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So in the five random races world-building exercise thread I got halflings, kobolds, two types of sprites, and gnomes. But I'm not really that deviously-minded. I came up with the following for a setting:
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In the town of Oakwood was decked out in brightly colored streamers and balloons. The residents had all been preparing for the festival, and some of their neighbors from Bogwood Lake had come to join in, their skin as brightly colored as the decorations. The sea sprites could live in any body of water, and these had lived in Bogwood Lake since time out of mind. A few kobolds hung around in a small group, their delicate jewelry and mechanical music makers ready for buying. Overhead, a few sprites flew, their butterfly-like wings coloring the skies.
"They're coming! The gnomes are coming!"
The halflings are one of the native races of the Prime. They maintain small, rural communities widely spread out. Though they are generally content with home live, they occasionally get wanderlust and will go on various adventures.
The kobolds are another of the native races of the Prime. Though they tend to prefer mountainous or hilly areas, they will live anywhere else. They enjoy a brisk trade with the halflings, being excellent crafters and masons as well as miners - trading their mined goods for halfling goods, particularly their beer.
The undine (sea sprites) come from the realm of the fey. Whether they, their airborne cousins or the gnomes were first is impossible to say, but they were the first that the halflings encountered. Undine are small and look like gnomes. Their skin has patterns like colorful tropical fish or nudibranches, with seaweed like hair that has colors like coral.
The gnomes also come from the realm of the fey. Traveling in covered wagons and yurts they trade as they travel and love to entertain. Their fair trade makes them very popular among both halflings and kobolds, though the more serious kobolds often look at their behavior in askance.
The sylphs (sprites) are the third small race to come from the realm of the fey. They have butterfly-like wings and long, pointy ears with tips like antennae. They are more similar physically to halflings and, though they love to wander, they also enjoy the comforts they find when around halflings.
Treyford is a quiet, pastoral country inhabited by Halflings for the most part. To the west, Kobolds lived in their mountain citadel of Zornahzin while the Undine live in Bogwood Lake to the north. Sylphs live in the Lighttree Forest to the east, while Gnomes travel the lands all around, largely in the Haywild Plains to the south. However, in the north-east lay the Nomik Wyldwood - where the realm of the wild fey meets the Prime. Though it is largely quiescent at certain times of the year it becomes active and dangerous.
The Wyldwood is the realm of the fey. It attached to the Prime at some time in the past (at least five thousand years ago), however, the only fey to leave it initially were the sprites, sea sprites, and gnomes - though all have stories of being driven out by some dark force. five hundred years ago, this dark force manifested in the form of the Phobetoi - soulless nightmare creatures. Their entrance caused the Wyldwood to become permanent in some places. Rather than flee, however, the gnomes, undine, and sylphs stood fast with the kobolds and halflings and drove back the phobetoi and placed magical wards on the Wyldwood so that it could only open into the Prime at certain times of year. Similarly, the fey world can only be accessed at these times. Daring adventurers have found ruins there that suggested the fey once had an advanced civilization before the phobetoi came and drove them out - but gnomes, sylphs, and undine have no memories of it - presenting another mystery.
Now, I had been toying with the idea of adding in a variety of minotaur that work as farmers and masons, helping the kobolds in their mines and with inventions (since they seem to love complicated gadgets) and helping halflings with their farms when they aren't simply hired muscle. I had thought to make them both humanoid (minotaur subtype) and medium sized (around 7 to 8 feet tall, which will appear large). I keep getting a picture of a minotaur with a kobold sitting on its shoulder and both of them in steampunk gear.
I've also been thinking about adding other small races (like grippli and ratfolk). But I'm pretty lousy when it comes to drama for a setting, so any suggestions would be appreciated.
Oof. Dot for later! Could be really coooooool... and I might share some of my own small-race setting with you. But... now is not that time.
Oof. Dot for later! Could be really coooooool... and I might share some of my own small-race setting with you. But... now is not that time.
Okay, thanks! I look forward to hearing more!
I like this world.
I like this world.
Thanks! Any suggestions?
Well, a world without drama is a rather boring world to adventure in. Kobolds, gnomes and halflings living together in peace is a nice twist. How about another?
Two thoughts that come to mind right off are evil elves and evil dwarves. Elves is this world could be tricksters, devious liars and troublemakers that enjoy spending their time causing trouble and chaos. They aren't violent, usually, but they are malicious and don't care what or who get damaged in the pursuit of their fun. Dwarves are evil, sadistic conquerors. Regimented, domineering, cruel, covetous and militaristic, they take what they want, and they want just about everything. They march across the land in their highly disciplined armies violently subjugating everyone who refuses to voluntarily bow to dwarven rule. Once rule is established, populations are enslaved and set to toil for the Greater Dwarven Good in highly organized work camps. Life is harsh under their rule, but not thrown away unnecessarily, as slaves are seen as prized possessions.
Or, something more odd. Let's see, how about we use medusa. Medusa are stern yet fair authoritarian leaders, ruling over a vast empire. They are rulers and judges, using their gaze as corporeal punishment for their justice systems. Prisons consist of workhouses where inmates are petrified then animated to work of their punishments as mobile statues doing heavy manual labour. Prisoners are sentenced to a term, with capital cases being permanently petrified, others returned to flesh after working off their terms. As in human lands, there are fair rulers and corrupt rulers. Some of the corrupt rulers use the punishment system to create a slave labour force for their own enrichment. The empire is a conglomeration of semi-independent fiefdoms united under one central ruler. (That ruler could be known or shadowy, a dragon, a devil, a powerful mage, or something even more odd like a powerful lawful fey or aberration. Let your imagination out to play. :) )
Well, a world without drama is a rather boring world to adventure in. Kobolds, gnomes and halflings living together in peace is a nice twist. How about another?
Two thoughts that come to mind right off are evil elves and evil dwarves. Elves is this world could be tricksters, devious liars and troublemakers that enjoy spending their time causing trouble and chaos. They aren't violent, usually, but they are malicious and don't care what or who get damaged in the pursuit of their fun. Dwarves are evil, sadistic conquerors. Regimented, domineering, cruel, covetous and militaristic, they take what they want, and they want just about everything. They march across the land in their highly disciplined armies violently subjugating everyone who refuses to voluntarily bow to dwarven rule. Once rule is established, populations are enslaved and set to toil for the Greater Dwarven Good in highly organized work camps. Life is harsh under their rule, but not thrown away unnecessarily, as slaves are seen as prized possessions.
Or, something more odd. Let's see, how about we use medusa. Medusa are stern yet fair authoritarian leaders, ruling over a vast empire. They are rulers and judges, using their gaze as corporeal punishment for their justice systems. Prisons consist of workhouses where inmates are petrified then animated to work of their punishments as mobile statues doing heavy manual labour. Prisoners are sentenced to a term, with capital cases being permanently petrified, others returned to flesh after working off their terms. As in human lands, there are fair rulers and corrupt rulers. Some of the corrupt rulers use the punishment system to create a slave labour force for their own enrichment. The empire is a conglomeration of semi-independent fiefdoms united under one central ruler. (That ruler could be known or shadowy, a dragon, a devil, a powerful mage, or something even more odd like a powerful lawful fey or aberration. Let your imagination out to play. :) )
Thanks! I know - every good story needs a good Problem. Races living in peace and prosperity is nice, but not great for adventures. Hmm, it would be an interesting twist if the Minotaurs became what they are now due to the deities. Abandoned cities could dot areas of the world from a time before the Halflings and others came into power - perhaps the Minotaurs were Humans who were changed for something they did in the past (something akin to the Sharakim). It could even be they and Elves had some sort of war.
I mostly wanted to avoid always evil enemy races that adventurers could simply kill without moral issues, which is why I came up with the phobetoi - basing them on the Grimm from RWBY. This way I figure there are nasty creatures that heroes can fight which also threaten their lands but without the murder-hobo issue coming up. Though, I do like your elves and medusae ideas too. Elves would certainly fit in with all the other fey, but could be the one race no one likes to see around because of the problems they cause.
Thoughts?
If you want elves everybody hates, you should take a look at the ones "from" Discworld.
If you want elves everybody hates, you should take a look at the ones "from" Discworld.
Oh, I am well familiar with them. I like them very much for evil elves. The elves here could like to use a form of glamour to look more impressive than they are.
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Indagare, my poorly written notes on Triddum.
By the way, all my Gob Smash Players? NO LOOKY. >:(
Wow! That's really detailed! It's an interesting setting!
Wow! That's really detailed! It's an interesting setting!Indagare, my poorly written notes on Triddum.
By the way, all my Gob Smash Players? NO LOOKY. >:(
More detailed than I remembered, and typo-ridden, complete with copy/pasted PMs and rambling nonsense on the bottom... but I'm glad you like it!
It actually works fairly well with what you've written (though, obviously, you'll need to make changes according to your own fluff).
Seriously, though, Oakwood could simply be placed anywhere therein, and it would fit right in.
Feel free to steal wholesale, borrow, adapt, or alter for yourself.
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Have you looked at Microscope as a tool for building your world?
I just recently got this book and it looks very interesting but I haven't used it yet - maybe when my current Sword of Air campaign winds down I'll rope my players into trying Microscope.
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The premise seems interesting. Each race seems to have a niche that exists in relationship to the halflings, so I suppose they become the "humans" of the word. Likewise, the kobolds become the "dwarves" of the world. What I don't see is any kind of conflict or trouble between the primary races. The standard fantasy world has testiness between elves and dwarves, and both of those races dislike half-orcs, for example. You don't need those kinds of relationships, but it could add some depth.
On the subject of minotaurs, I gave it some thought and propose the following:
Minotaurs live a great deal of their lives not amongsy their own kind, except in the case of a youth being raised by one of the two parents. This is because they are terrible competitive with one another. They spend their lives alternating between living near other races and travel. When a youth first strikes out on its own, it will travel but sometimes find employment as the muscle in a kobold mine. But it grows too large for such work before long and travels again. Thereafter it will find work in towns and farms as muscle, or elsewhere as a soldier or bodyguard. But again, the minotaur does not wish to grow roots and will move on within a year or two. Even though they are mostly solitary, they do prefer to keep apprised of the whereabout of others of their kind and will periodically cross paths to share in each other's company for a few days. It may be a month or year before another such enocunter occurs.
The minotaurs are inherantly neither good nor evil, but follows a path of its own choices and of opportunities available to it. One may prefer the open air of forests or farmlands, while another move about in the employment of one evil warlord or another.
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Thought i'd pop in since youve been helping out with Trilana.
Id recommend adding the grippli at the very least. Make them rivals of the undines for good swamplands with a lot of tension in between them.
Play up the fey too. Maybe the phobetoi drove out a lot of other fey like grigs, nixies, and such. I could see fey courts becoming very powerful due to the sheer number of fey who were forced out.
Centaurs seem like a good addition as an enemy race. Perhaps they aren't evil, but merely imperalistic conquerors from beyond youre region. Or refugees fleeing an even more powerful force, conquering and settling the small race lands because they feel they have no other choice.
Hope this helps!
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Wow! That's really detailed! It's an interesting setting!More detailed than I remembered, and typo-ridden, complete with copy/pasted PMs and rambling nonsense on the bottom... but I'm glad you like it!
It actually works fairly well with what you've written (though, obviously, you'll need to make changes according to your own fluff).
Seriously, though, Oakwood could simply be placed anywhere therein, and it would fit right in.
Feel free to steal wholesale, borrow, adapt, or alter for yourself.
Thanks! I'll see what I can come up with based on this and some other ideas.
Have you looked at Microscope as a tool for building your world?
I just recently got this book and it looks very interesting but I haven't used it yet - maybe when my current Sword of Air campaign winds down I'll rope my players into trying Microscope.
Never even heard of it until now. It looks really cool! Thanks for the help!
The premise seems interesting. Each race seems to have a niche that exists in relationship to the halflings, so I suppose they become the "humans" of the word. Likewise, the kobolds become the "dwarves" of the world. What I don't see is any kind of conflict or trouble between the primary races. The standard fantasy world has testiness between elves and dwarves, and both of those races dislike half-orcs, for example. You don't need those kinds of relationships, but it could add some depth.
Well, it's certainly more realistic in terms of how people operate. I just tend to have a hard time figuring out what I want when it comes to negative aspects. I want it to add some drama or interest but I really don't want to repeat the real world in fantasy.
On the subject of minotaurs, I gave it some thought and propose the following:
Minotaurs live a great deal of their lives not amongsy their own kind, except in the case of a youth being raised by one of the two parents. This is because they are terrible competitive with one another. They spend their lives alternating between living near other races and travel. When a youth first strikes out on its own, it will travel but sometimes find employment as the muscle in a kobold mine. But it grows too large for such work before long and travels again. Thereafter it will find work in towns and farms as muscle, or elsewhere as a soldier or bodyguard. But again, the minotaur does not wish to grow roots and will move on within a year or two. Even though they are mostly solitary, they do prefer to keep apprised of the whereabout of others of their kind and will periodically cross paths to share in each other's company for a few days. It may be a month or year before another such enocunter occurs.
The minotaurs are inherantly neither good nor evil, but follows a path of its own choices and of opportunities available to it. One may prefer the open air of forests or farmlands, while another move about in the employment of one evil warlord or another.
Hmm, this is really helpful! It gives me a good idea for a lost civilization that might be different than usual. I'll cobble something together and see if it floats.
Thought i'd pop in since youve been helping out with Trilana.
Id recommend adding the grippli at the very least. Make them rivals of the undines for good swamplands with a lot of tension in between them.
Play up the fey too. Maybe the phobetoi drove out a lot of other fey like grigs, nixies, and such. I could see fey courts becoming very powerful due to the sheer number of fey who were forced out.
Centaurs seem like a good addition as an enemy race. Perhaps they aren't evil, but merely imperalistic conquerors from beyond youre region. Or refugees fleeing an even more powerful force, conquering and settling the small race lands because they feel they have no other choice.
Hope this helps!
Thanks! It certainly does! I'm beginning to think this could be a world of large and small with fey mixed in for good measure. The centaurs and minotaurs could be the two largest playable races (there might be some giants running around or at least ruins built by them). Ratfolk could make good rivals for the gnomes too.
Thanks again everyone! More suggestions are always welcome!