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My brother and I have always been interested in world building, and a few years back we began toying with the idea of a campaign setting steeped in Slavic folklore. The project started as a conversation, grew into random fragments of documentation, and is now being aggregated into a Wiki as we start to refine our ideas.
The working title for project is the (rather unimaginative) World of Ruin, but the name of the world itself is Yavmir. Our ultimate goal is to create a fully fleshed out Pathfinder campaign setting based upon Slavic mythology; a type of folklore that interests both of us greatly, and which doesn't seem to get its fair share of the spotlight. At the moment the project is very much incomplete - somewhat of an "alpha build" with very few Pathfinder-specific rules integrated - but there is still enough information present for people to get a grasp on the world, and even run a relatively small campaign.
The Wiki is a bit scattered at the moment, but here are a few good jumping in points if you are interested in checking it out.
World Map
A map of Yavmir in its current state, including most major cities and locations.
Abridged History
A brief record of past events, including an outline of the three ages, and the origins of the gods, races, and conflicts that shaped the world.
The Complete Wiki
Take a look at all of the content that has been created so far; including a pantheon of gods, a roster of races, and an ever-growing bestiary.
We've been working on this project on-and-off for a long while and decided that now would be a good time to get some outside feedback. Comments, criticism, and questions are all welcome!
I'll post in this thread whenever any major updates are added to the Wiki. We generally add at least one or two new Wiki entries a week, and my current obsession is researching and creating new monsters (which I also post on my blog) to help flesh out the bestiary. All content is protected under the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike, so feel free to share and adapt the materials with accordance to the license.
This looks really well put together! I'm headed to bed right now as I have to work in the morning, but I'll be sure to take a look at it tomorrow!
I especially like the map :)
Looks like you have done some good work.
Going to dig into this tomorrow...but it looks awesome!
Clear, succinct and open. I like what you've done with the place. Will you be adding any geography or a gazateer of the specific kingdoms? Also is the only race that of man? Maybe I didn't dig far enough into the material. If there are other races, what's their take on history since they don't seem to have a place in the creation myth.
Finally, what would the adventures be like in this world? With the info you have as is it seems very Game of Thrones-ey where men fight with men for hard-scrabble resources in a near-endless winter. Not much place for dungeon-delving fantasy heroes, but perhaps a mercenary band selling their services to the highest bidding monarch or petty noble...
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Hey, I'm The World is Square's brother, and I've been working on this campaign setting with him. I'm eager to answer any questions! :D
Also is the only race that of man? Maybe I didn't dig far enough into the material. If there are other races, what's their take on history since they don't seem to have a place in the creation myth.
There are two playable non-human races, and you're right, neither of them have a place in the creation myth.
The first are the Jotunn. Jotunns are a species of large troll-like creatures who belong to the Vaettir, the ancient consortium of races that ruled Yavmir before the gods arrived. Enslaved by humans after the Vaettir were defeated in the Skywrath War, the Jotunns consequently won their freedom when the Golden Empire crumbled and the humans no longer had the power to control them. Although they still hold a grudge against humans, they more or less just want to be left alone.
The second are the Hibou. Hibous are humanoid snow owls - much in the same vein as tengu. Before the whole world fell apart, they were pretty much the kobolds of Yavmir: scavengers who cowered in the northern recesses of the world, considered no better than animals. However, after the endless winter arrived, they were one of the few occupants of Yavmir able to thrive in the new conditions; night vision and thick plumage suddenly became very useful attributes. Now, after suffering underfoot for centuries, the Hibou have asserted themselves as a dangerous faction.
That being said, it is a very human-focused campaign setting. The intention is that most parties will be entirely comprised of humans, and that playing a Jotunn or a Hibou will be a difficult (but rewarding) roleplaying choice.
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Clear, succinct and open. I like what you've done with the place. Will you be adding any geography or a gazateer of the specific kingdoms? Also is the only race that of man? Maybe I didn't dig far enough into the material. If there are other races, what's their take on history since they don't seem to have a place in the creation myth.
Finally, what would the adventures be like in this world? With the info you have as is it seems very Game of Thrones-ey where men fight with men for hard-scrabble resources in a near-endless winter. Not much place for dungeon-delving fantasy heroes, but perhaps a mercenary band selling their services to the highest bidding monarch or petty noble...
RS answered a couple of your questions above, but I'll respond to the rest the best I can.
Will you be adding any geography or a gazetteer of the specific kingdoms?
We actually were just talking about this yesterday! One of our next major additions will be a flow chart outlining the basic kingdoms, and how they get along with each other. I am going to base it off Jonathan Roberts' example in the Kobold World Building Guide (great read, by the way).
What would the adventures be like in this world?
You're right, a lot of the adventures will likely be based around resources. Both mundane commodities (food, iron, etc..) and artifacts of the Golden Empire are highly coveted by the kingdoms of Yavmir. Adventurers will have no problem selling their services to kings, nobles, and faction leaders.
That being said, there are no shortage of ruins and dungeons for PCs to explore on their own! Many old cities, outposts, temples, and castles were abandoned after The Sundering, and now teem with monsters and forgotten treasures.
A lot of the inspiration for quests and adventures is drawn from apocalyptic settings such as Fallout. Since the inhabitants of Yavmir are only a few centuries removed from The Sundering, they have a pretty strong cultural memory of what the world was like before it. They are aware of the wonders (and dangers) found in the ruins of the past, and may choose to explore or avoid them based on their personal goals.
Not to be a noodge SpongeBob Squareworld, but your last statement seems slightly in conflict with your docs.
Their greatest city toppled and ice and snow besetting them on all sides, the once unified Golden Empire splintered apart. Having forfeited the innate magical abilities and miraculous fortitude gifted to them by their deities, and no longer able to control their Jotunn slaves, man was plunged into an era of barbarity. Civil war after civil war ravaged their numbers and scattered man into the few corners of Yavmir that remained habitable. Over the following centuries the Golden Empire was forgotten, regarded mostly as a bitter fairy tale. New cities and kings emerged, and the art of magic and blacksmithing relearned anew.
So do they remember the Golden Empire as you suggest in your last post or have they forgotten it as stated in the history? If it's just a myth there might be a lot of folks, adventurers even who think its more legend than fact. Might make for a confusing game.
Are there monsters? If so what are they? How do the monsters fit in? I ask because I did my own homebrew with a Slavic bent called Karnoss. I didn't go into nearly such exquisite detail but I focused on monster creation alongside mortal.
Looking through a lot of those old RW cultures there seemed an emphasis on faeries and classic witchcraft with a minor in undead and shapechangers; a lot of paranoia and fear that people were not who they said they were. As such in Karnoss monsters were the fault of the gods and evolved to disappear into society.
However these forces a long time ago made pacts and deals with mortal society to entwine themselves in the material permanently. Many bloodlines carry faerie-taint, lycanthropy (curse of the hags) or worse: witchcraft. Worse yet, there is no reliable way to sniff these folks out, save for a few PC classed folks out of every hundred. There's more monsters than hunters, and many of them look just like everyone else.
Gnomes, the closest race to the First World, have been universally shunned by Karnossov society. Similarly arcane power is reviled, despite its source (witches, wizards, bards; all are challenged). Even churches with chaotic alignments are mistrusted; neutral and lawful are cleaved to by the masses to provide safety and security in this frightening world.
Of course, the churches can be scary too. A massive inquisition, drawn from several lawful deities, just scourged the land a mere century before the game starts. Remnants of the Hexbane Inquisition are still lingering at the fringe of society and these folks are classic "scary witch hunters". They tromp about in dark garb, bearing cold iron and silver, and burn what they hunt, sometimes in very public fashion. The Inquisition fell apart because they were too extreme in their methods but even now secret cabals of the organization carry on their grizzly work.
So I'm just wondering how monsters, villains and the supernatural fits into your homebrew.
I like it a lot, especially the Hibou. Very cool and evocative.
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So do they remember the Golden Empire as you suggest in your last post or have they forgotten it as stated in the history? If it's just a myth there might be a lot of folks, adventurers even who think its more legend than fact. Might make for a confusing game.
"Forgotten" was probably a poor choice of words on my part. No one doubts that the Golden Empire existed; there are ruined cities and relics everywhere proving otherwise. However, different cultures rationalize the new world differently.
People in the Low Kingdoms, who are constantly struggling against famine and poverty, live more from day-to-day. The Golden Empire just isn't relevant to them, and they tend to think of it as ancient history and nothing more.
A nation like Pomekh, on the other hand, is obsessed with recreating some semblance of the past. They struggle to keep Greythrone, once one of the great cities of the Golden Empire, in working order, and study and venerate any relics they can get their hands on.
Admittedly though, the campaign setting is still in a primordial state, and there are the two of us writing it, so some of the lore might not be 100% clear yet.
@The World Is Square
Looks good.
I also noticed that, while paizo has slavic-themed monsters in the bestiary (Leshie and Gorynych, Rusalka), there realy is no slavic classes or slavic class archetype. Like there are asia/japan themed classes/archetypes and monsters.
So I've been working on a set og 6-7 archetypes that have a slavic vide to them. If yo uare interested, I could give you a nudge when I post them, maybe you'd like to add those to the roster.
I've been thinking about including some slavic-like countries in a world I'm building, but realized I actually know very little about slavic culture. Is there something you could recommend me that I could read to learn more? I've got access to a well-stocked university library.
Start with fairy tales, Russian/Ukrainian Bylinas (epic poems and stories), maybe. The Slavic culture is generally ignored or underrepresented in the western media, for some reason, even though Slavs are one of the largest ethnic groups in Europe and the world.
If you want mainstream - Andrzej Sapkowski is your man, but his use of Slavic mythology is not all that canonical. The witchers, for example, they are more like sorcerers, male witches with a whole different set of powers, not monster-hunters for hire.
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@keydan
I'd love to see your archetypes when they are posted. We have a lot of ideas for archetypes on the Wiki, but they're more setting specific than anything else.
I have found that there aren't a huge amount of Slavic folklore books floating around in North America. Certainly not on the same level as some other cultures (i.e. Celtic, Chinese). Some books I have been using for reference include:
- Worlds Apart: Russian Fantasy and Science Fiction
- Russian Fairy Tales
- Encyclopedia or Russian and Slavic Myth and Legend (highly recommended)
A couple of updates that should be on the Wiki shortly: ZMEY and ZMEY GORYNYCH. My take on the classic Slavic dragon, and how it would fit into the world of Yavmir.
Fun facts: Zmey can mean serpent, viper, or dragon. Gorynych is loosely translated into "mountain" and/or "fire," and is often thought to refer to the steppes tribes that terrorized Russia for centuries. History!
Going to have to dot the hell out of this till I get some free time
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New update! I'll link to the Blog instead of the Wiki, as it has prettier tables:
The idea of having two types of currency was really intriguing to us. We eventually decided to have one set of antiquated currency from "ages long past," and another set of currency for the modern day. Each currency reflects its times:
- Radiant Age currency is made of precious metals, an extravagance which would be impossible in current times.
- Mortal Age currency is practical. Every metal used in the coins can be - and often is - melted down into tools, weapons, and even household items.
How about adding some Slavic-themed equipment, weapons and armor?
Pernatch (or Shestopyor) - esentialy a mace with small wings or axes instead of spikse. Could be a martial weapon, with stats of a morning-star, but the damage types are B/S instead of B/P.
Shshka (though originaly Adygean, "Long Knife", it was very popular among Ukrainian and Russian Cossack). As a martial weapon - same as scimitar, but with an exotic proficiency it becomes a light weapon.
Bardiche - essentially a halberd or a glaive. Is was a standard back-up weapon for musket-soldiers "streltsi", was used as a handgun rest. So It could provide some bonuses to gunslingers?
Armor-wise, it's all a mix of eastern and western. No Full-plates and half-plates though. But special heavy chainmails and mails made of small plates sewed to lather base were used. Like Cataphract armor.
Equipment-wise, of course the instruments like balalaika or gusli.
Artifacts - one should look to legends maybe. The Sword Kladenets, the needle of death, The yarn ball that can show the way out of any forest or maze. Arrows of Perun, stone arrows that turn into pure lightning.
Materials - the legendary bulat-steel.
For places - maybe Buyan island which is pretty much the slavic Atlantis.
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Hey Keydan,
Those are some great ideas! I'm currently working on some basic world design stuff (climate, currency, etc...), but after that I think I'll take a closer look at some of the equipment and artifact options you mentioned.
I'm also super psyched about Buyan Island, as I actually haven't heard about it before. Its relationship to Perun and the weather also seems to fit nicely into the campaign setting.
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Sorry to double post! I've expanded upon some of Keydan's suggestions, and put up a neat little weaponry break-down. You can see the blog post RIGHT HERE.
We'll be integrating those weapons into the almanac sometime soon; perhaps after I make another post that includes some armour and equipment!
That map is glorious.
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Over the last week or so I did some research on Slavic armour and weaponry. I wrote up a little break-down on the blog, which you can see RIGHT HERE. We'll be integrating some of this stuff in the Wiki shortly.
I found it difficult to find illustrations and reliable information for this part of the project! It was fun though, and led me to a lot of other neat avenues to explore. I'm going to delve into some Cossack lore next, as I kept stumbling upon it and it seems rather neat.
Over the last week or so I did some research on Slavic armour and weaponry. I wrote up a little break-down on the blog, which you can see RIGHT HERE. We'll be integrating some of this stuff in the Wiki shortly.
I found it difficult to find illustrations and reliable information for this part of the project! It was fun though, and led me to a lot of other neat avenues to explore. I'm going to delve into some Cossack lore next, as I kept stumbling upon it and it seems rather neat.
A note: kolczuga literally means chain mail (regular).
Have you seen bechter (read as behter)? The page is in Polish but contains images and a diagram (another picture of Russian behter(et).
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Are you familiar with Quest for Glory: Shadows of Darkness? It's set in a place based on Eastern European folklore.
For real though, that map is lovely. How did you do it?
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Sorry for the slow response. I was on vacation for a couple weeks there.
Thanks for the information Drejk! Like I mentioned earlier, I found it hard to find proper information and translations for a lot of this equipment. Any advice from those "in the know" is much appreciated, and that bechter entry is a great resource.
I'm not familiar with Quest for Glory: Shadows of Darkness, but it certainly looks neat! I guess I'll have to fire up my old DOS emulator.
Map Information
The general shape of the map was sketched out roughly by myself and my brother (Radiostorm) using Photoshop and Illustrator. We wanted something that was roughly crescent shaped, and we were actually quite a bit inspired by the Super Mario World over-world map.
Once we had a basic shape we liked, I started assembling a more polished version. To make a believable looking coastline, I overlaid portions of Russia, Canada, and Europe like a jigsaw puzzle. Once I had a satisfactory shape and feel, I fused all the elements together and live-traced the composite in Illustrator to create an editable vector.
My brother and I then went back and forth, adding mountains, forests, and rivers as needed. With the design pretty much complete, Radiostorm then made a polished version in Photoshop: adding colours and proper terrain texturing. He also named a bajillion different points on the map - areas of interest that our outlined in the Wiki.
I may post some images from the map design process at some point. We have about 5-10 iterations, and it is kinda cool to see how the world developed.
Dot for interest.
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Rules Update! We've put together the races for Yavmir using the Pathfinder race builder, using 13RP as a hard cap.
The bulk of the population of Yavmir is human, but we've incorporated a variety of lineages that can be added to the standard human template to create some diversity. Lineage packages are 4RP, bringing humans in line with the other two races we've made. As a result of this added power (and to help streamline character creation), we're banning alternate racial traits and the standard traits PCs pick at level 1.
There are two playable exotic races in Yavmir: Hibou and Jotunn. Hibou are small, anthropomorphic snow owls. They were once a second class resident of Yavmir, but the collapse of the Radiant Empire and the onset of the Endless Winter have seen their fringe society flourish into a powerful faction in the new world. Jotunn are essentially large, Slavic trolls. Enslaved during the Radiant Age, they now eke out an existence as hunters and guides.
I'm pretty happy with how these turned out overall! Let me know what you all think: feedback is always welcome!
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I like the Hibou. The abilities seem useful but not excessive. Climb Speed combined with Gliding Wings is pretty cute. Alertness as a bonus feat steps on the toes of familiars just a leeetle bit (wizards gain Alertness if their familiar is adjacent).
Jotunn - they don't have Natural Reach 10ft? That's a bit unusual for a Large Humanoid. I rather like the ability adjustments though; the penalty on Dexterity is pretty severe but it seems like a fair price for being a heavy hitter.
Tolun - are you quietly waiving the requirement that the race has a +2 Con modifier?
Kit Lyu - Improved Initiative is quite popular, and gaining any unusual speed is powerful as well. This one seems to be stick out above the others.
Looking through some of the other human lineages... I think you're underestimating how powerful humans already are by RAW. Although humans nominally clock in at 9BP, they basically get the best value for money racial traits, the flexible ones that every class can use optimally. Many other standard races spend more BP than humans, but spend it on circumstantial things. A human is likely to squeeze every last drop out of his BP, other races usually have one or more "dead" racial features.
I guess if the Jotunn got natural reach, and the Hibou... something... extra, you'd be about even again. All the races would be more powerful than normal, but about on par with each other.
(Also: I really like the flavor hinted at in the Hibou and Jotunn entries. I particularly like the Hibou, I might copy that idea for my campaign. The humans lack description though, so... I dunno?)
Is there any way to get Perun back in the picture? Forever is a very long time, even for an immortal.
How about renaming jotunn to to olbshim - giant (spelling adjusted for pronunciation simplified for English speaking people, a bit more accurate would be obljeem with j like French j in Jean)? Jotunn is quite explicitly Nordic term.
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I've re-posted the lineage guide to include descriptions. They were on the wiki before, but it is much nicer to have them all in one place!
Yavmir Lineages | Hibou and Jotunn
@Ascalaphus
Thanks for the feedback! I'm a big fan of the climb/glide combo as well. In my mind, I visualize groups of Hibou climbing up trees and gliding down upon their foes. Its nice flavour, and less powerful than outright flight.
Jotunn don't have reach, and I'm very leery about giving it to them. I think it may be a bit overpowering for PC class to have that kind of range. I think be able to wield oversized weapons should be enough.
I am hand-waving the +2 Con restriction to Tolann for flavour purposes. Also, Kit Lyu may be a touch OP but swimming doesn't really come up that often from my experience.
The lineage packages are somewhat muted by the fact that we're eliminating normal traits picked at level one, and disallowing alternative racial traits. Humans will still likely come out a bit more powerful than they before, but I wouldn't say any more than an Aasimar or Tiefling.
@JoeJ
Very good points! I was reading something similar in the Kobold World Building Guide. Although clerics will pick a primary god to worship, respecting all gods is going to be heavily encouraged. I imagine something similar to the Greek myths: where people may favour one god, but will pray to any individual god based on their current needs (good crops, fair sailing, etc...).
@Indagare
Perun will play a role in the world, but perhaps more interesting are the factions that were formed in his wake. There is a group of fanatics bent on reclaiming and utilizing the power of flame that was lost when Perun severed his ties with Yavmir. The cult is ruled by a Fire Eidolon named Gorod, who grants his followers powerful magicks in exchange for their absolute loyalty. There are rumours, however, that Gorod's unsavory methods have created a new generation of Blackened Ones: mindless abominations who constantly assail the kingdoms of Tol and Khor.
@Drejk
I will consider that. I'm actually unsure why we named them Jotunn in the first place. I think it may have been a filler name that just sorta stuck.
How about renaming jotunn to to olbshim - giant (spelling adjusted for pronunciation simplified for English speaking people, a bit more accurate would be obljeem with j like French j in Jean)? Jotunn is quite explicitly Nordic term.
Duh. Olbjeem, not obljeem...
Or you could just turn on Google Translator and check pronunciation of olbrzym and write down however you will hear it... I'd like to see what you come with :D
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How about renaming jotunn to to olbshim - giant (spelling adjusted for pronunciation simplified for English speaking people, a bit more accurate would be obljeem with j like French j in Jean)? Jotunn is quite explicitly Nordic term.
And Hibou is French, though an awesome word. The Slavic word for owl is Sova. (not sofa, but So-Vah).
Very interesting world. Keep on fleshing it out!
How about renaming jotunn to to olbshim - giant (spelling adjusted for pronunciation simplified for English speaking people, a bit more accurate would be obljeem with j like French j in Jean)? Jotunn is quite explicitly Nordic term.And Hibou is French, though an awesome word. The Slavic word for owl is Sova. (not sofa, but So-Vah).
If we go far...
Snow owl would be puchacz śnieżny (puhach shnejnee - with sh being soft like in Japanese and j again being more French-sounding than English).
EDIT: puchacz being subgroup of owls (the one to which latin name bubo refers) and śnieżny is adjective form of śnieg (snow).
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I was chatting with RS, and it turns out that both Hibou and Jotunn were placeholder names we thought of waaaaay back in the day. We've been using them so much that we forgot they weren't Slavic.
I very much like the word Olbjeem, but I can't find any place to corroborate its meaning. I think I'll probably have to enlist a fluent speaker of the language at some point to check things out for us.
We may end up going with something really simple for the Jotunn (trolls) or give them a completely made-up name since they do have their own language.
As for the Hibou, I think we'd like to give them a unique name plus a derogatory name that humans refer to them as. Hibou were essentially the Kobolds of Yavmir before the cataclysm, so there is a lot of ire directed at them.
Sych is my favourite name idea so far. I have to verify the information, but I fished this up from a folklore website:
Russians and Ukrainians sometimes call an unfriendly person a "sych," which is also the Russian common name of the Little Owl (Domovoy Sych; Athene noctua). Traditionally, little owls have been disliked and feared by people believing that these birds announce deaths.
Good to see some free lineages, hibou, and jotunn. ;)
There is a recently released 3rd party Monster Sourcebook from Legendary Games that focuses on Slavic monsters
This is very cool!
Hey, The World Is Square and Radiostorm:
I've been running campaigns in my own, homebrewed Slavic-myth-themed campaign world (a fantasy version of real-world medieval Russia, in fact) for about 13 years now. (I'm from Russia myself, and grew up reading all the old stories about Baba Yaga and Zmei Gorynych and the like; and of course I've done a good deal of historical/mythological research over the years to supplement that.)
If you have any questions about Russian/Slavic myths/stories, or names/words, or even about my experience running campaigns in a setting with this theme, feel free to PM me!