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I am thinking in the long run here. I eventually want to run a PF campaign set on an alternate plane, with an emphasis on classes and tropes one would not normally present in standard fantasy, such as gunslingers, synthesist summoners, spellslingers, and alchemists. So far I have three things I know for certain:
1) The plane is mostly desert-ish/mountainy, with a lot of airship travel, for an Old-West (kinda) feel. One problem: where are the raw materials coming from? I imagine magic/town mines can take care of some of it, but a lot of wood needs to be coming from somewhere. However, new things are occassionally teleporting to the plane (though teleportation off the plane is nigh impossible), including small populations now and again.
2) What classes would work? The ones I mentioned above work, but I was thinking some tradionalist martial classes, like a fighter or barbarian would work too. Any other classes which might work?
3) I think I might have the PCs operate out of a central location at first, getting new and better bases as they gain fame and resources. How can I convince players to move to a new residence without seeming too obvious? I was thinking at first they have a maid who nags that all their stuff takes up too much space, but does anyone have any better ideas?
Sounds like it shares common thematic elements with King's Dark Tower which might provide some inspiration.
I would also get my hands on Deadlands RPG to look at their mad scientist and steampunk-esque stuff in a western setting.
2) virtually any class could be made to work (you may need to limit some to some archetypes but i am not convinced of that) in that kind of setting
3) nothing says relocating like some mad alchemist/ scientist steam powered 30' tall armored spider flattening your home ;P
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If you're looking towards the fantastic, try and take your imagination around the bend a bit. Jot it all down in a notebook and keep only the best ideas. For example:
1) Lacking wood, ships could be made from other materials. Dwarves would use a loamy sort of stone, others could mold adobe/sod structures. 'Wild West' lends itself to animal skins, perhaps from gigantic lizards. Or maybe insect shells. Even gigantic cacti are imaginable, grown specifically for the purpose of becoming an airship hull, buidling wall, or what have you.
2) Decide on what you're doing with religion first and foremost, and to a lesser extent alignment. That's about the Clerics and Paladins, there. Druids are good, especially with the right archetype. Also put some thought about Asian influence. That goes towards Monk, Samurai, Ninja, and a few different popular weapons. Bards are a shoe-in. Rogues, too.
3) Pecos Pete burns their house down, fire spreads to the town and the PCs get blamed for stirring up trouble? There's probably a million-and-one ways to take something from a player, and few of them wouldn't apply to a base of operations, too.
Also, if people have been coming to this plane for a while and haven't been able to leave consider what happens to races for their adaptation. Alternate racial traits can be a good idea for making the plane seem a bit different from the PC's home plane. For instance elves would pretty much have to have:
Desert Runner: Some elves thrive in the deepest deserts, forever roaming across burned and parched lands. Elves with this racial trait receive a +4 racial bonus on Constitution checks and Fortitude saves to avoid fatigue, exhaustion, or ill effects from running, forced marches, starvation, thirst, or hot or cold environments. This racial trait replaces the elven magic racial trait.
Maybe gnomes become the masters of airship travel and thus have:
Master Tinker: Gnomes experiment with all manner of mechanical devices. Gnomes with this racial trait gain a +1 bonus on Disable Device and Knowledge (engineering) checks. They are treated as proficient with any weapon they have personally crafted. This racial trait replaces the defensive training and hatred racial Traits.
You can find some interesting ones for all the base races on the srd. Also, consider which classes each race would then focus on. If elves get desert runner, maybe you now have a tribe of barbarian elves.
1) Wood is an awesome resource. However other plants and materials can be good substitutes. Also don’t forget there are quite a few woody plants and trees that can grow in the desert. With good stewardship and minimal magic a desert forest wouldn’t be all that hard to pull off. Though the protection and social stability required to maintain it might.
For living without wood... Grasses, dung, wind, solar, oils and alcohol can be used for fuel. You could even go a little steam-punk. Ceramics, bones, stone, glass and skins work for building and crafting. Other plants are good too when weaved. Resins and glues can be extremely useful and can be collected or created from plants, insects, or animal collagen. Concrete is also a possibility.
2) I agree any classes would work for the setting, but if you want to showcase certain underused classes, you’ll probably need to disallow the commonly used ones.
3) Disasters are effective, but a bit obvious. Give the new base a really nice feature that would have helped them in the past if their current base had it. With some preplanning you can have a weakness of their current base exploited by enemies or impede them in some other way. Then when they find and capture the new base they will be excited to move in so they don’t need to worry about that happening again.
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Sounds like it shares common thematic elements with King's Dark Tower which might provide some inspiration.
I would also get my hands on Deadlands RPG to look at their mad scientist and steampunk-esque stuff in a western setting.
2) virtually any class could be made to work (you may need to limit some to some archetypes but i am not convinced of that) in that kind of setting
3) nothing says relocating like some mad alchemist/ scientist steam powered 30' tall armored spider flattening your home ;P
I have never read the Dark Tower series; looks like I should though. However, I am going for a intensely-high magic campaign set in a desert wasteland, and the 'Western' feel is just a side-effect.
3) No no, the Steam Giant comes after they've become attached to their compound, then force them to board the airship whose captain who owes them her life. ;)If you're looking towards the fantastic, try and take your imagination around the bend a bit. Jot it all down in a notebook and keep only the best ideas. For example:
1) Lacking wood, ships could be made from other materials. Dwarves would use a loamy sort of stone, others could mold adobe/sod structures. 'Wild West' lends itself to animal skins, perhaps from gigantic lizards. Or maybe insect shells. Even gigantic cacti are imaginable, grown specifically for the purpose of becoming an airship hull, buidling wall, or what have you.
2) Decide on what you're doing with religion first and foremost, and to a lesser extent alignment. That's about the Clerics and Paladins, there. Druids are good, especially with the right archetype. Also put some thought about Asian influence. That goes towards Monk, Samurai, Ninja, and a few different popular weapons. Bards are a shoe-in. Rogues, too.
3) Pecos Pete burns their house down, fire spreads to the town and the PCs get blamed for stirring up trouble? There's probably a million-and-one ways to take something from a player, and few of them wouldn't apply to a base of operations, too.
1) Good ideas (gnomes/elves who live in cacti!), that sounds like something I will have to use..
2) I am keeping the Golarion religions unchanged, except for the fact that none have any worshiping centers. The inhabitants on this plane only came from Golarion 100-200 years ago.3) See above. I want to start them in some sort of crappy apartment building, then upgrade them to a compound. Then smash it as a plot point.
Also, if people have been coming to this plane for a while and haven't been able to leave consider what happens to races for their adaptation. Alternate racial traits can be a good idea for making the plane seem a bit different from the PC's home plane. For instance elves would pretty much have to have:
Desert Runner: Some elves thrive in the deepest deserts, forever roaming across burned and parched lands. Elves with this racial trait receive a +4 racial bonus on Constitution checks and Fortitude saves to avoid fatigue, exhaustion, or ill effects from running, forced marches, starvation, thirst, or hot or cold environments. This racial trait replaces the elven magic racial trait.
Maybe gnomes become the masters of airship travel and thus have:
Master Tinker: Gnomes experiment with all manner of mechanical devices. Gnomes with this racial trait gain a +1 bonus on Disable Device and Knowledge (engineering) checks. They are treated as proficient with any weapon they have personally crafted. This racial trait replaces the defensive training and hatred racial Traits.
You can find some interesting ones for all the base races on the srd. Also, consider which classes each race would then focus on. If elves get desert runner, maybe you now have a tribe of barbarian elves.
Good ideas; I don't currently have any ideas about the other races' cultures. The gnome one is interesting, and the elven one is a must.
I have some other, probably easier questions:
Should the PCs gain access to an Airship or Alchemical Dragon? I'm leaning towards an airship, because it's simpler and has more cargo space. The PCs are not getting their own airship, they start to live aboard a normal cargo airship and have such adventures.
Also, would a Ragechemist Alchemist/Barbarian be good as a member of a rival party? I am thinking this party would be a female Pistolero (toting two revolvers!), aforementioned Alchemist/Barbarian, an evil oracle, and a construct-focused wizard or Magus, using some of the construct enhancements in Ultimate Magic.
EDIT:
1) Wood is an awesome resource. However other plants and materials can be good substitutes. Also don’t forget there are quite a few woody plants and trees that can grow in the desert. With good stewardship and minimal magic a desert forest wouldn’t be all that hard to pull off. Though the protection and social stability required to maintain it might.
For living without wood... Grasses, dung, wind, solar, oils and alcohol can be used for fuel. You could even go a little steam-punk. Ceramics, bones, stone, glass and skins work for building and crafting. Other plants are good too when weaved. Resins and glues can be extremely useful and can be collected or created from plants, insects, or animal collagen. Concrete is also a possibility.
2) I agree any classes would work for the setting, but if you want to showcase certain underused classes, you’ll probably need to disallow the commonly used ones.
3) Disasters are effective, but a bit obvious. Give the new base a really nice feature that would have helped them in the past if their current base had it. With some preplanning you can have a weakness of their current base exploited by enemies or impede them in some other way. Then when they find and capture the new base they will be excited to move in so they don’t need to worry about that happening again.
1) Maybe a magically-enhanced forest, or some magical, cheap wood alternative?
2) I was thinking just giving them a list of ideas for classes I had, then let them choose and develop it how they want, but listen if they have other ideas.
3) Wow, I never thought of that. Sounds subtle enough.
I have never read the Dark Tower series; looks like I should though. However, I am going for a intensely-high magic campaign set in a desert wasteland, and the 'Western' feel is just a side-effect.
3) No no, the Steam Giant comes after they've become attached to their compound, then force them to board the airship whose captain who owes them her life. ;)
Yea, Definitely pick up Deadlands. A shaman who uses the ghost dance to travel to the hunting grounds and makes pacts with the manitou spirits living there who then begin possessing dead bodies and reanimating them. A dozen demonic Hanging Judges on Nightmare steeds issuing "justice" from the barrels of hellfire shooting firearms where the wounds are spiritual as much as physical
Card players who use Hoyles book of games and a deck of cards to develop new/ use spells.
Also it might be worth looking at the RIFTS new west/ spirit west to see how unwitting dimensional travelers adapt to their new desert and sagebrush homes.
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Again, I'm not looking at 'Weird West', more 'Rebuilding/Colonizing'. Also, there will probably be some sort of reclusive native race, who were once very industrious. Maybe they mostly live in caves, and cultivate vast underground giant mushroom farms, which act mostly like wood!
... Yeah... It does have opportunities for Darklands creatures...
Anyway, I was planning on ending the campaign with the PCs finding a way back to Golarion. Also, I want little-used extraplanars (such as daemons, ineivitables, proteans, and others) to factor into the endgame. Any suggestions for this, along with the rival party makeup?
I played in a Dark Sun knockoff where weaving was used to create and maintain housing, vehicles and 'flyers'.
I second mcbobbo's idea, The idea of an Airship made from the shell of a giant insect, Or the skin of some strange desert monster is pretty interesting IMO. And since stuff occasionally teleports onto the plane, I can see alot of salvage taking place, Nothing like finding a random Warship out in the wastes to speed up that airship you're working on.
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I second mcbobbo's idea, The idea of an Airship made from the shell of a giant insect, Or the skin of some strange desert monster is pretty interesting IMO. And since stuff occasionally teleports onto the plane, I can see alot of salvage taking place, Nothing like finding a random Warship out in the wastes to speed up that airship you're working on.
That recycled ship idea is pretty nice! Fits perfectly.
Also, new idea. A magocracy is spreading its hold on the plane, and they start organizing inter-settlement infrastructure at the cost of a widening rift between the common and the elite...
And by 'inter-settlement infrastructure', I obviously mean a giant Magitek train existing solely for the purpose of having a series of fights on it.
This setting is reminding me a bit of a fantasy version of Rage, With a hint of FF6, Which is a very, very good thing ^^
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I love the Dark Tower series, but the novels actually contain very little that would help with world-building. OTOH, the prequel graphic novels have tons of info on Mid-world. I also recommend Dark Sun, great post-apocalyptic desert setting. In both cases, the (Dark Tower and Dark Sun) the world is very old.
Just as an aside, the edges of deserts have trees. Throw Wyoming, or even Nevada into Google Images.
I once created a gameworld where the bones of long dead (extinct) giant animals served the same purposes as both wood and steel.
The problem with the tree thimg is that this desert HAS no end; either it continues infinitely or loops back to the other side of the map.
Also, one way I wanted to introduce the players to both an important NPC and the rival party goes something like this: PCs for some reason have to clear out an abandoned firearm factory, and they meet an airship captain. Unfortunately, the rival party is also looking for the captain as well; thus ensues a frantic fight/escape as the party tries to protect the captain from the enemy party, minus the alcemist/barbarian. His first introduction has him break through a wall while under the effects of rage and ragechemist's mutagen, so at this point he looks like a wall block of angry muscle swinging a greataxe. Who incidentally might also be my next PFS character.
I wanted to do a battle where the heroes have to protect someone ever since I saw episode 6 of the anime Panty and Stocking withGarterbelt, where the protagonists do the same a similar thing, but instead of the alchemist/barbarian, a demonic stretch limo.
I really, really want to be part of this game >>. And as for an epic fight in a gun factory, That can be ramped up even more. Like the Alchemist /Barbarian could set off a chain reaction of black powder and other volatile chemicals, So not only do they have to protect / rescue the captain -and- fight off the rival group, but they have to do it while a building is exploding and collapsing around them o.o
You know, I've been playing a lot of Wild Arms lately, and have been wondering how it would do using GURPS.
But this sounds better!
Regarding the wood substitute, I read a science fiction story years ago in which an orbital colony grew bamboo as a wood substitute. It's fast growing, can be shaped easily, and the shoots are edible. Sounds perfect for you.
1) The plane is mostly desert-ish/mountainy, with a lot of airship travel, for an Old-West (kinda) feel. One problem: where are the raw materials coming from? I imagine magic/town mines can take care of some of it, but a lot of wood needs to be coming from somewhere. However, new things are occassionally teleporting to the plane (though teleportation off the plane is nigh impossible), including small populations now and again.
The bolded part above is what really stuck out for me in this first criteria. It makes me think of a world that's practically a "junk yard" of the planes, where objects, resources and beasts (or even people) are randomly whisked off other planes to be unceremoniously dumped in the badlands. I can see this occuring via strange planar storms or squalls, and massive rushes as resident scavengers and resource hunters chase these storms to acquire whatever materials or resources have been left behind.
Depending upon how close you want to cling to traditional fantasy, you could even use this as an excuse to blend different levels of technology together, with detritus from various worlds, timelines and civilisations coming together.
Working with the planar storms idea, perhaps there are no "native" races. Maybe all the elves, dwarves, gnomes etc are all castaways from whatever world they were torn from.
I'd even like to see this as being an "ancient" world, with ruins of a long gone civilisation strewn across the desert, juxtaposed to a hodgepodge of medieval/steampunk scavenger societies stranded on the plane with no way home.
2) What classes would work? The ones I mentioned above work, but I was thinking some tradionalist martial classes, like a fighter or barbarian would work too. Any other classes which might work?
I'd like to see all the classes (especially with a castaways idea). Gunslingers along side wizards and savage barbarian tribes.
3) I think I might have the PCs operate out of a central location at first, getting new and better bases as they gain fame and resources. How can I convince players to move to a new residence without seeming too obvious? I was thinking at first they have a maid who nags that all their stuff takes up too much space, but does anyone have any better ideas?
Destroy their home town. Give them a reason to flee. Give them an attractive incentive to move to another town (maybe a gold rush type event). Heck, even reward them with a new residence (maybe they do a job for the town mayor and he offers new lodgings) *shrugs*
It really depends on what you want the story arc to be.
Hmm, I like alot of Aeon's ideas. And what if the "Natives" are really the -first- race to get pulled to that place, Maybe with their entire civilization having been eaten by that plane too, So the Darklands of that world are littered with bits of their ruined empire o.o
I love this thred. So many creative options lol
For me, I'd also love the "culture" of a castaways theme. It'd be like a crazy post apocalyptic fantasy punk (goblin markets meet Mad Max). Little to no "racial" regions (no elf forests or halfling hamlets), but plenty of racial and social tension nonetheless.
So what are the major resources?
How plentiful is water? Are there rivers/streams or do people use wells? Are their oceans, rivers or lakes? If water is scarce, that also provides a conflict point?
If you have any steampunk tech, water is going to be a major necessity. Whilst it obviously needs fuel (see below), plenty of water is just as (if not more) important.
If water is plentiful, "why" are there not trees. High heat with lots of water generally means jungles, not deserts. Maybe the state of the landscape is magical, not environmental - This woul tie nice with a dying world/junkyard of the planes theme in my opinion.
Now we know there are little/no trees, so what do people use as a fuel source for fire - cooking, heating, metalurgy? Creating weapons (especially higher tech weapons like guns) requires high temperature fires and thus fuel to burn.
Perhaps once upon a time there were trees, which thus allows for the possibility of plentiful coal and oil deposits?
Or maybe you want to go for something altogether more magical - some type of magical ore that people can use for a resource. This would of course create perfect opportunities for "gold rushes" and reasons for new towns to form (or die when the resource runs out).
1) The plane is mostly desert-ish/mountainy, with a lot of airship travel, for an Old-West (kinda) feel. One problem: where are the raw materials coming from? I imagine magic/town mines can take care of some of it, but a lot of wood needs to be coming from somewhere. However, new things are occassionally teleporting to the plane (though teleportation off the plane is nigh impossible), including small populations now and again.
Going off of some of Aeon's ideas, how about the world being some kind of penal colony and/or dumping ground for failed experiments? With many of the prisoners forced to work at a mine.
2) What classes would work? The ones I mentioned above work, but I was thinking some tradionalist martial classes, like a fighter or barbarian would work too. Any other classes which might work?
Any class will work really, as several nations could be using the same world as a dumping ground.
3) I think I might have the PCs operate out of a central location at first, getting new and better bases as they gain fame and resources. How can I convince players to move to a new residence without seeming too obvious? I was thinking at first they have a maid who nags that all their stuff takes up too much space, but does anyone have any better ideas?
So try this on for size. Alcatraz (the world) is a wasteland. There is water, a few rivers and lakes, but all the water is poisonous and requires an alchemical process or major magic before it's safe to drink.
The alchemical process used to purify water produces Unobtainium as a by-product, and the governments back home have set up mining towns to refine the mineral and ship it back.
While the Unobtainium can be sent from fixed locations, shipments of supplies, new prisoners, and toxic substances/creatures sent from the homeworld appear in random locations. Leading to mad scrambles by the mining towns, bandits, and freedmen to be first to the dump site.
As a suggestion for your campaign....
Early levels, the PCs are new arrivals who get jobs airship crew/marines. Braving the wasteland to be first to find dump sites and exploring the old ruins of Alcatraz for useful treasures.
Mid levels, the PCs discover that Alcatraz used to be a fertile world, but a out of control MacGuffin caused all the worlds water to be tainted with Unobtainium. The PCs race to find and stop the MacGuffin, restoring Alcatraz's water.
High levels, with the MacGuffin stopped, Alcatraz begins to return to the fertile world it was thousands of years ago, but the governments of the homeworld want their supply of Unobtainium back. The PCs must unify the towns and tribes of Alcatraz to face the homeworld army coming to restore the MacGuffin.
@Ninjaxenomorph
Hehe, glad you like the ideas
I quite like the idea of no one knowing how or why they got there as opposed to the world being a "prison" or punishment. Make it a bit of a mystery. No one quite knows why people and objects get sucked into the plane.
This opens up the gates for plenty of speculation. I could easily see there being a rather headstrong and fundamentalist religion that does see it as a prison and punishment by the gods.
I could also see there being other cults/faiths that see it as some form of testing ground.
But I'd like to see that the majority of the populace (particularly those who are born there, as opposed to the rare new arrivals) simply don't know, nor particularly care. To them, it's just their world and are patiently eager for the the next random influx of resources.
I'd like to stress that I think the arrivals of new persons should be rare. The majority of the populace should be those that are descendants of past arrivals. Maybe 90% of the population or more.
Have the other small percentage be those people recently (or not so recently) flung into the world.
Keeping things vague in terms of reasons why the world is as it is gives you more opportunity to play around with things. Look at Eberron - no one knows what Dragonmarks really are, or what caused the Mourning. The more open you keep it, the less locked into to a set story/them you are. By all means entertain possibilities (and voice those possibilities as various points of view by the population). But don't lock yourself into a set answer to the big Why? just yet.
There's been a few mentions of settlements. I'd like to say go crazy as possible. Maybe there's a city in the calcified body of a dead god that got sucked onto the plane. Another is a floating city from the elemental plane of air. Maybe energies also leak in from the other planes with the random materials, giving you options for necromantic areas, strange crystal deserts, vast sands made of rusted iron scattered with immense cogs the size of mountains.
Everything should have an ancient, lost, derelict feel to it. Make the world feel as if it is a very, very old place where things have been falling into it for many thousands of years.
What about your magocracy? Who are they, how big is the organisation. Do they have a political or even religious agenda?
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As cool as the Alcatraz idea is, I was imagining the plane's inhabitants as being more of a planar accident or disturbance. The 'Magocracy' is going to be very large (high-magic plane), and will slowly be colonizing the plane, while hoarding all the Green Rocks to themselves, while they figure out how to transport it and themselves back. The PCs, I think, will be trying to establish a giant portal so everybody can go back.
Crazy weather is a very good idea. And with it being on another plane, you can step it up to crazy -magic- weather. A sandstorm is bad, but a sandstorm that distorts reality within it, is alot more dangerous, and a bit more interesting IMO
As a way to keep the PCs moving you could create a world with a very slow rotation, so every day on your world is several weeks or months long by our standards. as a result the day side gets to hot for humanoid life, while the night side becomes freezing cold.
Most life, including the PCs, is migratory. Living in the twilight band between day and night and moving camp before the day catches up. Your Mageocracy could live in floating cities connected by airships, or in magically protected cities that the PCs have to deal with as their migrations take them into the city-state's territory.
Another wood variant:
Some type of gigantic animal, the flesh being thick and fibrous. Dried out in the sun, it becomes stiff and hard like wood. I'm thinking something the size of an argentinosaurus, or maybe bigger. There could be traveling merchants with groups of men who kill one of these things, then set up camp as they cut it apart, drying it into useful sized strips of wood that they can transport and sell.
This kind of reminds me of Farscape, with living airships instead of living spaceships, and CJ Cherryh's Foreigner series, where human star voyagers got lost, found a habitable planet, tried to be friends with the natives, messed that up, lost a war, and now have decent diplomatic ties, with a transfer of technology from the losers to the winners....and the winners have pretty much caught up.
I would use lots of unusual races as the natives and colonists, with the Golarion races kept to a minimum. I'm picturing the garuda, khepri, cactacae, etc., from Bas-Lag, maybe with some weirder stuff. Also, combine Wild West/Weird West with other desert societies (Mali, Bedouin, Navajo, !Kung, Mongol, Egyptian, Persian, Babylonian, Inuit, etc.).
If you're doing the Darklands thing under the desert, maybe throw in some Cthuluesque dark masters under there too.
As cool as the Alcatraz idea is, I was imagining the plane's inhabitants as being more of a planar accident or disturbance. The 'Magocracy' is going to be very large (high-magic plane), and will slowly be colonizing the plane, while hoarding all the Green Rocks to themselves, while they figure out how to transport it and themselves back. The PCs, I think, will be trying to establish a giant portal so everybody can go back.
Hmm, so is the Magocracy unified, or are there various factions withing it with opposing goals, methods and ideals? You can probably guess that I'd like to see the later. Opposing factions within an overarching group always make things more interesting (especially compared to the typical big bad evil group).
Is it run by a single powerful mage "president" with advisors, or is it more an arcane committee or council with members from various magical departments each lobbying for their own agendas?
"We need more resources devoted to building up magical agriculture!"
"No, we need to focus more on the war effort against [insert native hostile race/species]!"
Give the PCs a reason to sympathise with certain aspects of the Magocracy. Their methods may be draconian or totalitarian, but the best antagonists are those you can "understand." That said, do you really want them to be antagonists at all? Maybe they're just another way of approaching and dealing with the world.
On the topic of the "green rocks," it's a good idea to set up a rough value system. Naturally this stuff is going to end up as loot. So what is it worth? How does its value compare to say gold, or iron, or even a peasant's house?
I'd make it integral to magic items as well. Add a bit of flavour to the humdrum magic equipment. Perhaps GP component of crafting magic items is actually the expense in this magical ore. This doesn't predicate any rules changes - it's simply a flavour point (much like the idea of how crystals are usually part of psionic items in the old 3.5 rules).
How do the green rocks work/power things? I love "tron lines" so I can imagine intricate glyphs, runes and arcane circuit patterns that channel the power of the ore across the item itself, be it a sword or a magitech train.
Meanwhile, what are the green rocks? Are they solid, gas or liquid resources? Or does it vary? What do they look like? How are they mined/harvested? Are there any risks involved? Going on with the green rock trope, are they safe? Or does harvesting them carry risks? Think of the dangers of Tiberium in Command & Conquer, or Lyrium in Dragon Age. Both these resources had adverse effects on human beings. Dwarves had an interesting place in Dragon Age in that they were much more resistant to Lyrium exposure than the other races - with the side effect of being unable to wield magic.
Didn't read all of the posts. I read a manga a while back (really bad manga) where the people used "batteries" that could be charged with specific types of magical energy for day to day needs. (Fire for heating, forging, Ice for refrigeration, electricity for illumination, etc.) when ever a mage would wonder into town they would be swamped with people hiring them to refill their batteries.
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Since wood is scarce, why not just make that the central element of the setting?
What I mean is have it replace gold. Wealth is determined not by shiny metal but by how much wood you can get your hands on. Same with paper. Instead of paper money, ALL paper is now extremely valuable because it is rare (thanks, Kevin Costner!). Books are coveted things; this means bandits REALLY want to plunder a wizard's spellbook for the sheer value of it. Low-level casters therefore become somewhat of a liability. Inflate the price of scrolls accordingly.
"Plantations" of trees denote ridiculous excess. Mansions are filled with finely crafted wooden furniture. Poor folk, on the other hand, deal with clay, clay, clay, which itself is not terribly easy to come by because water is scarce in the desert.
Airships? Make 'em out of metal. They're going to be magically-powered, right? They can be made out of practically anything that isn't wood.
A simple forest becomes a mythical shangri-la, a "city of gold" that becomes a MacGuffin that drives the quest forward.
Maybe the desert is an ancient ocean bed. The airships can be made of bone and animated zombie whales.
One other option for wood, especially since you're already talking about other planes, is the idea of the magocracy importing wood for themselves from the Elemental Plane of Wood (I haven't read that whole article, I know the EPoW from the old 3.0 Manual of the Planes). In such a situation, the mages could, in fact, be distinguished from the rest of the plane by their constant use of wooden things, and wood could take on a kind of mystical aspect deeply tied to arcane magic and considered alternately taboo or precious/sacred to the inhabitants of the plane. By some, it could even be considered the source of eventual flourishing of the plane (by slow rotting/becoming rich soil for plant growth/supplying water cycle, etc - it bears noting that this faction is probably insane because your presumably-infinite/finite-but-looping/planet-wide desert would take too much wood and the rot process would take too long to really do any good; also more water would be needed).
Also, deserts are variable. It sounds mostly like you want a Western-style desert (which works fine!), but you might want to consider (after vast, vast walking) other deserts and desert types (which is not to be confused with dessert types! Yum!) One other thing to note about deserts - the vast mineral resources and high tendency to have oil preserves are valuable commodities that the mages may desire.
Also, that brings up the question: why are the mages there, and why do they wish to conquer the desert? What do they hope to gain? What's their ultimate goal? You don't have to have deep answers to those questions, at first, but you might want to keep them in mind for world building. I mean, you've got the "green rocks", but those seem ill-defined as of yet... are these all they're there for? Is that what brought them here, but they are also getting into other resources (which would put them in contact with the natives to bring about very fortuitous... or factitious... relations with each other... or both, depending on the time/the current overlord of the magocracy).
Other than that: man, this thread is full of great ideas, and I can't add much too it (Aeon got all my best ones! Way to go!).
If I could steal/pick at some of your brains here and here I'd appreciate it!
Might I suggest a homebrew Bard Archetype? there was a good base for it in one of the Eberron books.
I'd like to stay away from too much homebrew. Maybe just rename the Archeologist archetype? It gives up bardic performance for some rogue talents, while keeping the casting. Putting a skill into Profession: Sailor with a Skill Focus should keep her piloting skill handy.
Unless there's a reason for your pilots to have some spellcasting ability I'd use the Rogue's Driver archetype.
It's from Ultimate Combat, but can be found on the SRD.
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Sorry about the double-post, but I accidentally hit 'Hide Topic', and it won't let me edit.
Anyway, what do you guys think about Psionics in the context of this setting? I don't mean as a major factor, I mean as a slowly emerging threat to the magocracy. Perhaps the magocracy sees them as potential power sources? I can really see a psionic child powering that Magitek train I mentioned earlier.
Also, I really need a name for some things in this setting. The magocracy, the unobtanium, and the setting itself all need names. Any suggestions?
If you can handle running Psionics go for it. But remember, it will be one more thing for you to keep track of.
Thinking of names, I like Cinder for the world, and the mageocracy can simply be called The Company. As for the unobtanium, I'm not sure if you ever defined what it is beyond "green rocks", so let me suggest that it's some type of amber. The glow comes from creatures (alien insects or tiny Fey) trapped within it, either naturally fossilized or as a result of whatever disaster destroyed the world. Call it Blood Amber.
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Good idea for the world's name; for the green rocks, I was kind of thinking of some metalloid that got covered in tron lines when removed from veins. It would be commonly mixed with metal to make it easier to enchant. Arcanite? Also, I was thinking for the magocracy something along the line of 'Unified Houses of ___'.
Psionics are absolutely fantastic, as of 3.5's Expanded Psionics Handbook (not so much the Complete Psionic, though it's not horrid in EVERY single way). I'd heartily recommend them. However, nothing is quite so powerful, in my experience, as a Cerebromancer... especially when I'm the Cerebromancer. Unlike a Mystic Theurge, a Cerebromancer easily has the same highest ability score, and arcane mages are ridiculously powerful, and, when combined with the flexibility of psionics (and the psionics-as-magic that Complete Psionic brings) means that a cerebromancer is likely generally over-powered, not just in my campaigns, although potentially less-so than a pure wizard. Mostly that's anecdotal, however. The real problem is once the 'mancer gets around 16th level. Then they get the access to 6th level spells and that's the end of balance!
"United Houses of ___" works fine. You might want to look at the world they originate in as a source to finish that line. For the Green Rocks - why not "green stone"? It worked well enough in FR, after all. If you like something more obscure, there's always star metal - it's basically adamantine plus a bit.
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All right, time to talk mechanics. As I mentioned before, one of the recurring villains I want to be a construct-focused Magus, using the Construct Armor and Construct Limb traits in his creations. Specifically, I was thinking he would have some Iron Cobra (or variant metal) on his arm, using a third-party Magus Arcana to grant him the ability to cast spells through it as if he had a free hand (it acts as a heavy steel shield), which also lets him attack with the Iron Cobra as another attack, I believe. Also, I was thinking of having him wear a Caryatid Column as armor (this would be at least 9th level, so no problem wearing the construct, as it acts as breastplate), as that would grant him immunity to spells, and discourage the party to directly attack him to preserve any melee weaponry. This sounds right now horrendously cheesy, but the focus of this encounter is to protect someone else, and generally not die.
Also, what type of Oracle would suit an Evil gnome, who slowly degenerares into back-stabbing insanity? I am not as familiar with the class as I should be, but I definitely want him to be more of a caster-type than a buff-then-kick-ass type. I say this because the only two oracles I have played with were battle ooracles, one multiclassing into barbarian, and the other looking scarier than my Hellknight.
All right, time to talk mechanics. As I mentioned before, one of the recurring villains I want to be a construct-focused Magus, using the Construct Armor and Construct Limb traits in his creations. Specifically, I was thinking he would have some Iron Cobra (or variant metal) on his arm, using a third-party Magus Arcana to grant him the ability to cast spells through it as if he had a free hand (it acts as a heavy steel shield), which also lets him attack with the Iron Cobra as another attack, I believe. Also, I was thinking of having him wear a Caryatid Column as armor (this would be at least 9th level, so no problem wearing the construct, as it acts as breastplate), as that would grant him immunity to spells, and discourage the party to directly attack him to preserve any melee weaponry. This sounds right now horrendously cheesy, but the focus of this encounter is to protect someone else, and generally not die.
Also, what type of Oracle would suit an Evil gnome, who slowly degenerares into back-stabbing insanity? I am not as familiar with the class as I should be, but I definitely want him to be more of a caster-type than a buff-then-kick-ass type. I say this because the only two oracles I have played with were battle ooracles, one multiclassing into barbarian, and the other looking scarier than my Hellknight.
Give the gnome the derro insanity: +6 Charisma, -6 Wisdom, Charisma to Will Saves. Should be pretty crazy.
As for mysteries your Gnome could take, the Lovecraftian themed Dark Tapastry from Ultimate Magic seems most appropriate. Though I could make good arguments for Battle, Bones, Ancestors, or Time as well.
The curse should either be haunted, tongues, or wasting.