The New World: A Bit of a Campaign Setting

[Charlatan]

Hey everyone, this will be my first real campaign setting (having previously had the party roam The Known Lands) and I'd like some pointers and just to read what you have to say about my ideas. Its not much at the moment but I'll be adding to it fairly regularly. I might throw in some abridged versions of what the party have gotten up to once we start. The general idea is a very small area with towns, then the rest of the game world will be uncharted wilderness.

THE NEW WORLD!
Ahem *cough* sorry about that.

Heres the deal:
The Royal Navy of Calarn came across an uncharted continent, they dubbed it the rather inspiring New Calarn, but strictly speaking they have only physically landed at one cove on it's eastern side. Due to the Queen of Calarn's desire to improve the state of her nation, she has recalled many of her vessels and has no plans to conquer anywhere. The Queen is only twelve years old and has yet to gain a grip on her country; her father died in a riding accident around the time the continent was found, had he lived he would have surely made his mark on it.

This left news of the land to slowly spread from the original sailors down through the peasants, up to the disenfranchised lords and even to bordering countries. Since then small groups of people looking for a new life or just the rumoured riches of the land have left the crumbling Calarn for the New World.

---
I think I'll start with the races.

Races of The New World Setting:
Human: The majority of the settlers are the poor of Calarn's cities, the types that only saw it's alleys and smelt the stench of the sewerless streets. They are often short with barrel chests and strong arms, freckled cheeks, dark, thick hair and bright eyed, with green being most common. Masterless with little literacy or wanted skills the call of the New World was strong, most of them consider the continent the best, perhaps the only, place to make a fulfilling living. They deal with situations day by day and are not particularly clever. However they are more open to new ideas and concepts than any other people in the world, which is why more half-human races and odd contraptions can be found here than elsewhere.

That said, for every family of once beggars there are runaway soldiers, escaped criminals, rebellious lords, meticulous cartographers, giddy historians, weary preachers and of course packs of fresh-faced adventurers.

Other races (within the human race) include:
Medians, tall windburnt people with brown eyes and blonde, curly hair thought of as "the good kind of barbarian". They'll most often be from some small tribe with a poor reputation, if not outright exiles for some crime. They are looked down upon for not bringing much to society as they live in the wilderness.

Bromals, a race much like the Calarns, distinguished only by accent and religion. Very few Bromals bring up these differences in discussion and already marrying into their Calarn neighbours without much fuss. The nation of Brom, named after it's king, who is always named thus, hates the idea of his people leaving and occasional rumours of Brom sending soldiers to "take them home" keep the race quiet and on edge.

Ormercians, broad brown skinned people with black, wavy hair, though many turn grey at a young age, and brown eyes. While not always the case in their homeland, they tend to act educated and informed, often taking on roles in society that require literacy and a way with words, such as a clerk, actor or a lawyer. While others have left their countries behind them Ormercians bring what culture they can with them and were surely the first to set up any sort of trade route.

Awas is a term thrust upon these people, who had no previous way of defining themselves as a whole. They have heavy tanned skin, almost red on some, with soft black hair and hazel or yellowish eyes. Awas are from the Awa Islands and for them this land is a place to make a name for themselves and throw of the shackles of the old ways. This tends to land them drunk somewhere or robbed, but the few that choose not to loose themselves in lawlessness become mighty mercenaries and really, quite nearly anything they put their minds to.

Finally the Evenmen, pale, blued eyed people from a kingdom that was once ruled by a dead empress, so the legends go. Half the time they play to superstition as seers and traveling magicians, but are quick to turn to rational explanations should something eerie arise, to save themselves from persecution. While rare among the settlers, Evenmen do have magic in their linage and some of the worlds greatest sorcerers have come from the Evenlands. In the New World they are thought of as oddities unsuited to the hard life, and yet, here they are. They are overall a warm people and enjoy company.

Note: I am also allowing the players to make up their own human race and place of birth as human race doesn't add to/subtract from their character sheet.

Dwarves: Their kingdom was long ago absorbed by Calarn, it's often joked that they went to bed one night, then opened their door the next day and saw thousands of people living on their mountains. There was never any wars fought, they were just marginalised by the sheer volume of people surrounding them. In the New World they plan to stake a claim on a mountain range and keep everyone out. They exaggerate their traditions, wear lots of runic symbols and demand respect. Usually people put up the dwarves chest beating in light of their skill with metal and indepth, almost instinctive knowledge of construction and mining.

Elves: As a rule few come to the New World, as their immortality is bound to the massive forest they call home. If an elf makes his or her way across the water it will be because conscious or subconsciously they're through with living forever. Which leads to fatalist world-views and daredevil antics. While many are quite wise and intelligent, they rarely spend time in society, though quite a few of them offer martial aid when people are under attack. They are rarely if ever trusted and are considered loose cannons.

Toms: In this setting halflings are called toms, short for tomte, and are good goblins. Not much is known of them as this is their first attempt at civilisation. They make their living doing fairly honest work, but the lowly jobs they end up with tend to force them into black market trade and pickpocketing. They're more tightly knit than any other race, since its likely the entire tom population came on one ship.

Half-Elves & Half-Orcs: I have very little on these two, save that they are treated about as equally as you can get. If you work hard in the New World you get treated decently in most places. Half-Elves will have head from Calarn with the humans or left the elven forest that a. wasn't granting them immortality and b. would always have them at the bottom rung. Half-Orcs are basically just ugly, strong people in the New World and out here that strength outweighs the ugly tenfold.

[Denim N Leather]

I like it!

It has a very close-to-real-world feel. What kind of culture is Calarn? Obviously Imperialist, but are you going with Spanish flavour? Viking? English?

I like the fact that no one can recall what, exactly, the king had in mind when he set out to colonize the new world. Will your players be allowed to start in the old country? Do you plan on introducing any court intrigue elements? This sounds like the perfect setting for something like that. I mean, the Queen pulled the ships back, but why? Who's behind it all? I wanna know!!!!!!!!!!!

[Charlatan]

I like it!

It has a very close-to-real-world feel. What kind of culture is Calarn? Obviously Imperialist, but are you going with Spanish flavour? Viking? English?

I like the fact that no one can recall what, exactly, the king had in mind when he set out to colonize the new world. Will your players be allowed to start in the old country? Do you plan on introducing any court intrigue elements? This sounds like the perfect setting for something like that. I mean, the Queen pulled the ships back, but why? Who's behind it all? I wanna know!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks, glad I got a positive response, phew!

I will sorta be making that up as I go! But Calarn is Imperialist nation in decline, I'll be stealing a bit from France before its famous revolution, with the nobility only now realising how much they've let down the peasants and what that means for their future as people with heads still attached. Think masquerade balls and lords tricking maids into bed with them, thick a thieves guild run by a gentleman of exquisite taste, but then think of a maze of streets full of people so excluded from things they're half feral and speak their own made up language. I imagine the police of Calarn only go out in large numbers.

My players are down for whatever I go for, so it'll either begin at the dock, then skip the trip across sea or on their first day in the New World

Now for the intrigue...yes. And the Queen and whether she has control will be revealed, but thats a far flung thing. The players shouldn't be thinking about the old country, not at first anyway.

[Denim N Leather]

Nice! Very flavourful. Would love to play in that setting, actually. It's obvious you've put real care into it. As newcomers from the old country, I'm sure they will be in for a shock when they see how the new world has evolved on its own. I like the idea of having the climate, culture, and major players in mind, but keeping the story off the rails and letting the players (and you) discover things as they go along.

I just completed running an 11 month long campaign for Pathfinder that was very similar. I was discovering things, and creating world elements, on the fly. Was tremendous fun!

My next campaign (there's a thread on it somewhere here, called A Visitor's Guide to Hightower) is still in the works, and it'll be for LL ...

[Charlatan]

Nice! Very flavourful. Would love to play in that setting, actually. It's obvious you've put real care into it. As newcomers from the old country, I'm sure they will be in for a shock when they see how the new world has evolved on its own. I like the idea of having the climate, culture, and major players in mind, but keeping the story off the rails and letting the players (and you) discover things as they go along.

I just completed running an 11 month long campaign for Pathfinder that was very similar. I was discovering things, and creating world elements, on the fly. Was tremendous fun!

My next campaign (there's a thread on it somewhere here, called A Visitor's Guide to Hightower) is still in the works, and it'll be for LL ...

Thanks chief. I home this campaign lasts half as long! I'll be sure to read up on Hightower in but a moment!

[Charlatan]

Alrighty! *puts fedora on a jaunty angle* Everything here is subject to change and the making sense of.

Locations in the New World:

Waytown
The first town off the port. Its essentially a set of wooden houses set down wherever the settler desired at the time, with the wide roads built quite some time after. The locals are in a unspoken contest to build the best house, as such each one has extra stories built from a different wood, balconies, garages, cooking alcoves, flags and whatever else they could nail on.

While it has no defensive walls, a trustworthy bunch of mercenaries (who just don't admit they've settled down) keep the place safe from beasts and bandits. The few residents are tough as old boots and have been or still have dreams of adventuring out into the unknown, so they can act as militia in a pinch.

The weather would often be sunny, but bursts of rain would fall periodically. It would be a green place with wild fruit supplementing farm crops. The locals would have some fowl, not chickens just to make things more interesting, say pheasants or just some fantasy flightless bird. In fact just for interest ordinary farm animals would take a back seat for white, long haired bison and edible geckos. Cats, rats and dogs would be holdovers from the old country however. The place is subject to the four seasons, but the weather is generally mild all year 'round.

Notable Attractions:

Cartographer's Guild Headquarters - always on the lookout for guards for their map makers
Wren's Monument - A statue of the first women to land on the continent and founder of Waytown
Boldare's Mercantile Union - Unlike the town guards, these lads will go anywhere and fight anything for a bag of coin
The Red Cauldren - Not a tavern, but the tavern, ale from the dwarves! Oh mer cian barmaids! Food made by actual (half)elves!
Wren's Vault - A master thi-taker of unwanted and forgotten goods, Wren amassed a fortune, but with no one to give it to in old age she hid it...somewhere...
Biggen's Place - A theatre-come-carnival that alternates between drama and slapstick comedy, its odd to see the clown play the widowed wife the next night
Nitti's Assaulting Course - Run by a tom of all things, a place to test your skills before you take to the road

Motto: Give Nor Take No Quarter - meaning: don't be charitable to weak people, but don't be mean to anyone either or, just keep your head down and get by in life

Areas around Waytown:
Janya's Hole - A sheer chasm just north-west of the town, a lone spelunker found and entered it, but never returned. His rope still hangs into it.

The dungeon would be compact, with few rooms but a lot of levels. The first few levels would be all about creepy crawly swarms. Then as the party delves deeper it would become a place of slimes/moulds/oozes and other sticky things. If the party dares to continue downwards they would be met with undead with a mould theme. They wouldn't have to be new monsters, just a description that they're possibly animated by the mould that covers them.


Owl Shrine - Some ancient, ruined temple. All thats left is the foundations and a wall or too. The grounds are partly flooded and covered in vines and thick, thorned bushes. While the place is infamous for it's giant owls, thousands of species of birds live at the shrine, many of them brightly coloured and beautiful.

In contrast to Janya's Hole, this place would be about fighting fast beasts on open terrain. Well, the shrine might have a hidden basement, but it would be hard to find. For a change I might make the basement completely empty safe for some skeletons, their story would remain a mystery, perhaps they were cultists hiding from something they released...

Possible monsters:
Owl, Giant
Hawk, Giant
Fish, Giant Piranha
Spider, Giant Tarantula
Strangle Weed
Owl Bear (re-imaged as descendants of this forgotten cult?)


Kean's Rock - Some years ago a cleric that lost his faith came to the frontier and helped many people, particularly adventurers. After a night of heavy drinking, as he was prone to do, he climbed up onto the massive boulder and simply never came down. He was buried under it a week later when a barmaid went looking for him. On the anniversary of his death he his said to be looking out from atop the rock.

He would be some sort of ghost, who will be freed from his torment by…you know…getting beaten up by rascally adventurers.


Locations that are around as it were, but the party will have to find them:

Domes of the Horned Idols - A series of bronze, domed structures in a desert, each one has carvings of a different false gods.

Hall of the Wraiths - A prison designed to keep souls trapped.

Field of Fallen Blades
Blood Valley
Lagoon of the Leech Women
Castle of Flesh and Bone

So I'm thinking eventually it would be revealed that the New World was once inhabited, but they were wiped out by their own dark magic. A kinda dark turn, but its not as if the settlers are anywhere close to being like them at the moment...

Another idea I'm having is the towns would grow larger the longer the campaign lasts and that the players would be able to help them grow if they throw some money their way. They could eventually become seen as nobility if they wanted.

[Denim N Leather]

I like it! It's very sandbox-inspired. You could, of course, run it as a sandbox, with a time line for major events, and how it impacts the players as they do what they please.

[Charlatan]

I like it! It's very sandbox-inspired. You could, of course, run it as a sandbox, with a time line for major events, and how it impacts the players as they do what they please.

It really is a sandbox world, the only set in stone things are the players will uncover that the New World was once inhabited by evil cultists, likely leading up to the dark gods reawakening and taking over people to be their prophets and fending of Inquisition-like Brom soldiers from stealing people.

It might end up story based eventually because I'd like one of the countries, Brom for instance, to try and take over once they realise how much gold there is just there for the taking. Then it would become a knock-off American Revolutionary war against them! Perhaps with added convince a small child with her dad's crown on to help...much as the French did in the real thing...

Okay that'll do for now, see if anyone else turns up. Next time I'll write up some of the basics for the religions of the setting, I'm thinking Calarnians and Bromals have religions that are close but some things just can't align, like one thinks the devil of the religion has to exist for balance, while the other thinks even mentioning him is blasphemous.

[Charlatan]

Alright, religion! This is a really rough idea as to what the people of the New World believe. Any input would be welcomed.

Calarnians
The Creator formed the universe from nothingness.
As the Creator was about to perfect his work, The Destroyer arrived and attempted to tear it apart.
To this day the pair battle over the universe, which is why the Creator can't solve everyone's problems.
The church is led by a number of Archbishops, that are served by bishops down through many ranks.
The faithful pray each day for the Creator's triumph and rarely ask him for aid.
Clerics actually draw their power from Angels, children of the Creator made before the battle.

Bromals
The Creator formed the universe from nothingness.
The Creator decided that a perfect world had no meaning, so he made The Temptress.
The world is a training ground for the soul, avoid sin to be excepted by God in the afterlife.
The king of Brom is considered the mouth of the Creator, and thus he may as well be the Creator.
The faithful do pray to the Creator, asking him how to avoid temptation, they also do rituals to force the Temptress out of an area.
Clerics draw their power from the Creator knowing anything the Temptress offers would have too high a price.

Ormercians
The Artist painted the universe from pure chaos, then enclosed it away from the swirling madness.
The Artist was pleased with his work, so he left to paint more universes.
The church has no formal leader, though the eldest monks and powerful clerics are a driving force.
The faithful do no actively worship the Artist, instead they believe they share his divine spark.
Clerics draw their power from the world (druids?) or their own divine spark (only low levels allowed).

Medians
Hundreds of human-like demi-gods created the universe from nothingness.
While every god has his or her good traits, their love affairs and duels cause terrible things to happen in the world.
There is no church, but oral tradition and the fact that priesthood is past down family lines keep the religion going.
The faithful can worship any god, and any number of gods.
Clerics are plentiful at low levels, anything from clerics of love to clerics of tactics present.

Awas
Every tribe believes something different, while some have similar beliefs, most do not.
In general the universe was made by a sky god, sea god and earth god trinity, but these can be married, brothers, sisters, rivals or master and servants depending on tribe.
The faithful are more likely to worship local spirits and leave praying to the inhuman trinity to their few clerics.
Clerics are the exception in awa culture, they are much more likely to turn to Druids.

Evenmen
Once conquered by the Calarnians, they now share the same religion.
However, in artwork they usually depict the Creator as a flower covered woman and the Destroyer as a skeleton, which may have been pre-Calarnian gods in their own right.
The faithful are quite taken by churches, and every town as a open church that acts as a tavern and a place for various clubs besides the religious gatherings.
Clerics draw their strength from the Angels, who again, look remarkably like wilderness gods.


Dwarves
Dwarves believe they once lived in a paradise, but the first dwarves were greedy and tried to steal the Treasure of the Gods.
The Gods threw them into the mortal world for this action.
They see the world as a grim place, almost a prison and as such try and acts as their religion states to try and return to the Gods.
Dwarves believe those that have done wrong are reincarnated, so every dwarf alive today as done something wrong in a past life.
Clerics are looked up to and only they can change things within the religion, they are chosen by the Gods and will not reincarnate after death.

Elves
Everything, all planes and worlds were born from a seed that grew into a impossibly huge tree, universes hang from it's branches.
There are no gods in the elven religion though they believe there are beings greater than them on other planes.
Druids are the obvious choice if at all.

Toms
Toms believe in whatever god will get them through a particular moment.
If you were to ask one if they believed in the Creator or the Artist they would reply "yes".
Tom Clerics usually find themselves chosen by smaller, younger gods that are overlooked by others, such as the child of a war god or the elemental god of smoke.

Half-Elves
Some might apply godly, thinking attributes to the tree, others might worship whatever their human culture believes in.
A large percentage of half-elves gravitate to the Evenmen sect of the Creator religion.

Half-Orcs
Orcs believe that the universe was made from the corpses of giants their gods defeated.
Orcs also believe that gods can die, and the hierarchy of their religion changes as each orcish tyrant puts his patron god on top.
Half-orcs don't keep up with this, certainly the ones in the New World don't, so they'll believe whatever makes sense to them.


I'll never set in stone what is correct, but every religion has a fragment of the truth.

[Denim N Leather]

Finally had some time to read this; really good stuff!