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Hello, my name is Michael and I'm addicted to designing and running worlds.
The ancient city stretches before your characters into the far distance. Towers taller than the highest bough stretch to either side of a ruined road made of some strange gray mineral, creating a narrow slot of daylight overhead. The mineral, once solid, has been broken by immense time, exposing gaps in the surface through which giant creeper vines have begun the process of climbing the buildings on either side seeking sunlight, now brown and dormant due to approaching winter. Gaping holes in the structures, some of which still have glass shards embedded in them, reveal only darkness within. The wind whips between the buildings, a cutting cold breeze that brings the promise of snow to come, for those who are weather-wise enough to spot it. Every few hundred yards, a cross-street between the buildings emerges, sketching out a rough grid shape to the city otherwise completely covered in overgrown structures. In the distance, a howl of some creature can be heard deeper in the ruins, and then a swiftly silenced cry of panic by a small creature. Roll Perception.
So, my home group recently dissolved. Two of my four players hooked up and are welcoming their first child into the world, and another is six months away from moving for their job. This leaves me with a bit of time on my hands and nowhere to scratch the itch, so here I am. I've been working on a Hexcrawl world with sandbox elements, but before I get too far I wanted to see if there was any interest here.
So, what happens if a high-magic world suddenly becomes low magic?
The Isle of Icari was home to the mighty Carthi Empire before the dark times. Their origin was lost to the mists of time, but for thousands of years they were a bastion of strength and stability in the world. They wrought great works of might and magic, raising cities above the clouds and exploring the deepest fathoms of the sea in great glass domes. No longer did the civilized races of the world have to toil the fields unless they wished to, as their needs were provided by magic. Emerald servitors performed the day to day work of the empire, building and toiling for their mortal masters. Their armies wielded magic unheard of, pushing the bounds of their empire to the ends of the world...until the day of their collapse. 500 years ago to the day, the magic of the world fled. The flying cities fell from the sky, their connection to the greater magics failing, the great street lights faded, and the world was plunged into darkness. The food generators stopped functioning, the servitors froze where they stood, and the world quickly fell into chaos. The shocklances of the soldiers sent to keep order overseas were no longer functional, and they were quickly bludgeoned to death by rioters with stones. The comfortable world promised by the Carthi empire collapsed into barbarism and was swiftly splintered into a thousand petty kingdoms. The island home of the empire was shrouded in an impenetrable mist, and vessels sent to ascertain what was going on were never heard from again.
In the five hundred years since the fall of the Empire, civilization has slowly reasserted itself, if in different forms than it once was. The ten thousand Kingdoms have coalesced into about twenty, the great wars of the old empire dying have finally reached their end, and the world population is a third of what it once was. Magic still exists but it is a pale shadow of what it once was, allowing a new renaissance of science and technology to flourish. Curious scholars periodically charter vessels to investigate the isle, trying to determine the reason for the fall, and just recently one of these expeditions found that the mist which once shrouded the isle has burned off, revealing the island continent once more. A brief expedition ashore found the island deserted of higher life, and was swiftly repulsed by a group of humanoids covered in coarse brown fur.
Now, rulers of the five greatest Kingdoms have begun to send out expeditions seeking to explore and colonize the new island. Small enclaves have emerged on the Eastern edge of the island, and parties of explorers trudge deeper into the untamed wilderness, seeking out the mystery of the mists, and perhaps trying to reclaim the magic that was their birthright.
Your characters will be the explorers sent by the five Kingdoms, or independent explorers or treasure hunters wishing to seek out wealth in the ruins of the Empire. I'm running this as an E6 Pathfinder 1e game, using some custom Gestalt rules. Spells above 3rd level are unknown, and characters never advance past 6th level, but after they gain 6th level they gain CB (Character Builder) points periodically, which allow them to purchase abilities from other classes, feats, ability increases, or advance in prestige classes, gaining the abilities but not increased levels, BAB, or HP. The world is low magic and dangerous, and the characters are always at risk of death if they get in over their heads.
So, is there any interest in this kind of a game?
I do enjoy E6 rules! It's usually a lot easier to balance a game by capping the level, especially because of the spellcasters. You have my attention! :)
Lapyd, That's my exact idea. I tend to be a simulationist GM...I create a world and let the players run free in it. If the power level grows too much, though, its hard to balance that in a sandbox, so I try to keep it in a bit tighter of a power range. I'll type up a recruitment thread when I get home from work today.
Welcome to the boards 'The Worldsmith' the setting and system does sound interesting. What other information can you share with us like: what kind of posting rate, how many players and how long do you see the game going?
Robert, Call me Michael. I'm hoping for daily posting rates, but I'm fine with weekly if that's the call. I'm thinking a group of 4 players, but if I can get a group committed to posting regularly I can add more in. I was planning on taking a vote to see what platform we would be playing on, but my first preference would be this forum. As far as longevity...I would love for this to be a long running game, but that will depend on player interest.
Cucumber,
For your first question, that's the big question of the game...if there is a way, the scholars of the world haven't discovered it yet. Out of character, I haven't decided yet. I'm thinking there probably is, but if we enacted that, it would be a game ending change. Logically, high magic as described takes away most of the challenge of the world, especially if only one faction has it, and will return the world to peace where there is no more need to adventurers.
E6 is a system where the characters stop advancing after 6th level. No magic higher than 3rd level, no more than two or three attacks per round. Monsters which are dangerous at 1st level are still dangerous in high level games, in larger numbers. Here is an Paizo Forum Post discussing the E6 System for those unfamiliar.
As for the gods? I haven't gotten that far yet. My preference is to do a bit of collaborative world building with my players, with one of those questions being what Gods there are and how the change might have affected them.
Humans(and their allegories) are fundamentally broken inside where they constantly fight the evil within. For 500 years they have been without. Nearly all would have no idea of the new powers to be unleashed on them. I'd say the reawakening of massive magic machines (like flying cities) would spur even more adventures...But that's the optimist inside me.
You're certainly not wrong, but for right now I'm designing the world for low magic and low power. If the campaign goes on long enough and is successful enough, I may consider doing a follow up campaign after the restoration of power to continue the story.
Sounds like a fun place to play....would like to know more about the world as its post-apocalyptical feel appeals to me!!
Keep an eye out for the recruitment thread later tonight! I'll be creating a discord and sending out a link. I'm hoping we can get people together to do a bit of collaborative world building.
Will keep an eye, GM.