For years I thought it would be clever to name my campaign world some variant spelling of Earth (Urrhth, Ereth, blah blah) but never really liked those. So about 2 years ago I finally just picked "Nibiru" (from mythology and alien and conspiracy crackpot fame). Now if I could just pick a name for the main continent that I like. For over twenty years I've called it "Nehlas". I never liked it, but it's become canon for our homebrew.
The primary city in my setting is Unkhoor, the largest city on the continent and scene of most of the "domestic" games. Other cities include Marikam, Dar-Shalul, Damul, and Qarikan.
Tell me some of your place names!
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
My homebrew world was called Atalas, until my friend told me it reminded him of the Etta James song "At Last".
sigh Back to the drawing board.
At least it's a good song!
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
I run games out of the Inner Sea campaign setting, but I still invent names for cities and settlements on blank spots of the map. Dygon, Landil, Dent, and Vyrona are just a couple of the names I can remember off the top of my head.
We used to call any small town Hamletvilletonshiresburg. Till it was destroyed then there was Hamletvilletonshiresburg West.
We used to call any small town Hamletvilletonshiresburg. Till it was destroyed then there was Hamletvilletonshiresburg West.
That's brilliant... lol
For small villages I use names of small towns in my home state of Arkansas. Places like "Oil Trough","Evening Shade", "Ash Flat" "Possum Grape", and "Cave Creek" have all made appearances.
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
A fun group of places I named.
Fioran, Briaron, Floran, Varedran, Belune, Mezula. (guess the theme)
Named my Japanese-ish homebrew setting 'Chojushima'. Supposed to be Beast-Islands because of the lack of humans. It totally populate by henge and other yokai. Of course there's the capital of Jugenkyo (Beast Village.) and other things stolen from Juken-sentai Gekiranger.
Named a flying city 'Airlandis', stolen from the cartoon Dragonflyz. the setting is a mostly airborne campaign so I scoured pop culture for air names like Zeph and Gustville.
Then there are the outright descriptive things like, Junk-city, Meteor Valley, Devil's Plateu.
I'm running a science fantasy/space opera type setting
To name a few...
Eslilia (Alliance colony world), Cragstone (moon of Eslilia, heavily mined by Dwarves), Zuturn (Tiefling and Dwarf colony world), Manhattan Spaceport
Here you go
I'm still giggling about the "Elven Illuminati".
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Well the setting Ilike to run is a Renaissance-ere island chained inspired by the Caribbean. The world is called Louros and the region is called Anacaona, which is from an actual figure in Caribbean history. For the island name, I try to make them sound as close to their xpy without being too obvious. So the main native kingdom is called Karayaguey, while the "spainish" colony is called Casturas. Most of my naming schemes comes from following the language conventions of said language, whether it is Dutch, Spanish, or Taino.
My current campaign exists in Golerion and Inner Sea, but with unique locations.
Metamora is a small port town in Andoran, which is currently in the process of western expansion. Metamora is the town where the party started their adventure.
Signum is a hidden city inhabited by a homebrew race that believe themselves descended from constructs given flesh by their goddess. They treat constructs and intelligent items as if they were living creatures. A map of it exists here. The city is run by a mysterious patriarch, hailed as a great ageless prophet, that lives inside a massive, featureless monolith in the center of the city.
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Well naturally, my published homebrew: the Kaidan setting of Japanese horror (PFRPG) is called Kaidan, which is the name of the empire, the archipelago of islands it resides, and is a real Japanese archaic word that means "ghost story" (and why the name was chosen in the first place).
The setting was designed to plug-n-play into any existing setting that might not have a Japan analog built in, and since this is an archipelago of islands, it can be easily dropped into the ocean somewhere on your existing world. Also this means, that Kaidan isn't part of an existing world, so there is no "world name".
Although the archipelago consists of hundreds islands, large and small, some little more than rocks peaking out the waves, while some are as large as nations. The 4 main islands are: Genshu, Yonshu, Anshu and Ryuki - all names are based on Japanese words and/or family names.
Genshu the cold northern island is home for the Genji clan (thus Genshu).
Anshu is the main and largest island and most populous, being home to the imperial house with Antoku as the name of the current emperor (An for Anshu is taken from the emperor's name).
Ryuki, the smallest and most southern island, is semi-tropical and legendary home to the sea dragon king in the waters somewhere around this island. Ryu is Japanese for dragon.
Yonshu, the second smallest of the large islands is largely wilderness and very much a "wild west" compared to the rest of the empire. This is the island featured throughout the Curse of the Golden Spear intro trilogy to Kaidan. "Yon" means "four" in Japanese, and was the last of the four islands settled by the empire.
All the various cities, towns and other named locations use actual Japanese words, though an attempt has been made not to replicate any real world Japanese locations, thus though fictional, the names are real Japanese.
I've had my campaign world setting for over 30 years, with some further intermittent development, redesign throughout during that time. I have old players who still use that campaign world in different cities where they live (and have contacted me for further info).
Campaign Setting: STONEHELM
Continents: Aegrir (primary, most developed), Apsis (secondary, sort of the "New World"), plus various small chain islands.
Countries/Nations: About 22 official and established nations, plus a variety of tribal kingdoms and city states scattered throughout the more uncivilized lands.
The primary Nations are The United Mithrin Republic of Light (UMRL), The Empire of El-Shen, Kingdom of Wynshorn, Nation of Ravenhill, Nation of Urhn.
These five once constituted the Great Empire of Bloodstone, but hey split after a terrible civil war.
The Nation of the Mithral Greens (Elves) who are right in the middle of the above five nations.
These all consist of the civilizations that live in the Cradle of the world, where all primary nations first settled. Humans settled throughout the land, Elves in the Great Eushon Forest in the centre, and Dwarven beneath the earth throughout the Great Mountain Range of Stonehelm that nearly encompasses the area (The Dwarven Kingdom of Stonehelm).
Nations beyond this region include The Aestivic Kingdom, Nation of Perth, Kingdom of Zrog, Klennadan, Empire of Romaanea, Nation of Gorr, Kingdom of Necromirr, the T'korn Dominion, the Jak'kra Kingdom, Throggin Confederacy (human and Orcs), Nation of Kerrduum, Kodan, Minbarr, Shenal, Vostrovia, Shelar, The Nation of Stonegard.
Elven Lands: The Nation of the Silver Star, The Kingdom of the Misty Glades.
Minotaurs: Sirjif Coalition (Minotaurs and Humans)
All these regions have their own history, political orientation (including alliances), and culture, many based on historical Earth cultures, or mix of a few.
The Continent of Apsis consists primarily of Tribal Nations similar to the North and South American indigenous cultures (Plains Indians, Inuit, Aztecs, Mayans, Amazon, etc.) all based on their (Terrain-based tribal lands (Forest, Mountain, Hills, Jungle, Badlands, Swamps, etc.) They all have tribal names too, but I'm not going to list them here.
The setting has enough development to allow any style of play, including adapting Galorian and PF classes and settings/subsettings directly into specific regions. Currently, I have some friend in another city doing a Mythic campaign in my world using an adventure path, adapted to my setting.
|
So my group has our planet, and each of us has a certain portion of it that we get to develop all for ourselves. The planet itself is called Arret, which is "Terra" backwards. ("Terra" being Latin for "Earth," not a reference to Final Fantasy VI.)
I'm giving an extremely brief and truncated gazetteer of Arret, mostly because the world's not technically done yet, and I don't exactly know every single regional name offhand anyway.
Corydon: Our group's version of ancient Greece, named after the country's creator. It's notable for being entirely shrouded by an antimagic field, so human characters hailing from this region get psionic powers instead. (Corydonite humans replace their human bonus feat with Hidden Talent.) Or they can be monks. (I'm assuming that this isn't a reference to monks being psionic in Fourth Edition.)
The Free Mountain Territories: Dwarven lands, along with humans. I don't really know too much about the Territories otherwise. ;_;
Maranha: Ancient India. Named because, well, I played ActRaiser a little bit too much.
Seigyoku: Samurai Japan, just after the Warring States period. The Sapphire Palace in the capital of Kanmuri is alleged to border a plane where time does not pass. Named this way because seigyoku is Japanese for "sapphire." (...and kanmuri is Japanese for "capital." I'm not very creative at names.)
Sejong: Korea, without the deranged lunatic up north and most definitely without the absolutely disgusting Joseon Dynasty sexism. Named for the sixteenth-century Korean ruler.
The Tiger Reich Nazi Germany in full plate. They worship the Tiger, and have a particular hatred for all things demihuman. The Society of Thule serves as the arcane support for the Reich's military.
Xianghua: Ancient China by way of our group. Currently under the thumb of the Jade Regent, but not if the group has any say about it. Was originally named Chong Guo, but I changed it not only because another series beat me to it, but because I can actually spell and say Xianghua the same way twice.
These are all great! I've never played a campaign in an established world, having started out in a homebrew and continued the tradition myself. My world is 20 something years old and goes much deeper than just the names I mentioned, but I was hoping to avoid the dreaded (echo-y voice) Wall of Text because I can get pretty long winded about my pet project.. lol
These are all great! I've never played a campaign in an established world, having started out in a homebrew and continued the tradition myself. My world is 20 something years old and goes much deeper than just the names I mentioned, but I was hoping to avoid the dreaded (echo-y voice) Wall of Text because I can get pretty long winded about my pet project.. lol
Once I get to an actual computer and not my phone, I'll definitely describe mine in more detail.
These are all great! I've never played a campaign in an established world, having started out in a homebrew and continued the tradition myself. My world is 20 something years old and goes much deeper than just the names I mentioned, but I was hoping to avoid the dreaded (echo-y voice) Wall of Text because I can get pretty long winded about my pet project.. lol
I think there are a lot of us with Campaign Worlds that are much deeper than just their names. If one asks, I can tell you what sort of critters are in a certain area, I have detailed maps for every nation and land, NPC scattered across the Nations, and much of it has been built via campaigns over those 30 years, including nations rising from PCs, and PCs establishing organizations, etc. I have also designed various campaign artifacts. The tough thing has been having to up date everything, going from AD&D 1E & 2E, to 3/3.5E, and now to Pathfinder.
I need a name for my homebrew world and the main island.
Current main city: Throncrest
Former main city: Arcasia
Main region: Dawnsreach
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
The primary continent of the world is known for its greatest civilization: Karnoss
The Karnossov rose and fell yet still these are their lands. Within Karnoss are many regions. Some are known in the ancient tongue: Vardok, Agonoszk, Izmok and Raveneszk. Others are cultural melting pots, sometimes due to war and other times because of commerce. These more diverse regions have more common names; Middenmarch, Elderscorn Vale, Bloodthorn Hollow.
The lands of Karnoss are still recovering from the Wilding, a time when the primeval wilderness resurged across the civilized lands. Many towns and villages were devoured by the forests and fey. The greatest city to survive the calamity was Inderwick, though it did not escape unscathed. A full quarter of the city is still buried in the dark thickets of the Gnarl.
Dunspar, the largest port on the Icwyl Sea has recovered well though the Wilderwood stands literally on their doorstep. The city owes much of its survival to the diverse religious orders within its walls as well as the Erastilin who have vowed to curate a portion of the nearby forest they have dubbed the Greenward.
In Bloodthorn the forest has divided the residents. Already a more rural and superstitious region, now they are afflicted with the return of the Hexbane; a conglomerate of many inquisitions bent on purging witchcraft, the fey, and eventually all arcane magic from Karnoss. The land is once more a hotbed of fear and derision and nowhere is this more felt than in the towns and cities. Arabellyn, once a place of sophistication and culture is a closed port of fearful aristocrats and cloistered clergy devoted to the uncaring Nethys. In Tashtantar the dwarves rule with an iron fist using might to control what they don't yet understand.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
I don't have all the town/city names memorized and I only made them for one region, but I can tell ya the region names for my campaign.
Continent's called Tandyria, and it consists of a bunch of regions.
The Royal Vitellian Empire, a region consisting mostly of forest and plains in the northwestern part of the continent. Home to a lot of humans and halflings, governed by a feudal system reigned over by the royal Vitellia family.
Steinfar Mountains, a region of tall, snowy mountains in the north of the continent. Ancestral home to the dwarves, who have a clan structure. One of the easiest ways to reach the underdark, if you're foolish enough to go down there.
The Kalayri Desert, at the center of the region. Home to a great society of magicians in years past, a great calamity scuttled much of the land and forced its surviving human and catfolk citizens to migrate elsewhere. Recently resettled by the region's generational descendants, the catfolk are now the dominant race of the region and have created a trade-nation.
The Yuan Empire, which is separated from the rest of Tandyria by a channel of water between it and the shore of mainland Tandyria. Believed to have been moved to the region by the gods. Home to humans, tengu, nagaji, kitsune and other such races, with an unfortunate superiority complex among the humans.
The Wildlands, a vast jungle on the west of the continent, separated from the desert by mountains but bordering on the RVE and the Great Forest south of it. A dangerous land home to the population centers of orcs, hobgoblins and ogres, the jungle exists as a dangerous, nearly unviable alternative to the Kalayri desert for crossing the continent between north and south.
The Great Forest of Galatae, a huge, sprawling fey forest in the south-southwest of the continent. Home to the elves and gnomes, as well as many less savory fey creatures, the forest is teeming with life and magic, as well as danger. The region is where some of the greatest achievements of art and magic have come, but sometimes the people of the region are reluctant to share their wonders with the rest.
And last is the Land of Dragons, a volcanic hellscape on the southeast of the region. Population center for Red Dragons, it is seen as a frightening land of death that no sane man would ever enter. While it is likely filled with the countless treasures of dozens of dragon hoards, any who would step foot in it would be lucky to see a dragon passing overhead before they're killed by the extreme heat or swarmed by hundreds of defending kobolds.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Everyone has written something to expand on just the names of places, so I'll give it a shot.
Unkhoor: also known as "The Painted City" or "The City of Bridges" is the largest city known on the continent of Nehlas. It is a huge island that sits in the middle of the Pelo River and is the capitol of the nation of Kelvesiin. It is joined to the east and west banks by six immense bridges, three to a side. It is called the Painted City because all the buildings are painted in bright, garish colors. The island rises to a peak of sorts where the Palace of the Veiled Queen is located, and the rest of the island is divided into five socio-economic tiers, with each one descending being a bit less affluent than the ones above.
Dar-Shalul: Another large city in the nation of Kusoonoor, Dar-Shalul is a city in decline. Once the heart of a great kingdom, its fortunes have faded and many sections of the city are nearly abandoned (save for less savory individuals and organizations) because the populace has either moved into the heart of the city and making it more crowded or have moved away to other towns and cities.
Damul: The capitol of the nation of H'Nakva, a paranoid military theocracy that has largely shut itself off from its neighbors. Marikan is a dark, dirty city whose citizens live in constant fear of the secret police and being reported by their neighbors for things both real and fabricated. Military service is mandatory for both men and women, with each gender serving side by side from the age of 16 to 20.
Qarikan: The capitol of Sesnakhar, Qarikan is the City of Temples. Much more a theocracy than its neighbor, it still worships many of the darker and more dangerous gods of the old ways, which for the most part have been abandoned in the other of the Four Great Nations. Rumors of humanoid sacrifice abound, and there is evidence to support these reports. Citizens who try to flee are turned back at the borders and sent to prison or worse.
See? THIS (above) is why I tune into Cal's threads. You have a rich tapestry of creativity in your game DM C and your writing is great! I immediately found myself seeing the Painted City and wanting to know more of the Veiled Queen.
Your naming convention and writing style evokes a certain feel to your homebrew. I think Nehlas goes right along with it. Keep up the great work Master of Dungeons.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
The world I'm working on is Indevion.
Right now it's mostly blank map, but the kingdom that is the most fleshed out is Nuestria (I took the name from the Neustria which was part of the Kingdom of France). Nuestria is heavily based off medieval England and France and tied together with aspects of Ferelden from Dragon Age.
The capital is Carran, although it's just a name right now. The big stuff is happening in the former capital of Orwick.
Other locations include The Dwarven Holdfasts of the Silver Mountains, a loose collection of small city-states that have banded together for trade and mutual protection. There is currently a economic and political movement away from the acquisition of wealth for wealth's sake and to more equally distribute resources among the different holdfasts.
The Mistwoods are a wide band of deep redwood and sequoia forests that run north and south to the west of the Four Great Nations. The Elves who dwell their are secretive and xenophobic to nearly the point of fanaticism, rarely leaving the confines of their hidden cities and allowing very few outsiders in. (I once ran a session of games where the players had to mediate a civil war between two rival factions. I called it "Guerrillas in the Mistwoods"). I kill me.
See? THIS (above) is why I tune into Cal's threads. You have a rich tapestry of creativity in your game DM C and your writing is great! I immediately found myself seeing the Painted City and wanting to know more of the Veiled Queen.
Your naming convention and writing style evokes a certain feel to your homebrew. I think Nehlas goes right along with it. Keep up the great work Master of Dungeons.
Awww, shucks! You are too kind, sir.
Another feature in my homebrew are the languages of the Four Great Nations. Ruled for nearly a 1000 years by a tyrannical, psionic race, their language became that of their masters, with local dialects, of course. Today, nearly 800 years after the Liberation War all four nations still speak a variant of Old Ransoori, though it's evolved into four separate languages that are very similar in some ways, like Portuguese is to Spanish. It's enough of a language barrier that most can't understand what someone from another country says, but they developed a way around that.
During the Liberation War, a simple sign language was developed that the Ransoori called "Traitor's Tongue". It was used to convey information between covert guerrilla groups. Today, it's modern configuration is called "Trader's Tongue" and uses most of the original signs and symbols. It is taught in many places alongside verbal communication to children, and it allows, for example, someone from Unkhoor to be understood by someone in Dar-Shalul with little trouble. It's the closest thing in my campaign to a "common tongue".
|
| 3 people marked this as a favorite. |
I'll go into more details on these when I get home, but here's the list of just names with no context.
The world itself is called Finiens, which I'm told means "Horizon". The earliest drafts of the world called it "a place where the sea met the sky" so that was one of the suggested names.
Finiens has five continents: Stormwind (possibly originally Stromwend), Paziou, Wachara, Teremvor, and Senkaku. Senkaku was shattered millennia ago into a massive set of archipelagos.
Stormwind hosts six regions: the countries of Olympia and Denvushain, the Sombersong Wood where the Yuan-Ti dwell, the Elven forest of Sentara, a currently unnamed savannah region north of desert Denvushain and south of the barbaric tundraland of the Ice Claw, and beyond the Mountains of Madness to the north of that lies Unknown Kadath.
Wachara is much larger: it contains Anhur, Galadae, Vhuatou, Eirene, Seredína, Olorunium, Alvaris, Palumbir, Thysania, Behalir, Tristion, Asturcon, Frenat, Rueckgabe, Gavrin, Peregrin, Divus, Naltaskar, Iomrall, Weuland, Shadrach, and the Northlands.
Teremvor contains Tiatara, Juliana, Mattarch, Gaundar, Tios, Tursus, and Yashkal.
Paziou once contained many civilizations, but they've all since crumbled. It's the place I stick any ancient fallen culture - stuff like Azlant, Thassilon, Netheril, Suel, etc.
There is also a floating island created and mostly occupied by Gnomes that doesn't have a name yet, and an icy sixth continent at the southern pole which is both unnamed and mostly undiscovered. The oceans also should have names, especially by the dwarves who occupy them (in my setting dwarves are typically sailors, merchants, and pirates rather than miners and smiths), but we also haven't gotten around to that.
Finiens exists within a tiny bubble-universe that contains only the planet and a small sphere of space, referred to as the Black Beyond. The stars its people see in the night sky are actually cracks in the border of their universe, letting in light (and other things) from other realities as the tiny self-contained dimension hurtles randomly throughout space-time, sometimes passing through, into, and past other universes, often picking up things as it goes - sometimes including intelligent life. It's how I explain the fact that nearly anything from any setting can and usually does exist on Finiens.
I really like the Lovecraftian locations!
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
So do I =D I really need to get back to finishing the racial profiles on my worldbuilding blog so I can get to talking about the Dark Song.
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Lets see.
Planet Tor
Continet: Masitor
--Arstrach, Kesh, Dorgian, Faldorn Expanse
Continet: Amitor
--Deima, The Askat
Continent: Quasitor
--Zantos, Geran, Mackloy
Continent: Ira'itor
--Ruined goblin kingdoms, no real names yet
Continent: Praetor (Kordan)
--Erant, New Arstrach, Ulamara District, Saft, Centilla, Caldonia, The Vastile, Kordan, Death Desert
Gods
Solus, Spes, Xortia, Bregnan, Lom, Ium-hal, Premnar, Oritam
Elder Titans
Chronos, Scarlett, Partath, Atmos
Races
Half giants are Ogari, half orcs are Kordanites
Planes
The Astral Sea
There are no Half Orcs in my setting. Orcs and Humans cannot produce children. Half Orcs are a savage humanoid race altogether called the Guti. As far as appearances go they look like primitive Humans (think Homo heidelbergensis).
As far as Gnomes or Halflings go, I've always just sort of hand waved them off because no one really wants to play them in my groups. Gnomes live along the borders of the Mistwood and act as middlemen for trade between the Elves and the other races. Halflings I've treated as having been nearly hunted to extinction for sport by the former tyrants who once ruled the Four Great Nations. Their numbers are strong today, but most live in or near Human cities and towns (usually the smaller ones) or travel about in brightly painted caravans acting as peddlers and entertainers.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Damn, now I should step up my descriptions some :p
Once I get back from my evening of drinking and partying, I'll see what I can muster.
|
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
The Kordanite half orcs are an ancient true breeding race in a part of the world that hasn't seen humans in over 3000 years. While their ancient parentage had humans in it, they now are genetically incompatible. Orcs are completely eradicated from ~95% of the world, and although Kordanites have seen them more recently, they don't breed with them either.
Ogari were never "half giants" but a demi-giant race created by one of the elves to subjugate the dwarves of Deima in eons past (a war which the elves handily lost). They live on only the Amitor continent, but adventurers go elsewhere.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Bad Ass is pretty popular at my table. Named after a mule that wouldn't walk in the mud.
Unkhoor has the Big Ass Festival. It's a "big" festival celebrating how donkeys were used to smuggle in warriors hiding in carts into the city to overthrow the ruling class. Of course, over the years things get changed around some...
I have a couple:
Pangea is a supercontinent split into several empires.
The Stygian Caliphate- A desert kingdom ruled by aristocratic mages. Non magic users are considered second class citizens. Primary religion is Azor, the Torchbearer God (monotheistic Islam/Judaism style worship) Capitol City: Stygia (Arabian Nights style city with turrets, towers, people on flying carpets)
The Calabrian Empire- A steam powered Byzantine style nation ruled over by an power hungry emperor. Primary religion is Church of Calabros, son of Azor, the Beekeeper God (monotheistic Christian style religion) Capitol City: Alvinia (Rome/Constantinople meets Elizabethan London, blimps and cannons. At the center is a gigantic twelve story bee hive)
The Bronze Islands- An Ancient Greek style island chain ruled over by Stheno, a benevolent Gorgon Demi-Goddess. Primary Religion the Bronze Gods (a polytheistic religion where the gods are all monsters from Greek Mythology) Capitol City: Ethos (Ancient Greece with Dinosaurs)
Taramis, Asteran, Esgoran, and Bel- Loosely connected mercenary city states ruled by sex addicted bandits, sociopathic thieves, and religious prostitutes. Primary Religion the Horned King (Sumerian Style beliefs) Capitol City: Taramis (Robert E. Howard meets Boogie Nights)
Free Kingdoms- Dwarven Kingdoms, Elven Cities, Halfling Villages
Drowlands- Drow who have been exiled to the surface and interbred with giant spiders. Primary religion is to spill your blood (they think Loth won't bless you if you don't personally kill a hundred non Drow). Capitol City: Ebon (Evil Aztecs in a nocturnal jungle)
Very interesting!
I'm currently updating the religions part of my setting.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Very interesting!
I'm currently updating the religions part of my setting.
I am super duper proud of the Calabros Religion I created because when I started I had nothing to work with but honey bees and Jesus.
Basically, thousands of years ago, the Calabrians were ruled over by a bunch of mean ass pagans and a super nice guy named Calabros came up from Stygia, telling everyone that they should love everyone as a Honeybee loves his brother Bees. Calabros was a priest of Azor and when the Empire found out he was a Stygian citizen, they burned him at the stake. In that moment, Azor's angels appeared and swooped up Calabros to Godhood. His followers established a religion based around Honeybees and bee keeping as a sacred profession. When Calabrian faith spread through their empire and the Imperial Family converted into it, the imperial military sort of twisted Calabros' words around to justify a thousand year war of expansion that created the largest country in the world, much to the Church's annoyance. Now the Church of Calabros, The Legions, and the Imperial Government are in a tug of war over the true meaning of Calabros' writings and philosophies. Each church has a giant beehive surrounded by a garden.
So, I've written quite a lot about my setting on my lappy toppy. Gods and goddesses, different religions and philosophies, countries and ethnicities, and even other planets. I'm currently working on a personality generator that uses a horoscope to determine a character's personal habits (if they so desire). I'll be brief, but at some point, I'll have to post the document in Google Docs.
So the setting is called Anacaona, the Gilded Isles. It was once a land bridge between the north continent Kivira and southern continent Thivola. It housed a powerful and ancient empire based loosely on the Mayan Empire. 8000 years before the current age, the empire was destroyed and the land bridge shattered on a day only known to scholars as the Night of the Scarlet Star. Since then, empires have risen and fallen. The last 100 years saw the arrival of colonists from another land. This would turn into a century long fight between the more magical native kingdoms and the more technological colonists that would end not with a victor, but a terrible plague that killed the populations of both sides. Now the islanders live in an uneasy peace treaty and a tense political atmosphere that could erupt in a full-blown war at any moment it seems.
A note is that before the cultural exchange, the natives are advanced to a more medieval era, with castles and worked steel. The colonists were more Renaissance era, with firearms. After that war, though, everyone is on even playing field in terms of technology. In addition, the natives seem to have a higher number of nature divine casters (druids and shamans), while the colonists have more ecclesiastical casters (clerics and inquisitors). Both sides have plenty of oracles.
The islands also don't have much in the way of large swaths of civilization on each island. There is only one metropolis in the entire region, with most capitals at the small to large city sizes. For the colonists, it's because they are still relatively new so they haven't had the time to build up their city. Especially after the war. For the natives, it's because of the multitude of disasters that have befallen them, from invasion to plagues, supernatural attacks and infighting. So for all of the islands, there is still a lot of dangerous jungle wilderness in between points of civilization.
There are a great deal of human ethnicities on the gilded isles. People have come from around the world at the chance of claiming new territories and resources, only to find that the islands have already been taken by the natives. I included so many ethnicities on purpose so that players wouldn't feel left out when wanting to create human characters. Human ethnicities include:
Casturan: These people are inspired on Spanish and Portuguese peoples.
Devian: Think English/Scots/Welsh/Irish for this group.
Liumin: Based on a combination of Japanese, Chinese, and Ryukyu Island influences.
Nortch: Inspired by the Dutch and Germanic peoples of Europe.
Okulek: Very loosely based on the Carib people of the Caribbean, with some inspiration from Central Asian peoples.
Sulano: Based largely on the Taino peoples of the Caribbean.
Voquelle: Used the French peoples for inspiration of this.
Yuakandi: Based on the peoples of Ghana and Mali.
I also have a lot of nations to choose from for adventuring. Can be things like an urban adventure, seafaring pirates, a colony wilderness, or even some mythic ideas. As for the movers and shakers nations, they are:
Casturas: Casturas is the first colony to be founded and holds the greatest grudge against the native kingdoms. Once an economic powerhouse, it's languished from it's former glory. The capital is Puerto Oro and the island is loosely based on many of the Spanish colonies.
Cayatuo: A penal colony turned independent when the convicts revolted. Filled with people of all types, especially political dissidents and abolitionists. All of them live on an island with an active volcano. The land itself is based on Montserrat.
Fousang: A kingdom that was founded by refugees from a Far East kingdom divided from strife. This kingdom has been around longer than the other colonies and is considered a native kingdom. Based on a combination of Chinese, Japanese, and heavy Ryukyu Islands influences, and the name is of a legendary land to the east of China.
Haguétabey: A native theocracy of the Sulano ruled by druids and shamans. The people here worship the winds and storms and see the hurricane as the ultimate show of strength. Peppered with holy windmills that act as temples. This was mostly an original concept, with bits taken from middle eastern religions and animism.
Iramoor: The second oldest kingdom that makes its money off of blood rubies mined by their slaves. Loosely based on many of the French colonies in the Caribbean.
Jarima: An Okulek kingdom that broke off from its main empire after the Okulek invasion stalled. A clan based society that seems immune to the horrific pandemics that plagued the islands. Based loosely on the Carib people.
Karáyaguey: The oldest nation in Anacaona. Once a powerful empire, but weakened due to the plagues and wars of the Gilded Isles. Places a great deal of worship on the celestial bodies in the sky, as their ancestors did before the Night of the Scarlet Star. Based on the Taino people and their culture.
Konowa: Like Fousang, these are a kingdom founded by scholars on a flotilla from a savanna empire to the East and considered a native colony. The fleet was led by a king who abdicated his throne to instead go exploring. This coutnry is ruled by a masked being that leaves the day-to-day business to his senechal. Based on the Mali empire, especially the legend of Abu Bakr II.
Locanígua: A large archipelago that houses several clans of Sulano people as well as pirates. This is a confederacy of these families and buccaneers that fight off colonist advances on some of their deserted islands. Also has the least surface ruins, which leads many to believe that this was the epicenter of the sundering. Based on the Taino culture and the Bahamas.
Lysannan: A prosperous colony that has control over much of the trade in Anacaona. Also the center of their adventuring/colonizing corporation, the West Nortch Charter Company, where they send out hired adventurers and explores to scour ruins and lands for resources, lost treasures, and relics of the past. Based on the Dutch colonies.
New Devland: Long time enemy of Casturas and a force trying to break into the trade and colony business. Negotiates the most with the natives, though seems to still be focused on claiming the islands of Locanigua. Based on the English colonies.
Orocóa: Actually two islands, it was the launching point when the Okulek invaded the Sulano kingdoms millennia ago. One island was taken over, while the other remained in Sulano hands. Their war ended with the arrival of the colonists and now Orocóa is a land of two diverse cultures that rule as a joint commonwealth. Based on the Carib and Taino cultures with some inspiration from Trinidad and Tabago as well as the Polish Lith Commonwealth.
Those are the main island nations, though there are many more islands that have civilizations or other crazy adventuring holds. Like the island of anthropophagic demon spawn, or the realm of the Stone God, where arcane casters are turned to statues and animated to be his Mage Hunters. But that's all I can muster for tonight.
Gave the campaign world the name Mystralas.
The main continent (or the one most friendly to Core Races) is Esvel.
One of my planned campaigns happens in Elefris, a sort of home nation of humanity on that continent and home to both the most well-known paladin order as well as the church of the main human deity. Once part of a larger elven empire, it is currently the center of arts and magic as well as high culture, though there is some bias against non-humans when it comes to said works in the area.
As a location, Elefris is pretty much based off the Kingdom of France, mainly during the reign of Louis XIV, though with fantasy elements tossed in. In general, Esvel is more or less based off an alternate Europe, with the central mountains being controlled by dwarves and kobolds, the northern isles under elven control. The east has large populations of orcs and goblinoids, and the rest of the continent is mainly populated by humans. The campaign world itself is still pretty much under construction, mainly because I've focused my writings on books I want to publish. That, and my group playing other games like GURPS while I tinker with my setting. Anyway, sorry for not having the guts to talk more of it.
The world I'm working on now, I call Jaumuron, it's also the main continent. It seems somewhat original yet not too exotic, which I like.
When it comes to naming places, I usually go for describing names, or names based on founding/important people or features. Many small villages/places don't have names, to those who live there it's simply "the village".
Significant events are also a source for names (King's Landing, anyone?). Or New 'where-ever-we-came-from' because names are not always original. Or just named after other places, because recycling saves the world.
There are no Half Orcs in my setting. Orcs and Humans cannot produce children.
Same in mine as well. Orcs just take the place of Half-Orcs as a playable race, and have slightly adjusted stats.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Religion. Oh boy, this is gonna get long. *knuckle crack*
OOCly:
About 90% of our setting's deities are ascended mortals, and many of them are former PCs. This is intentional. The remaining ones are ascended outsiders of various sorts, exemplars of their kind, selected for a position due to exhibiting particularly exceptional traits in a certain role.
ICly:
There are two levels of primary divine being on Finiens - the Aspects and the Avatars.
The Aspects are the five entities that were formed when The Creator (also known as The One, in contrast to The Five) divided itself during the task of creating Finiens and its surrounding tiny universe. Each of these Five embodies a specific subset of the One's will, intents, desires, morality, ethics, and behavior. They are:
Arete, the Excellence of Virtue, Aspect of Good
Braghain, the Unchanging Infinity, Aspect of Order
Ahriman, the Malign Seed, Aspect of Evil
Xaos, the Ever Shifter, Aspect of Chaos
and Mazuda, the Ancient of Days, Aspect of Creation.
The Avatars are more traditional deities - divine powers reigning over a single subset of closely-related intents; the Aspects in contrast are more like a set of overgods. Each Avatar draws its power from an Aspect. Thus, each Avatar is a subset of a particular Aspect's overall worship - and worshiping an Avatar is, in turn, worshiping the Aspect that patrons them.
Think of them like real-world religious denominations. "Christianity" would be an Aspect, as would "Islam", "Buddhism", etc. But the various disparate, separate divisions within those religions - alternate methods of interpreting and/or obeying the will and commands of the original core religion, with some focusing primarily on one set of the rules and others focusing on another - would be the Avatars.
Arete's Avatars include:
Hiroshi, Avatar of Charity
Zyanya, Avatar of Chastity
Vylarn, Avatar of Crusade
Briallen, Avatar of Diligence
Naomhán, Avatar of Joy
Amaerellae, Avatar of Love
Alexeika, Avatar of Mercy
Miroslav, Avatar of Patience
Atargatis, Avatar of Protection
Kestal, Avatar of Redemption
Serrin, Avatar of Sacrifice
Karsten, Avatar of Temperance
Braghain's Avatars include:
Guinness, Avatar of Duty
Lotduxaton, Avatar of Enforcement
Thain, Avatar of Honor
Emdor, Avatar of Justice
Helena, Avatar of Resolve
Ghostflicker, Avatar of Tactics
Anaxagoras, Avatar of Truth
Lucilla, Avatar of Tyranny
Aestivalis, Avatar of Vengeance
Ahriman's Avatars include:
Irshya, Avatar of Envy
Nidhoggar, Avatar of Gluttony
Karloth, Avatar of Greed
Moloch, Avatar of Hate
Von Kruul, Avatar of Insanity
Remphan, Avatar of Lies
Evelynszira, Avatar of Lust
Nightwynde, Avatar of Murder
Berith, Avatar of Pride
Movut, Avatar of Sloth
Khemost, Avatar of Torment
Ophiuchus, Avatar of Wrath
Xaos's Avatars include:
Cara, Avatar of Death and Change
Eris, Avatar of Discord
Kirtida, Avatar of Dreams
Demogorgon, Avatar of Disease and Entropy
Lukesh, Avatar of Luck and Renewal
Leviathan, Avatar of Mayhem
Cyrillia, Avatar of Storm
Roithan, Avatar of the Hunt
Desson, Avatar of War
And Mazuda's Avatars include:
Caprice, Avatar of Air
Arachne, Avatar of Craftsmanship
Chthon, Avatar of Earth
Kenna, Avatar of Fire
Varduhi, Avatar of Growth
Corian, Avatar of Knowledge
Freya, Avatar of Magic
Echidna, Avatar of Mutation
Nyx, Avatar of the Occult
Kashan, Avatar of Shadows
Ireshkigal, Avatar of Souls and the cycle of existence
Zshagothotha, Avatar of the Beyond
Aegir, Avatar of Water
Emari, Avatar of Winter
... and an as-of-yet-unnamed deity for the sun and moon each.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
That's awesome stuff!
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
I meant to edit my earlier post and add this, but got taken away from the computer by other circumstances. I want to add that you've done exactly what I've been trying to do with one of the religions in my setting. I may steal your idea... lol.. Seriously, though I really won't. That's yours, Orthos, and it's great!