and narrow peninsula overlooking the sea. A mighty bridge lead to the detached tip of the peninsula where the priests of old used to have their temple. The island lays now in ruin since the battle between the priests and the storm-god, for the cyclops have lost the knowledge of building in the fashion of their forefathers. Long ago, the cyclops used to be taller and wiser in stone craftsmanship, seamanship and star-gazing. Much of their knowledge is now lost, and no traces of their civilisation remain outside their city. The cyclops live in a perpetual melancholy, as they are aware that they are a dwindling people both in civilisation and body.
The ruined temple island still serve as a place of worship during the storm season but are closed off by the praetorian guard for the rest of the year. Below the city lies the harbours. The cyclops themselves have a few small boats (for lack of timber to craft adequately large sea-going vessels) but receive a lot of commerce from other nations. The cyclops are poor swimmers but they walk with ease at the bottom of the bay, and the shark don’t seem to bother them. when the water gets too deep, the cyclops breath through pipes or else carry large bronze bells to trap air over their head. Large shells, pearls, coral and the products of their orchards constitute the bulk of their exportation.
A small cult of diviners among the cyclops secretly worship the oracle and the priests of their old republic. They seek to bring back the oracle and the art of divination to lead their people to a new golden age or at the very least, a renaissance of their past...
I *LOVE* This. This is BEAUTIFUL. Definitely watching this thread.
Oh I like this thread..Im finally home. Currently my players are making a Kingdom Haven for Monstrousfolk to live in, so im liking that quite abit...I might just put some ideas here and take some, when I have the chance.
This one follows a slightly descriptive pattern. No particular reason why...
Unlike other fantastic and isolated locales of this world, the hobgoblin empire is a vast and widely populated area counting thousands of thousands souls. The ruling class, including the military, consist almost exclusively of tall and proud hobgoblins while the peasantry is composed of short, brown-skinned goblins. In the northern parts of the Empire, tribes of bugbear barbarians make for the bulk of the population, but they are rarely encountered further south. The Empire occupies most of the central continent, spanning from the eternal frozen wastes where the Great Orange River is born, all the way south to the Cerulean Seas where the river flows into the ocean.
The hobgoblin aristocrats: The hobgoblins are the master of the Empire. Almost all of them either work for the military or as administrators for the Empire. Virtually everything is institutionalized, from transportation to inns to merchant’s shops. All within the Empire belongs to the God-Emperor; the hobgoblins merely administer everything in his name. Nevertheless, Some hobgoblins hold more power and prestigious positions than others; these are the aristocrats of the Empire, and the laws transit through them. These aristocrats are constantly in competition and regularly squabbles against each others, sometimes to the point of open warfare. Yet, these aristocrats are untouchable and most develop advanced talents and skills or innate magical abilities. (Author’s note: Most hobgoblin aristocrats use another, stronger race as stat template or are considered hobgoblins with class levels, typically as cleric, sorcerer, alchemist and gunsligner).
The hobgoblin merchant class: The rest of the hobgoblins form a merchant class including soldiers, craftsmen, shopkeepers, bureaucrats and administrators of all sorts. By law, every hobgoblin must be given free lodging, food and education, but your status and level of luxury is settled by what you can do. It is possible for a low-ranked hobgoblin to ascend to aristocracy if its skills and ambition are strong enough. Despite their education in grammar and arithmetics, the hobgoblins are kept relatively ignorant of the world at large, resulting in an advanced but very self-centered civilisation.
The goblin peasantry: The rulers of the empire keep the goblins as ignorant and insignificant as possible, keeping them too busy with physical labours for them to rise above their class. They form the peasantry of the Empire, tilling the land along the Orange River through a in a complex irrigation system (controlled and administered by the hobgoblins aristocrats). While they they are housed and fed adequately, the goblins are not allowed to feast (i.e. eat more than the allotted rations), to bare weapons or to own possessions of any sort. Their whole life, from how much they can eat to when they can meet to whom they can marry, is heavily regulated by the hobgoblin administrators. Still, the goblins are considered citizen of the Empire, guaranteeing welfare and protection. Also, the goblins are completely left out of warfare and are never given any weapon or training, and so they are spared of most atrocities of war.
The bugbear barbarians: The bugbear barbarian tribes of the north revere and acknowledge the rulership of the God-Emperor, but they are not considered full-fledged imperial citizen. They are free to roam as they want, acquire wealth and bare weapons for hunting and war, but the state has no obligations toward them. This means, among other things, that they have no rights. Hobgoblins sometimes hire them as mercenary and beetle tamer, a task at which they excel. A few bugbear heroes have risen through time, and the bugbear honour them by naming their tribe after them.
The God-Emperor: The God-Emperor lives in His palatial complex at the top of the city of Xjan-Hin where He holds His celestial court. Only the most important cases are taken to Him, but on the last day of every month, the God-Emperor presides an open court, receiving the plea of His subjects directly. Goblins, Hobgoblins and bugbears alike have an equal chance of being received by the God-Emperor if their cause is just. Even outsiders have been known to receive an audience with the God-Emperor, but such are rarer cases. In this court, the God-Emperor rules over any type of injustice, including those made by nature, disease or misfortune, and His judgement is always final and without appeal. Miracles and powerful enchantments often accompany His judgements.
The God-Emperor is never seen without a golden mask covering all His features. It is assumed that the God-Emperor is hobgoblin (insinuating otherwise is considered heresy), but none could tell for sure. The God-Emperor has no wife, but His iconography marries Him with the Orange River.
The palatial city is perhaps the largest city in the world, perched on the plateaus and terraces of the Xjan-Hin mountains. On clear mornings, the golden roofs of His courts and apartments can be seen from a lot further than it should, shining like a beacon of order.
On giant beetles: The goblins and hobgoblins of the Orange Rivers have long domesticated and bred various species of giant beetles. Giant cockroaches and fire beetles are typically used as pets and beasts of burden (or food), while wilder species like stag beetles and slicer beetles are used as mounts for cavalry units. Heavy beetle cavalry have their wings strapped in to prevent exposing their softer abdomen, but mobile crossbow units are often mounted on flying beetles. The bugbear barbarian have domesticated the hairy beetle, a cold-resistant version of the stag beetle. They also hunt larger wild hairy beetles for their hair and meat (juice really), with the hollowed shells of the largest specimen serving as houses.
On bombs and firearms: Long ago, the God-Emperor taught His hobgoblins the secret of making bombs, greek fire and firearms. Lacking iron in sufficient quantity and quality to make firearms on a massive scale, most are single-shot, disposable devices made of wood and cloth. These “firesticks” are considered muskets that cannot be reloaded. Elite troops are all equipped with one firesticks. Only the richest aristocrats can afford reusable firearms.
The barghest infestation: Once in awhile, a barghest infiltrates the goblin peasantry, causing chaos and destruction. No one knows whether these creature are invaders or manifestation of angry goblins, but they surface every now and then throughout the Empire. The hobgoblins are on a constant lookout for potential barghests, as they are relatively easy to eliminate during the first stages of their transformation but a lot harder to defeat after their ascension. Wolves are killed on sight in the Empire.
Spirits of the land: Like other locales, the land of the Orange River has its resident spirits. Most are spirits of the earth, the others being tamed or banished by the God-Emperor long ago. Most treacherous are the bulettes, preying on lone goblins around the Xjan-Hin mountains. Also, in the marshy lands of the south lives the Catobelpas, preventing a reliable access to the Jade mountains and the basin of Ira where the Orange River joins the sea. Many heroes have claimed slaying the Catobelpas, returning with its head to the palatial city. Regardless, the Catobelpas always return soon after, or else a new one takes its place, and the Catobelpas still blocks all roads going south to this day...