New World Campaign Idea


4th Edition


Couldn't sleep well lately because I have had a 4 day headache and D&D on my mind. I've got the 5th edition DMG and MM which I bought when they came out. I never purchased the Players Handbook but am finally getting around to considering it. Having flipped through its pages a few times I was never overwhelmed by what I saw. I haven't played 5th edition before but had run a very successful 3.5 campaign using Greyhawk several years ago. Lately I have been playing around with my CC3 map making program considering making a world for 5th edition. Still undecided if I'm going there. So as I lie awake, I think about what kind of homebrew world I would make. So far this is where I sit.

By the powers that be, the world would be broken down into three tiers, the Surface World, the Underworld and the Deep underworld. The background on how the world came to be this way is not fully determined. The Surface World would essentially be filled with the rich, the poor, and the military. The rich control the military and the poor suffer very bleak livings. This is a general atmosphere and not the rule in every kingdom. Needless to say its a harsh world economically. Those in the Surface World are as a rule, aware of the Underworld but choose to avoid it. They are completely unaware of the Deep Underworld. Magic as D&D players know it essentially does not exist in the Surface World. Even the rich do not possess it, in fact most citizens are unaware of its existence. In the surface world there are no wizards, sorcerers, clerics, or monsters with heavy magical abilities. The Surface Kingdom possess an array of kingdoms some which work together, others which are isolated, and a few that are oppressed by other kingdoms. Much of the Surface World is vast wilderness with remnants of a long since destroyed civilization that once was far larger than what now exists. Ruins abound throughout the Surface World though few know where they came from or to whom they once belonged too.

The Underworld is a composite of both the Surface World and the Deep Underworld. Minor and medium magic items exist, with the exception of the ultra powerful devices. Magic based classes thrive, so we have wizards, clerics and the sort. Monsters with light to medium magical abilities thrive in the Underworld. More civilized kingdoms abound in the Underworld. As with most worlds, their relation to one another varies. The Underworld would be the most common to a typical D&D setting (except that its below ground). Characters starting out in the Underworld or eventually residing in it are free to come and go as they please to the Surface World and with express permission, the Deep Underworld. Natural (or unnatural) pockets of light exist in both the Underworld and possibly in the Deep Underworld. Other geological and nature oriented rarities would also exist to replace some of the conveniences that a normal D&D world would have on their surface world, such as occasional forest, plains, etc. How they survive underground has yet to be determined.

The Deep Underworld is where the most powerful magical items, NPCs, and magical monsters can be found. They rarely make any appearance in the surface world and when they do so are required by the powers to be to hide their magical abilities. When they enter the Underworld these beings remain unchanged.

As with other D&D worlds, the PCs and NPCs are free to adventure back and forth from one tier to the other.

Exactly whom the powers that be has yet to be determined, though I know I would like Demons and Devils to be at war with one another (they generally reside in the Deep Underground). They battle for control over the entire planet. These beings are responsible for spells given to clerics, wizards and sorcerers. These creatures manipulate spellcasters to do their bidding as frequently as possible. Good spellcasters also exist and they utilize the magic demons and devils have given to them, they simply use that magic for beneficial or neutral purposes. Such individuals are often sought out by the demonic forces and hunted down for abusing the magic. The demons and devils do not control magic to the point of being able to take it away from people.
Your thought?


Sounds like a solid foundation for several good games

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