Fell: A Campaign Setting

[Charlatan]

I want to make a world to use with Labyrinth Lord, I want it to be needlessly grim and gritty. Keep reading, since this world? It's going to get made.


Fell


KNOWN HISTORY:
Winter murdered her sisters. This is how it began.
Since, she has wrapped herself around the world, pinning it in a cruel, unforgiving embrace.
The world is dark now, frozen and quiet, save for the distant wailing of the near-damned and the beasts that hunt them in the ever-night.

Winter's fearsome spawn now rule from the ruined towers of slain kings; while Autumn's once bountiful host lock themselves away within crumbling fortresses, never to be seen again, and Summer's glimmering sons lay dead, hidden beneath the deep snow. Of the races, only Spring's children truly remain.

They are the hope of a hopeless world, for those that dare to dream of Spring, though it's keeper is gone, and act with courage and valour to end Winter's reign, the world may once again see the light of day!

(or at least get by, being local heroes, before a trap kills them, you know how it goes...)

[Charlatan]

THE RACES:

Human
Spring's children, the young, the bold, the adaptable…the accepting. All hinges on the courage of Spring's children, for while they can be brilliant, they can be ignorant, their lives are so sharp and short, already there are those that sneer at talk of seasons and of sunlight.
These mortal peoples are still the most numerous of the races, though many are culled on the whim of Winter and the sheer harshness of the world. They live as best they can, be it nomadic herding, behind a city wall or even raiding others of their kind. Agriculture is all but unheard of and they have taken to eating anything they can manage, including their fallen enemies in some cases.
If only some could stand against Winter, all could change…all could change.

Dwarves & Halflings
The once glorious hosts of Autumn's creation have buried themselves deep beneath the mountains, all entrances closed and concealed.
None can say what has happened to the once jovial people, but as the years roll more of their stone fortresses are being found empty of life, for they would seemingly rather starve than let the armies of Winter have there terrible way.
There are those however, that choose not to live lives of isolation, or have been forced out by those that accuse them of plotting against them, and it is these that bring the bravery of old to these new, dark days.

Elves
Summer's immortal, shining sons are gone. They ushered others to safety and stood strong against the initial wave of horror that was unleashed upon the world.
To the last man, they are gone; all that is left is their masterful weaponry and gleaming white towers, now wielded by the armies of Winter, now home to her foul spawn.

Half-Elves
Descendants of a ritual binding of cultures and a living expression of the friendship of Spring and Summer. They are seen as holy-men and woman, as such they often gravitate to spiritual roles in the society they live in.
Their known to make pilgrimages across the lands as a show of faith for the people, often facing great dangers simply to tell others that it can be done.
They are rare and as the long night draws on, they become rarer still.

Half-Orcs
The term covers half-breed bastards, mutilated transgressors and flesh-crafted abominations, but despite these things, they are by no means loyal to the armies of Winter.
They are wild and tenacious, living on the edges of a given society, acting as grim guardians and vicious stalkers of the Winter's spawn.
The cold blood of Winter leaves them feeling empty inside, and it takes a great deal of effort on their part not to become like the monsters that fathered them.

Giants, Hags, Ogres, Orcs, Goblins, Will-O-Wisps
Spawn of Winter, they once lived upon the very edges of the world, where Winter's grasp rarely lessened. Now they have overrun the land, breeding as fast as the ice covers the land, revelling in their might and taking every opportunity to fulfil their sinister vices.
While once the most colossal of their kin was legend, the longer Winter stays in power, the more of her eldest spawn grow to mountainous proportions.
They demand tithes from those that eke out a living within their claustrophobic anarchic "kingdoms"; any that decline to are set upon and stripped to the bone by the young, mindless spawn.
The majority of them live in the once Summer lands, inside the ruins of pearl cities, while the grandest in size cleave the very mountains to suit their needs.


Read that? Thanks. I'm going to change the races up a bit stat wise, make half-orcs interesting at least.

[Charlatan]

THE GODS:

Winter
Winter murdered her sisters. Before this act, she was part of a divine order, one season would pass the baton to the next, in an ever flowing passage of time, so that there could be life, death and renewal.
But Winter murdered her sisters, and in doing so took control of all that is and plunged the world into a single terrifying night of ice and snow.
Winter murdered her sisters, drank deep of their blood and became more than she had ever been, now she sits upon a throne far from mortal gaze, titanic in scale, wearing the furs of a thousand great beasts and a crown cast from molten sorrow.
None know her will, or dare question it; she is Winter, and Winter is forever.

The Moon
The Moon was fleeting and hedonistic, both feminine and masculine as it suited her, or perhaps him, and her shape was a malleable as her whim. She had tricked many a mortal; brought as much harm as good to the world beneath her.
Though still mysterious and riddlesome, she has become a beacon to the people in this long night, taking on some of the responsibilities of her lost brother the Sun, though much of it, such as honour, she has little understanding of.
She is perhaps the last of those that can stand against the cruel desires of Winter, as though she is often chased by Winter's most foul spawn, she can never be caught, such is her nature.

The Minstrel
Long ago, when the world was young, and anything seemed possible, a maiden asked for Spring's hand. Many were the tasks set before her by Spring, many of the people held the maiden in contempt for her declaration, and many more still rivalled her for Spring's affections.
In the end it was her delicate voice that won the heart of Spring; the people rejoiced, sung and danced with her, and the maiden, now The Minstrel, married Spring, their souls bound for all eternity.
After her wife was flayed by Winter, The Minstrel's heart and mind shattered. It is said she can be seen briefly playing her fiddle and murmuring a sorrowful tune from time to time, but always in the distance, just out of reach, as if both in the land of the dead and the land of the living.

The Smith
Fiery, as all his people were, one of Summer's sons took it upon himself to demand that Summer teach him how to master flame and metal, that he might make armour and weapons like the lady herself, so that he might then teach others, so that the people of the world could defend themselves from the likes of Winter's spawn.
Summer, being honest and fair, taught him all she knew, and in return he gave her his life, for as long as she needed it. Thus, he became the Smith.
First student of Summer, he fought along side his mistress when Winter came, and in her malice she chose not to kill him, but maim him so that he might never hold a blade again, nor craft a blade for another. Still, he is The Smith, and tales tell of the trails of smoke from far off mountains, were he may still work through chosen heralds.

The Oracle
Long before mortal man built great monuments or knew how to sail, there was a seventh born child, who grew to be most wise. His consul was sought by all, and in times of famine and drought, his keen instincts and vast intellect would save the lives of those around him. He studied the ways of the world, so much so that he all but knew what was going to happen before him, long before it had come to pass.
Once he was very old indeed, he found the entrance to Autumn's home and claimed that he could beat her in a game of chance; he did so, and graciously, he was made The Oracle.
With the natural order destroyed much of his power is lost. Winter tossed him into the shadows of the world, spreading his soul thinly across the lands, but The Oracle is patient, The Oracle is clever, and if any would find use from this torture, it is he.

The Hunter
Once a witch they say, or a wolf, or both, The Hunter moves silently through the trees, leaving no print in the snow. So quiet is he that not even Winter heard him as she was making her way through a forest one night, until The Hunter leapt upon her, thinking her a lost traveler.
Winter was to tear him apart for his audacity, but something happened that night, and soon they were lovers.
The Hunter is the hound of Winter, her warrior and messenger, he was always little more than animal, now he is less than even that, an extension of Winter, her living wrath.

Death
When the first thing died, he came, he tipped his wide brimmed hat and showed it the way out with his great silver torch.
To this day, all that is known of Death is that he is taller than all who gaze upon him, that he is stronger still and that his face is not really a face at all.
Death does as he pleases, and what pleases Death can never be understood.

[Charlatan]

THE WORLD I:

Okay, so I haven't got to this point yet really. At it's heart the setting is a fell, of course, fells being mountains so cold and high that no trees can grow on them. However around these many mountains would be evergreen forests, rarely trees like elm and oak, but usually pine. This is an ice age.

.........



Using a bit of Hexmapping I've come up with the first of several starting points for a party, once the party leaves a given safe haven, the map becomes less and less known, villages and locations would be named in a more faux-Norse manner, or some made-up language at any rate, until the places are no longer named and there are no towns. So, a bit of information is required:

Briardale, a fiefdom of a once prosperous kingdom, it is ruled by Lord & Lady Dunrow behind the walls of Thornfort, they are not true nobility, but of a lesser house that was sworn to Lord Silverhill, the previous ruler, who died during the first rush of combat.

Loch Song, rich in herbs by it's coast, deep in fish, it gave life to the fief and will continue to do so, even in the Ever Winter. Though all places have their tales, most locals believe it was here that The Minstrel and Spring wed.

Thornfort, a great castle covered in battlements and filled with secret passageways, built by an old petty king infamous for his meticulousness. In truth it is no home for those that desire comfort, it is cold, damp and worn, but as a seat of power, it is unrivalled in the land.

The Singing Shrine, the monks that sing on their tiny island home keep the spirits of the people alive, The Minstrel is still prayed to here, though in many cases they pray for her, singing to an empty sky.

Rosewater, Redtree, Bracken & Moorly Way are large towns surrounded by farmland and the most common duty is just to grow enough food to keep going. Rosewater is likely into a bit of fishing too, Redtree would hunt on the side, Bracken raise pigs that hunt truffles and Moorly Way raise sheep that graze along the moorland.

Hornraise & Southertorch are small towers that can relay messages back to Thornfort via horns and torches. Most knights work from these towers now, as do many other men-at-arms.

Raven Wood is home to fabled ravens, huge, intelligent magical corvids. Ravens have always been a Winter animal, and so they act as spies and are sometimes actively violent to the people that enter.

Knot Wood has always been a sickly wood, as poison ivy, mushrooms and the deadly fabled rose strangle the life out of the trees and all who enter. It is however, a neutral place, uncaring for who it harms.

Pale Wood is a massive maze of trees, all taller than any other in the land. It is it's tight, enclosed, sheer nature that keeps the Legion at bay, more than the men that hold the mountain pass.

Mt. Gitrug was once a bustling trade crossing for the Autumn folk, but now everything has vanished, as if they never were.

I'm sure the rest is straight forward.

What do you think?

[Charlatan]

THE BESTIARY I:

I've yet to get on this either, but I'm sure I will.

This setting at the very least needs its own brand of wolves.

I also have some ideas regarding "conceptuals", like elementals, but covering a concept/idea/thing rather than material.

It's Bestiary I because I'll need to make a few posts on monsters unless we magically get sblock or spoiler boxes any time soon. So I, II , III it is.


Fabled Wolf

No. Enc.: 1d4 (1d6)

Alignment: Neutral (Neutral Evil)

Movement: 180’ (60’)

Armor Class: 6

Hit Dice: 4 + 1

Attacks: 2 (bite, freezing breath)

Damage: 2d6, 1d6 + see below

Save: F2

Morale: 9

Hoard Class: 0

Vicious, intelligent, but above all driven. They do not hunt to survive, but for the terror they produce in their intended victims, they are known to toy with their prey, trailing them for days before finally cornering them. They are every fear and myth projected onto the wolf, reflected back onto the world, a living nightmare.
If 50% of their number has been lost, their moral rises to 10, as seeing their brethren fall only heightens their bloodlust.
Fabled wolves can breathe a cone of cold damaging breath, 20' long by 10' wide, 4 times per day.


Snow Ape

No. Enc.: 1d6 (2d10)
Alignment: Neutral
Movement: 120' (30')
Armour Class: 7
Hit Dice: 3
Attacks: 2 (bite, grapple)
Damage: 1d6/1d4
Save: F3
Morale: 9
Hoard Class: 0

Covered in matted white fur, if not for their menacing deep blue faces they would be all but invisible out in the tundra. They are intelligent and use their extensive knowledge of their territory to trap foes before savagely biting and wearing them down by attempting to snap tendons and rip their intended meal's arms from their sockets.
If an ice ape successfully grapples an opponent, they are the first to attack the next round.
Their white fur enables them to surprise a foe on a roll of 1-3 on a d6 in the snow. If a blizzard is occurring they may surprise on a roll of 1-5 on a d6 and feel no adverse effects due to it.


Fabled Rose

No. Enc.: 1 (1d6)
Alignment: Neutral
Movement: 8' (0')
Armour Class: 2
Hit Dice: 3
Attacks: 1 (entanglement)
Damage: 1d6
Save: F3
Morale: 12
Hoard Class: VI

A mass of circling dark thorns and large blood red roses that slowly flex and probe in the direction of living things, eyelessly seeking them out in order to feed. Below them often lay the corpses of previous kills, thick roots now criss-crossing through the dried, bloodless flesh.
Once entangled by the fabled rose a Strength check must be made against it, with the fabled rose assumed to have a Strength score of 14. While tangled the victim takes 1d6 damage each round.
While entangling a victim, the fabled rose can cast the spell Sleep, once per day.


Weeping Phantom

No. Enc.: 1 (1)
Alignment: Neutral
Movement: 80' (30')
Armour Class: -2
Hit Dice: 3
Attacks: 1 (touch)
Damage: special
Save: F3
Morale: 12
Hoard Class: V

A stricken spirit with a faded, pinched face and a elongated body comprised of bloodied, once white strips of cloth. They appear only when the sky it at it's lightest, and there are no clouds in sight. Like many phantoms, they are thought to be lost Summer souls, still lamenting the death of the Seasons. They guard the bones of the fallen, often taking unburied corpses and keeping them within their icy abodes. They do not hunt the living, nor do they care to converse with them, their first instinct is to flee from their sight, only standing it's ground within their small, icy, skeleton filled grottos they call home.
The touch of the weeping phantom does not harm in the traditional sense, but ages the victim by 1d4 years every round. Once the vicim has reached the maximum age for their given race, they die of old age.
The weeping phantom can not be harmed by anything less than a +3 weapon or damaging divine spells.


Blinded Phantom

No. Enc.: 1 (2d4)
Alignment: Chaotic
Movement: 60' (20')
Armour Class: -2
Hit Dice: 3
Attacks: 2 (claws)
Damage: 1d4
Save: F3
Morale: 12
Hoard Class: 0

With eyes made of orbs of clear ice, hunched onto all fours, with long black arms and twitching fingers thin as needles, this incorporeal spirit is as unsettling as it is dangerous. While they will not converse with anyone, they are constantly chattering to themselves. They attack all who come near, they are easy to track for those that know of them, for there territory is marked by a thousand angry claw marks.
Their sharp claws secrete a mystical poison that causes the victim be shaken with fear as they view those around them as undead (save vs. paralysis, or be paralysed for 2d6 turns).
Blinded Phantoms are surrounded a cloud of darkness (as per the spell) at all times.



Some ideas:
Fabled Owl - "wise"/sapient, watchful, a guide
Fabled Bear - giant polar bear pretty much, can talk I reckon, rune magic?
Fabled Deer - silver, ghostly, can vanish, can prance off into the air
Sorrow Conceptual - morale save inducing, made out of sadness...somehow
Battle Conceptual - made o' broken blades and shields
Vengeance Conceptual - made of shadows perhaps, stalks people
Torment Conceptual - drags foes into itself, made of chains perhaps, born in torture chambers?
Justice Conceptual - only attacks "criminals", but can easily be corrupted





Thanks for reading so far.

[Charlatan]

THE BESTIARY II:









Hey look, a practice title!

[Blood axe]

Very interesting!! Maybe the Half-Orcs should be Half-men, since they are all kinds of creatures of mixed blood. Im watching this.

[Charlatan]

Very interesting!! Maybe the Half-Orcs should be Half-men, since they are all kinds of creatures of mixed blood. Im watching this.

Thanks for reading, I'm glad you've taken an interesting Blood Axe!

Good point my man, in the final draft I think I will be changing up the name of the races somewhat, but for now I wanted people to know what I was on about.
I think in the end half-orcs will be half-men, since they run the gambit of half-orcs, half-giants, Frankenstein-like monsters and people tainted by Winter's magic the same way she makes wolves evil and controls ravens.

I might have to change the name of halflings (which is habit of mine for some reason) as to avoid confusion.

I think certain takes on Frankenstein are good inspiration as to how they look, lumbering, grey and forlorn.

I've added a couple more monsters, keep reading!

[Charlatan]

Terminology:

Okay, since I'm throwing out lots of names and titles, this post is going to get updated every time I make something up that is outside the core of the game.

Spring's Children - An ancient, poetic term for humans, who are the youngest and most short lived of the races.

Autumn's Host - An ancient, poetic term for dwarves and halflings, who were both created by Autumn and are closely related, as if they evolved from a common ancestor (there is no evolution in this world however). They were once the most numerous of the peoples, but have since locked themselves away from the conflict.

Summer's Sons - An ancient, poetic term for elves, who while called "sons", who where perhaps genderless altogether. They are all dead.

Winter's Spawn - An ancient, vulgar term coined out of spite. They are also often called Winterspawn or simple Spawn. The races of the Winterspawn and many, including orcs, goblins and giants and many more besides. The Spawn actually grow as they gain rank and the favour of Winter, meaning that the weakest goblin could one day be a giant king if not slain.

Fabled - A creature transformed by terrible magic into a reflection of people's fears. So the wolf becomes big and bad, the rose becomes a creeping horror that forces it's victims into a deep slumber, the owl wise, the cat a charming, vanishing thief.

Conceptual - A spirit made from strong beliefs and ideals, just as elementals are made of the material. They are rarely native to the world, but those that are inhabit locations that breed their concept, such as a oozing punishment conceptual lurking in a prison or a flickering hope conceptual that clings to the banner of a young knight.

Phantom - Beyond a ghost, phantoms are souls torn by the death of the Seasons, leaving them with no memory of their past life and shaped in ways unthinkable by mortal mind. The majority of phantoms were once elves, and retain some elven features, if twisted.

Half-Men - The alternate name for half-orcs in this setting, and setting wise, half-men include half-orcs, half-giants, those tainted by Winter's magic and nearly undead abominations.

Knocker - The alternative name for halflings in this setting, though they are otherwise unchanged. Before Winter murdered her sisters they did much travelling and while they lived in hill houses, grottos and shallow caves, they spent much of their lives overground. Now they too are locked away.

[Charlatan]

Here is a special post revamping the half-orc race as half-men for the Fell setting.

Half-Men

Requirements: CON 9
Ability Modifiers: STR +1, CON +1, CHA -2
Ability Min/Max: STR 6/18, DEX 3/17, CON 13/19, INT 3/17, WIS 3/17, CHA 3/14

Half-men is a catch all title for any person who lives due to the reign of Winter, be they the bastard children of Spring women & Winterspawn, those taken and forced to become soldiers for the Winter Legions or those who's hearts have been made cold by the foul magic of Winter.
Half-men are noticeable due to their often ugly, overly muscular appearance, lumbering movements and brooding, seething personalities. They are outcast from most civilised society as par the course, relying on making a name for themselves as head hunters and grim guardians if they wish to be excepted at all; the few that are trusted are to be found in smaller, unprotected hamlets, where they can come accustomed to the few that live there, and they in return.

Half-men have 60' infravision, and if actively searching, they can detect hidden and secret doors with a roll of 1-2 on 1d6. Half-men may speak their alignment language, common, and orc.

Half-men may select from the following classes, with the indicated level limits.

HALF-MEN CLASSES AVAILABLE
Class .......... Level Limit
Assassin ....... Unlimited (15)
Cleric .......... 5
Fighter ........ 12
Magic-User .... 5
Ranger ........ 12
Thief .......... 12

Half-men thieves receive the following bonuses and penalties to thief abilities:

HALF-MEN THIEF SKILL ADJUSTMENTS

Skill ........................ Adjustment
Pick Locks ................. -5%
Find and Remove Traps .. +5%
Hide in Shadows .......... +5%
Climb Walls ................ +5%


I really need to get a scanner one day, and learn to draw, so I can show you what I'm thinking, but some characters that should inspire the feeling of half-men as adventurers are:
-Frankenstein
-Hellboy
-Mr. Hyde
-Grey Hulk (Hulk of Marvel comics on a good day)
-Super Mutants (of Fallout fame)
-Quasimodo


I've also just realised I've forgotten about gnomes completely! So I'm going to continue ignoring them and just mentally put them in the Autumn Host. I can always fill something in about them later. It's not like they don't fit perfectly into the "locked themselves underground" motif.