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Eldrata is a magitech Old West/Victoriana setting that focuses on monster hunting and exploring the unknown in a world characterized by epic scale, fantastic terrain, and wondrous devices. It is not Steampunk, but it shares a lot of tropes and imagery with the genre. The game takes place during a magic-fueled industrial revolution, as the secrets to using arcane magic have recently been unlocked. The world of Eldrata is one that, despite its diversity, is actually rather closely integrated. In the past divine churches spanned the globe, and now mass communication, large global trade networks, and railroads and self propelled ships have tied people ever closely together.
This is a continuation of Thyressa - American Magitech. Some things have changed, and the world has expended beyond just being an America based fantasy, but what themes were originally in Thyressa are still here.
Here is the main setting document.
Currently, I am focusing on fleshing out Castara and then an important region of a different country, and moving out from there. The sample name sections are not finished yet, but I don't have time to finish them now. I've procrastinated too much on my homework already. Eventually, each ethnic group should have at least ten sample names per gender, plus names for dwarves and drow. Magni, elves, and seraphim name children based on ethnicity, not race. Races don't generally have their own languages do to how interreliant they are.
Here is where it starts getting a little weird. Eldrata doesn't really have much in the way of heavy armor, and even breastplates aren't that common. To avoid throwing off game balance, armor was shifted between categories, so a breastplate in Eldrata is equivalent stat wise to full plate in Golarion. Likewise, large swords like the greatsword are also not really a thing, but wielding a longsword two handed will produce equivalent damage. The shortbow is gone, replaced by the recurve bow, which is on par with the longbow. I don't play below level 4, so small monetary amounts aren't something I worry about and I don't have cost values for basic weapons. Some weapons got buffed, Eastern and Western weapons go on the same table, those names in italic are alternate weapons that mimic the listed stats, and there are no small sized player races in Eldrata.
So, how is it so far? Questions? Questions are incredibly useful, because they make me think about things I would not have considered if I weren't asked, and in general greatly speed up my worldbuilding.
Dot. Sounds like it might have some similarities to the setting I'm working on. Gave it a quick glance over, no questions immediately coming to mind. Though I am curious a bit on how technology evolved to the point where electricity, phones, and more are not only available but common amongst the populace. That's pretty awesome I think.
Dot. Sounds like it might have some similarities to the setting I'm working on. Gave it a quick glance over, no questions immediately coming to mind. Though I am curious a bit on how technology evolved to the point where electricity, phones, and more are not only available but common amongst the populace. That's pretty awesome I think.
Thanks!
Arcane magic, especially alchemy, is the driver of industrialization, and responsible for most of the new technology. In fact, the idea of keeping technology and magic separate would be considered odd and counterproductive, as it is considered natural to combine the two.
I plan to do some updating after math class today. Should be adding a few races, elaborating on the roles of currently existing races and ethnic groups, finishing out the name lists, modifying Vendalian culture and lifestyle to feel more Anglo-Chinese than it is at present, starting some deeper description of the Valetta-Perides corridor, and explaining the role of rune magic within the world. I don't know if I'll be able to get any maps today, but I hope so.
Rune magic uses the Dreamscarred Press Psionics rules, with different flavor. Rune casters are the only casters who can create magic items (outside of alchemical items and golems/other constructs [which alchemists and rune casters can make], scrolls [which any prepared caster can make], and potions [which anyone caster make, but alchemists and witches do best]). Runes are always elaborate, but there is no one language they have to use. Nordic runes certainly are used, but a lot of rune casters use Chinese calligraphy or some other artistic writing system. It depends on where you are from.
Rune magic uses the Dreamscarred Press Psionics rules, with different flavor. Rune casters are the only casters who can create magic items (outside of alchemical items and golems/other constructs [which alchemists and rune casters can make], scrolls [which any prepared caster can make], and potions [which anyone caster make, but alchemists and witches do best]). Runes are always elaborate, but there is no one language they have to use. Nordic runes certainly are used, but a lot of rune casters use Chinese calligraphy or some other artistic writing system. It depends on where you are from.
This gives me an idea for the magic item system. I don't like the magic item economy, or the way the magic weapon system forces you to specialize in one or two weapons by dumping resources into those weapons. I can attack both with the rune magic system. Rune magic uses mana, which is energy of the body. Runes are just the method of expressing how one wants to use that energy (Which is why Chinese calligraphy, Japanese calligraphy, Nordic rules, Medieval Latin calligraphy, Gothic calligraphy in German or English, and much more are all valid methods of drawing runes.).
Summoners are rune casters, because the flavor of rune casting fits Summoners extremely well.Bards can be justified as users of Gaia, Aether, or Mana relatively easily, so I say they can choose which one to use at first level and cannot change it at a later date. This doesn't effect how they cast spells (Vancian spontaneous) or their spell list, but it does effect anything else that is dependent on magic type. Since rune casting Bards can create magic items and others can't, but magic item creation isn't that powerful do to the ease of getting an NPC to do it and overall cheapness of items, arcane and divine bards get two bonus spells known at character creation (character creation is generally level four or five).
I have long held all magic objects need to be recharged, because the magic wears out. What if, however, every single person has mana? Rune casters can use it to cast spells, but have to "prime" mana for such a purpose, and need to build up large mana stores others don't have. Unprimed mana cannot be used to cast spells, but can be used to power magic items. So, rune casters found a way to create magic weapons, armor, and wonderous items that tap into the mana of whoever is wearing or wielding the item to power themselves. This uses a power pool, in which one point is equivalent to one gold piece worth of magic items. Every single character has a power pool that increases with level. In order to use a magic item, one must have power points not being used for another item. Magic items are relatively cheap in terms of actual money, and you can carry multiple magic weapons and only power one at a time. Rune casters can convert mana points for spell casting into power points for items, which is (indirectly) how you get Soulknives and the Aegis (which shall be renamed).
Rune mages being the only ones who can enchant weapons and armor does not effect the Magus's arcane pool or similar abilities from other classes. This is because a Magus is channeling aether directly though the weapon, not enchanting the weapon. Channeling magic and enchanting are separate practices.
I have not decided if I want to allow Ashkaic Mysteries or not yet. If I do, it will be a form of rune magic that relies on transferring mana into power points for powering items.
I came up with the reason why elves, drow, dwarves, orcs, and the like have homogenous cultures (aside from the fact that magni style diversity for everyone is too much work for me): homogeneity is actually the norm for individual races. The magni are strange for having a massive variety of cultures, and other races can have a hard time understanding how one people can be so impossibly diverse. The perception among other races is often that magni are bafflingly quarrelsome with each other, and have this incomprehensible desire to form a whole new culture just because they live 1000 miles away and across a mountain range from another group. Their ethnic diversity in physical features isn't something mirrored in most other races, either.
So, the question isn't why elves only have one main culture (with subcultures), it's why magni have thousands (Yes, I know the the anthropological and sociological answers to that. Realism < Sun that literally transforms into the Moon and is significantly smaller than the disk shaped planet it lights).
I apologize for not getting an update in. I'm just not in the mood to work with fluff right now, and I can't really do good work when I'm not feeling it. I'm hoping to be more in the mood tomorrow, and if not it could be another week before I have time again do to school work.
Dotting for definite interest.
Thanks. I do have some ideas now, but they come when I don't have time for solid worldbuilding.
I do have a map of Thyressa, but it's pretty basic. Nyambe-Tanda is a landmass, not a single nation like everything else on the map, but I don't know where I stand with representing it on my map, because Nyambe-Tanda not my IP. Atlas Games has a really nice map, though..
I think I might start out describing a little bit about each nation during lulls in my schoolwork.
I do a small amount of previously typed information on Tesseria. It is a former colony that rules over a huge area, but who's government can't actually exercise its authority. It can make laws and proclamations, but lacks the armed forces or perceived legitimacy necessary to compel people to actually obey. Warlordism, economic exploitation, an ungodly crime rate, and constant violent conflict (settler on settler, settler on native tribe, native tribe on native tribe) are all extremely big problems.
I'm debating whether to map Thoros at all. It's not fully understood by Thyressans, as there is more movement from Thoros to Thyressa than the other way around. Beyond the wind wall isn't mapped, because it's mostly undiscovered. Don't even know how big it is.
I have the idea that maybe a land beyond the wall has been settled, and almost all the wildlife there wants to kill you. Why would people live there? Resource extraction is lucrative. Algara deports criminals there to work, as well as "borrowing" criminals from allied nations and taking on Tesserians who find homicidal wildlife preferable to homicidal humans.
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May I suggest you take a look at the black company/true sorcery item crafting system if you can get ahold of it. Personally I prefer it over the standard Dnd/pathfinder one as instead of wondrous items, rods, rings, etc it instead goes by categories e.g.one use items, charged items, permanent items.Admittedly it also has a magical power score that needs to be permanently reduced for thr higher items but like I said I like it and it might world well for giving you ideas e.g. Anyone can make a one off magical item (scroll, potion but to make a permanent item like the alchemical engines) it needs magical power sources either reagents that can be slowly produced a magical equivalent to oil reserves.
Need to get back to working on races.
Thinking of the idea that Thyressan and Thorosan races are complements of each other, coming from the idea that Elves and Drow are related. Current information about the two mostly remains current, except that Elves are creatures of the forest and Drow are creatures of the coast and of the sea. They are the only race that has people who live their entire lives about giant city ships (Not all Drow live in such a manner, though. Drow build land cities, too.). So, if Elves are bright, colorful, and excitable, and Drow are meticulous, intricate, and patient, what about other complement races between Thyressa and Thoros?
Magni are the complements of Dwarves. They both have this drive to build great works, settle wide and far, and carve out a strong legacy for themselves, but where Magni are always forming 50 bajillion different cultures and going at it with each other, Dwarves are unified in a way notable even to other races used to having one or two dominant cultures. The strong racial bond they share is unparalleled, even among two Dwarves from opposite sides of Thoros who have never met. No other race approaches that. Remember, however, that nobody can hurt you quite so deeply as those you love, and family arguments that go bad are vicious in a way arguments between less acquainted people aren't. Family grudges can last a lifetime, especially if it's a short one. Magni are Thyressan, Dwarves are Thorosan.
Halflings are the complements of Gnomes. Both are peoples used to living alongside other races instead of living in their own lands, and both possess a martial prowess far beyond their size, but where Halflings pride themselves on their abilities to jury rig almost anything, never run out of ideas (or luck), and use their small bodies to do things Elves or Magni could not, Gnomes are more invested in the scholarly arts, such as Rune Magic, Philosophy, Astronomy, History, Law, and the like. They don’t have the fine craftsmanship, engineering and navigation abilities, or innate magic of their also-scholarly Drow neighbors, or the engineering and construction prowess and Wizardry skills of the Dwarves, but they absorb information about the world and its people’s in a way the others do not, and are known for their ability to evaluate situations and value as advisors, teachers, researchers, merchants, and many other things. Halflings are Thyressan, Gnomes are Thorosan.
Orcs are the complement of Goblins. Both are historically nomadic peoples who live on the fringes of society, but where Orcs are of an impressive size, Goblins tend to be short and slender. Orcs were originally a nomadic people from Merinda that followed herds of bison, caribou, mammoths, deer, and other prey animals. They ranged far and wide across the continent, trading bone and skin with Magni for tools and slaves, or taking those things in raids when advantageous. Then Rydessans enslaved every Orc they could get their hands on. The Orcs are now free, but their way of life is gone. Goblins, conversely, are skilled magicians and tinkerers, and these nomads make their living as roving mechanics and laborers, who also bring many fine items from far and wide and magical wonders to trade. Increasing global trade is making this less profitable, however, as items from far away are no longer extremely hard to get, and Goblins are increasingly turning over to entertainment or providing magical services to communities to small to have them on a permanent basis. Many are also heading for Thyressa, where Goblins and the services they provide are something of a novelty. They are often accused of theft, and while it would be quite false to say Goblins do not steal, they are also not a pack of thieves and liars as is occasionally asserted. Plenty of Goblins don’t steal, and those who sometimes find their compatriots rather cross with them for giving the whole group a bad name. Orcs are from Thyressa, Goblins are from Thoros.
I have other races, such as Thyressa’s peoples of Fur (Kitsune, Skinwalker, Vanara, Hengeyokai [Come in many varieties, include Catfolk, Nezumi, Tanuki, and others within their ranks.] Lycanthrope [Wolf. A Werewolf is a cursed Lycanthrope with more powerful shapeshifting but a loss of control over their powers.], Gatonthrope [Leopard or Jaguar. A Wereleopard or Werejaguar is like a Werewolf.]) and Thoros’s animal people (still working on these) but that has to wait. They aren’t done yet. I also need to find a Thoros counterpart to the Seraphim. I’m thinking the Strix. Also think perhaps Seraphim are both Rydessan and Merindan, with the Merindan ones looking more like Couatl. Also think Thyressa should have Vishkanya, Nagaji, and Tengu, so Thoros needs counterparts. Thoros also needs equivalents to the Nyambe races, but I need to go in and remove any trace of "this race is evil" from Nyambe.
I have effectively done so, in that I write up my own racial descriptions and do not include a predilection towards either good or evil behaviors.
On the subject of Dwarves, I am thinking of them as a race known for their hospitality and general approachableness, and hold their arguments and grudges behind a veneer of politeness (Not to say that all Dwarves are vindictive, secretly malicious, or unable to let things go, because that's an outright falsehood, but those that do have beefs conspire in private rather than bringing them out in public. Dwarven politics can get extremely nasty without the quarreling parties ever seeming anything but friendly towards each other to an outside observer.). On the one hand, Dwarves are always welcoming to a guest, and the key component of measuring one's level of wealth and success is how much one can afford to spend on gifts and feasts. They are a race known for building big things, but outside of grand sorts of projects they don't have a reputation as scholars. When it comes to arcane magic outside of Alchemists (the most common magic user setting-wide), Dwarves lean towards Wizardry (fits their grand works style of creating things, as Wizards have more sheer power than Rune Mages or Divine casters), and aren't any less likely to produce arcane casters than anyone else. Dwarves do mine plenty (Thoros has richer mines than Thyressa, after all), but don't actually hail it as the, or even primary, way of life, and the majority of Dwarves aren't miners.
Thanks for the praise. I'm trying to make Dwarves different from just underground dwelling alcoholic Scottish miners with beards and axes and mild xenophobia, while remaining somewhat Dwarven.
I found this. I think making these for nations and races would be very useful for helping players understand the world.
Interesting, it is a useful template. As with anything there will be variations, but as long as they keep to about 80% of the template I think it will enhance play a great deal. I think that's about where I fit in the list presented. For example, unlike most Americans, I did in fact grow up on a farm.
That's one of the things I love about the traits, it enables you to fill in more about your character. For example, I have a Dwarfen Cleric who was born into a wealthy family in a 90% human city. Since his father was a guild master he had wealth, and since it is a major trading city he has the cosmopolitan trait. Certainly not a typical Dwarf.
Keep up the good work.
Thank you.
I do agree that, while the majority of the American list is true for me as well, there are things that are not. I think those things on the list that are not true is where good character design happens. The list is useful in that it gives a good overview of typical American traits and views, but no American holds every single one of those traits and views. Neither should a member of a fictional culture.
Later on the lists might prove a good source for making traits.
I am brainstorming for a colony beyond the windwall, but won't have time to type it up until probably Friday.
I'm seriously considering playing with religion. The divines are not gods, they are the representatives of gods. So they said. There is growing suspicion that such a thing wasn't actually true, and the divines were just coopting existing moral religions to sound legitimate. The divines did still teach Humans divine magic, and they still went missing.
The Gods themselves are personifications of nature and ideals. Divine casters can cast spells by tapping into the forces of nature, or Gaia, but a lot of Clerics see these gods as figurative creations that reflect the traditions, values, fears, and relationships with nature of the culture that birthed them. They still consider the gods important, just not in a literal sense. They are important because of what they represent, and revered because such traditions still have purpose, not because they are believed to actually exist.
Example time. We have Bjorn, god of storms. The culture that Bjorn represents (different cultures have their own pantheons) has legends about Bjorn's life, personality, deeds, relationships with other gods, and moral and ethical values. Traditions to revere him exist. The traditionalist Clerics think he exists, and revere him. The figurative Clerics, however, do not believe Bjorn literally exists, but think the figure of Bjorn has great value, despite being imaginary. Bjorn personifies nature, giving meaning to the forces of weather, so that they become more intimate. The legends surround him show how the culture thinks and what they believe, as well as what they fear and what they value. They give people a way to think about themselves and their people that has meaning. The rituals given to Bjorn give people joy in good times, confidence in worrying times, and solace in bad times. Bjorn is just a symbol, but a powerful and meaningful symbol. That personified symbol of nature of of an idea (such as a civilization or technology related domain) also makes using divine magic easier, because the Cleric has a way of imagining an intimate personal relationship with their domains (You cannot imagine associating with the Ocean, but you can with a personification of the Ocean.). So, the figurative Cleric reveres him, and through revering a personification of nature or of ideals can use divine magic.
Not all divine casters actually buy into this, and accusations of heresy and even violence happen plenty. Historical conflict between traditional god believers and witches, complete with witch hunts and executions, still happened, and traditionalists still hate witches, but figurativists tend to be more open minded on the issue.
I hope to get either races or religion expanded soon, but school is picking up. No idea how active I can be over the next bpfew weeks. Haven't had much time to work on fantasy the last couple weeks, and it doesn't seem that I'll have more.
Thanks again.
I'm seriously considering bringing in Rite Publishing's Ironborn, which are basically Warforged. I have a different origin story in mind, though. In order to animate a construct with actual human emotions, one needs to consume somebody's body and use the energy to wipe the soul clean. This creates a soul that lacks any memory of life, but because the body is consumed it needs an artificial one. The soul needs to be instructed as to how to act, much like a child, but grows far, far faster, reaching adulthood within a year or two. Whether an Ironborn retains traces of its past personality or not is a matter of much debate. It is known that if a murderer becomes an Ironborn, the Ironborn is not guaranteed to become a murderer, but some believe little traces of past personality remain. It's like being a tiefling. You come from evil roots, but there is nothing making you inherently evil. You can be a good person instead. Some people do believe that little snippits of personality carry over to the Ironborn, though.
The nation of Vendalia, along with a couple other nations, create almost all the Ironborn in the world. They do so out of a heavy distaste for the death penalty. These governments have come to the belief that it is more humane to use a murder or rapist to create a new life with potential for good than it is to just hang the condemned. These Ironborn are schooled in the basics of moral life for a year or two, then released out into society as free individuals, hopefully to contribute more than their forebears.
Ironborn start out with a very basic skeleton for a body, and add parts as they "grow up" and decide what they want to be like. Ironborn usually have a gender (in that they tend to have either a masculine shaped or feminine shaped body, and think of themselves as male or female), but they aren't created with one. Why they tend to have a gender is up to debate, especially since, while it matches the condemned in the majority of instances, deviations are very common.
An Ironborn cannot be used to create another Ironborn. After about 80 to 100 years, the soul will die.
Interesting. I'm not familiar with Rite Publishing, but the Ironborn sound interesting. Could one voluntarily become an Ironborn? Say, for example an elderly individual wanted another chance and had his/her soul transformed into an Ironborn would that soul still live another 80 to 100 years?
It would be possible, but the soul would be wiped clean in the process, and the Ironborn would lack any memory of the person who came before and likely have a different personality (how different is debatable, just like nature vs. nurture is IRL).
I probably need to explain; I'm both a graybeard and a noob. I began playing the old Dungeons & Dragons in 1978 while I was in high school. I continued to play in college and in the early post college years. By about 1993 or 4 most of my gaming friends had gotten married, had kids, careers, etc. About four years ago an old friend from college called me out of the blue to see how I was doing and to ask me if I wanted to try this Pathfinder game. Well, with a bad divorce, bankruptcy, and a shattered career behind me, I said "why not". I got hooked into gaming again. I play with a large group that ranges in age from 52 me, to 15, the nephew of one of the other players. Two of the players are married and one of the players is their 22 year old son. It is an unusual group.
The reason for this lengthy explanation is that even though I understand big picture creativity and gaming concepts, certain details sail right over my head so don't be surprised by the occasional stupid question.
No worries. Everybody's new to concepts and details at some point. I'm only 23 and started with 3.5. A lot of older D&D references fly right past me.
I do think the existence of the Ironborn brings up some very interesting moral questions. The existence of Ironborn basically stems from the idea that it is better to use a condemned criminal to create a new person with potential to fit into society than it is to just execute said criminal. If this idea is accepted, how far does it go? How bad does a person have to be before it becomes better to create a new person than to try and reform the existing person? There is some pretty big potential for egregious abuse there. What about people who thinks that maybe the mentally ill or disabled should be used to create new people with more potential? I would call such thinking completely reprehensible, but if someone in power likes the idea, some really bad things could happen. On the face of it, the idea of creating new life instead of just hanging someone may sound more humane to those uncomfortable with the death penalty, but it can be horribly misused. There is also the argument that the process is still an execution, just fluffed up to look like it isn't, since the condemned ceases to exist. All of this is excellent story materiel, of course.
There are also some societal issues. You raise an Ironborn to adulthood and let them into the world, but now what? They have no family. They can't have children. Their community is their fellow Ironborn, so they have to support each other. Since they come from criminal stock, many distrust them (though others look at them with hope that a better way to deal with violent crime now exists). What do they do with their life? I imagine a lot join the military, because it's a way to find purpose in life, have a steady income and a place to live, and feel appreciated by society (soldiers are relatively well respected in Vendalia), and because the military actively targets them in recruitment efforts (Reduced sleep needs, durable frames, immunity to disease and poison, don't get fatigued easily, and don't need to feed them? Army's definitely interested.). When an Ironborn fresh into society hears everything the military is targeting directly at them, it has a tendency look rather attractive.
That works pretty well, especially because it means serious trouble if uncovered. It's pretty illegal to do such a thing to somebody outside the justice system, but what is the charge? If it's murder, you toss a lot of ammunition to those who decry the Ironborn as another form of the death penalty. If it isn't murder, what is it? Not to mention whatever goes on in the Ironborns' heads when they find out they were created illegally, and their servitude was also a crime. Things would certainly get interesting.
Mad at Paizo's site. Ate my post about the three countries I've been coming up with the most inspiration for. To sum, I'm working on analogs of Earth cultures, just like Golarion or Dragon Age. I got an Anglo-Chinese California, Magic Australia (Not only is the wildlife magic, so is the landscape itself! Have fun. Don't worry about the criminals shipped over there. Most of them are debtors or juvenile delinquints, so they aren't terribly dangerous. Outcasts and refugees are welcome to immigrate!), and Canada (Vinland. With Finns, Sami, and a bunch of Central And Eastern European immigrants.).
A few things. I've been working on a homebrew setting with a lot of magitech and using Ironborn from Rite Publishing. I haven't seen them in action but they seem like the best fit I could find and if you're willing to steal a bit from the Transformers franchise its easy to generate lore for them to fit without disrupting too many things.
What are you using for the magitech crunch?
Different thread.
I'm considering Ironborn, but I'm wordering about their compulsion system. I have a post a bit up above describing how I see Ironborn, and the compulsions might mess with that.
Magitech crunch? Lesse. PF Alchemists are the single most common magic using class and I have a few 3PP PDFs regarding them, I have some PDFs for Gunslingers, I have DSP Psionics reflavored into Rune Magic, which runs the non-Alchemical magic item system almost totally (Rune Mages are the enchanters of the world). I have the Machinesmith, Age of Electrotech, and Pure Steam, but I still need to decide what from them to use.
Just popping in to say this is still an active project, and I brainstorm daily, but haven't had time to write in a while. I have school projects galore, and I went and got Dragon Age: Inquisition.
Everything I have will take too long to write down right now, but there is one important thing. I'm torn between what I have been describing as this world's tech level, which is closer to Steampunk, and something closer to Dieselpunk in a guns everywhere setting. This opens itself up to the possibility of splitting the setting into Eldrata in the Age of the Stallion and Eldrata in the Age of the Falcon. This thread has been describing the Age of the Stallion. The Age of the Falcon is over a century later, and is a world where guns have become the standard weapons and the internal combustion engine stands dominant. The Age of the Falcon is viewed as being just one possible future for Eldrata, so when playing in the Age of the Stallion, there is no reason to believe that events will play out as they did in the history of the Age of the Falcon. They could turn out very, very differently. So, players in the Age of the Stallion can still greatly effect history in ways they did not anticipate beforehand.
I'm doing this because my internal debate between these two visions for my world is seriously hampering my ability to get actual worldbuilding done, because I have so much trouble picking which overarching vision to go with. This also allows me to make the sweeping changes the Age of the Falcon requires without throwing out any existing work, since all the existing work still applies to the Age of the Stallion. Hopefully, by accepting both, I can get on to building cool stuff.
More shall come, but it could be a while before time presents itself.