allgeektout

I have a problem that I need to face: I have DM ADD. I’ve barely started a 4th Edition campaign that’s (theoretically) going to go into the Epic Tier, and yet I am constantly thinking of new ideas for other stories to tell. Instead of letting these all go to waste in a tiny corner of my mind, I’ve decided that I can expand and get feedback on them with a column heavily inspired (a term most likely to be used repeatedly in this column) by Wizards of the Coasts’ column of the same name. For those who want more general advice at getting started, you should check out the first few entries in that column (available to non-subscribers); this is going to be focused on building a specific world. So let’s get started!

I like epic stories. By “epic” I don’t necessarily mean campaigns that go into whatever your game system’s version of epic levels are, I mean the kind of “epic” that DNAPhil of Gnome Stew used in his series on long campaigns:

What I am talking about is a campaign story and style that is on the scale of Lord Of The Rings, Dragonlance, or any number of other fantasy novels.  I am talking about a campaign style, where the fate of the world rests on the PC’s shoulders, from the start of the campaign.  A style that does not worry about the fate of one town, but of nations.  It does not focus on the heroes building a castle with their adventuring loot, but rather raising a vast army and liberating a nation or saving a world.

It’s daunting to create such a plot/world, but even as a newbie-DM, I really like it, almost as much (or more) that the game itself; I guess that’s just my internal writer at work. A lot of the time though, I lift bits of inspiration from other forms of media. For example, my current idea is heavily inspired (there it is again!) by Stargate SG-1. I’ve been interested in adapting a Stargate-like setting for fantasy ever since I read a blog post about (which I can’t find at this moment, but if I do, I will update the link) incorporating magic portals into campaigns. There was an interesting tip about giving your players actual “addresses” for different locations. Sounds like Stargate? You bet it does.

So I decided to write an “Elevator Pitch”, a very short summary of the campaign that gives a brief  glimpse at the setting and hints at some of the major themes of the campaign. I’ll show you the elevator pitch first, and then talk about some of the ideas that went into it.

Upon discovering a hidden portal to other realms deep in the underground realm of Allein, you are thrust into the middle of a war that has been going on for centuries between the mystical Althars and the dark and treacherous Primah. Tasked by the leader of the land to find anything that can be of use to Allein, and destroy everything that may cause harm, you travel to different realms, discovering unusual creatures, finding wondrous magic and technologies, and choose sides in a war that you have no place in.

Side Note: Coming up with names is not my strength; many of these will likely be changed over time.

Allein- The idea of an underground civilization was inspired by a map I found at Wizards of the Coast (which I also can’t find right now) just a week or two ago. It’s a concept I love, plus it lets me start thinking about the themes of the campaign. An underground city is not only isolated from the rest of the multiverse (until the discovery of the portal), but from the rest of its own realm. I’m going to create a new document called “Campaign Themes” and add “Isolation” to it, and expand it as I come up with more ways to expand on the theme.

Also, spinning off of “isolation”, created an underground city leads to all sorts of interesting possibilities, including the PCs going to the surface after years of separation; perhaps even the surface could be the home to the Primah. Which leads me to:

The Primah – These are taking the place of the “Goa’uld” from Stargate*, and also filling the role of the Primordials, hence the name (something I hope to change soon). Unlike the Goa’uld, they are not a parasitic race, but they do force people of the realms to worship them as gods; whether they are gods or not is something I haven’t decided. I imagine their home realm a desolate wasteland, no longer suit for survival, as a result of some terrible conflict, which is a possible reason for Allein to be underground if it does end up being their old home world.

*For people who have never seen the show, the Goa’uld are vicious worm-like parasites that enter a human host and take control of their bodies. The show mythology says that many of the gods humans have worshiped throughout history (mainly the Egyptian gods) were actually humans taken over by the Goa’uld, given enhanced power because of it.

The Althar – These are the setting’s equivalent of the Ancients, the long vanished race who created the Stargate system. I thought it would be a bit more interesting if they were an active part of the war, and even the primary enemy of the Primahs. I haven’t fleshed them out much beyond that, but they are definitely going to be a major part of this role.

Choosing Sides – This is also going on my Themes sheet. Although it may seem a bit obvious what side to choose (the good characters are going to choose the Altharian side and the evil characters will pick the Primah), I plan on introducing new factions down the line, including the mysterious– well, I better save that one for later.

Come back next time when I talk about the origin of the name “in medias res”, and flesh out Allein!