collaborative world building concept

First of all, this is for the next game, whenever Matt is ready for a break.

I think this idea will take a fair amount of prep work, so there is no harm in starting to build this idea early.

I would like, given the veteran group of gamers we have gathered, a collaborative effort at building the world of the story.

concept: the multiverse is a Road

planes literally touch each other along a road(s) that connects them

player design - unique race, with their accompanying plane

travel is physical movement (not portals) so can be done by any means - walking, beast riding, machine, flying, etc

there is 1 major city that sits at a nexus of several roads (all roads lead to Rome idea)

adventures can be within the city, like a multiverse version of shadowrun or by adventuring through planes to a destination plane

planes have unique rules as expressed by something simple like  magic:none, tech: high, social:medium, divine: low

***equipment\spells\etc function at equal\penalty\disadvantage (simple mechanic) depending on the relative item to plane difference*** mechanical work-in-progress, open to specific suggestions

probably just 5e to keep it simple

just re-skin classes to fit your own custom plane

"Rome" would have some interesting 'Wards' within the city:

techno cops stopping at the line where they can't pursue someone into a low tech part of the city
mages being arrested and brought to high tech areas where their magic is very weak

High tech is the same way we did it before, just re-skin magic items into tech devices

5e has some stats for guns and energy guns, basically the same as PF
guns 2d6, laser guns 3d6 etc

for example:
1 very high tech, mostly human, ward - like cyberpunk\blade runner level stuff.  
1 very magical fantasy ward, maybe something ancient Egyptian style with zero native humans (avian-born, feline-born, canine-born, etc)
1 truly "weird ward" like a slum section for everyone that doesn't fit somewhere else.
....need more wards

general chat and questions go in this thread

when you are ready to start developing your own race+plane concept, please start your own thread

FYI - not all race\plane concepts will be part of "Rome" but may be neighboring planes along the Road, like suburbs of "Rome"

some Roads may be impassable in some planes, like extreme elemental planes or underwater or ??

other Roads may go through a heavily demilitarized zones or Road-side markets of exotic trade

this is neither fantasy nor sci-fi, but everything in between and none of the above

As I've already been discussing this with Chris, I'm planning on the the Egyptian motif where there are no humans (nor any Tolkein- type races).

There are only Bull-born (minotaurs I guess), Feline-born (Tabaxi template), Avian born, Jackal-born, and Croc-born

I'm leaning towards and probably WILL play a Feline born Rogue or Fighter or something similar to that. I did the high tech approach in the last game that was like this. (which I really liked)

He'll look like a black tiger humanoid.

World- low tech (iron age at best), medium magic, high divine, medium social

However, since it just hit me.... you need a Dead Ward - undead characters and such.

thanks, Josh!

ok, you got the Egyptian fantasy ward of the city and I see you started a thread.

awesome ideas for races so far

hmmm.... let's think about an undead ward. I like the idea but there is a reason all these planes\races have built a city here and I am not sure that I see the dead as being that.... cooperative

ah... I see what your angle is now. Ok, sure, that might be a bad fit... it could be more of the "underworld" Dark "Force" world if anything... plot device?

It was just an idea.

I'm not 100% wedded to the Egypt thing... I'm exploring it further. Don't worry, the races thing will stay the same.

sure, good ideas

Rasso used the Necron, undead machines, as enemies last time. I have other ideas this time around.

There is going to be a fantasy ward in the city, but the flavor of it doesn't have to be Egyptian. You are free to choose something different too as you develop your ideas

You are describing something very similar to the City of Throne, seated at the center of the Great Empire of the 1,000 Worlds framework. I like it!

https://lodgestgaming.forumotion.com/t127-lore-of-the-thousand-worlds


I'll chew on this a bit...

MAS wrote:You are describing something very similar to the City of Throne, seated at the center of the Great Empire of the 1,000 Worlds framework. I like it!

Thanks!

yeah, the city itself isn't really unique.

Sigil, the city of doors from Planescape
Zelazny had a city in one of the Amber books that sat at a crossroads between worlds, but I forget the name


The city is less important than the idea of the Road linking planes. The city grew up as a result of the Road and is just a vehicle for stories and interaction

Sounds like a really cool concept to explore, especially with the segregated city wards. I'll also need a bit of time to digest the idea and flesh out a player/ward concept, but I'm onboard.

Josef909 wrote:Sounds like a really cool concept to explore, especially with the segregated city wards.  I'll also need a bit of time to digest the idea and flesh out a player/ward concept, but I'm onboard.

Glad to hear it!

All are welcome and I also understand if it sounds like too much time commitment for some to be interested. If it's a small group, it could be a side game. If it's a big group, we can fire up after Matt's game. Either way is fine with me

some more city art I find inspiring

What about an incan/mayan-inspired ward with reskinned half orcs and dragonborn? Maybe a culture/plane of warriors and hunters with a small amount of mysterious nature magics?

Josef909 wrote:What about an incan/mayan-inspired ward with reskinned half orcs and dragonborn?  Maybe a culture/plane of warriors and hunters with a small amount of mysterious nature magics?

sure!

Is that something that you are considering as your player character type or just a suggestion?

Off the top of my head, that sounds more like a good suburb than a city ward. There is 1 low-tech fantasy ward in the city already and wards really need to be civilized city areas. But I could totally see a dense jungle plane with more primitive hunters\warriors near the city.

maybe the plane is also home to some large creatures? like stuff out of Avatar

Would the natives be more interested in trade? raiding planeswalkers moving through? both?

There are some good races in Volo's guide too: goliaths, firbolgs, lizardfolk, etc

Let me thumb through the MM for some different ideas. Maybe if I lock onto a few races to build around a different concept will unwrap.

Inspired artwork! Cool concept too. As Matt points out, we've hit on the multiverse theme a few times already.

Will our character's actions affect reality? I'm on board for a crazy adventure, but not so much kobayshi maru.

Thinking I may run a conversion of one of my earlier characters...

just to ask Chris, what are your nuts and bolts for this? Stat block pts. and level?

Just wondering

Robyo wrote:Inspired artwork! Cool concept too. As Matt points out, we've hit on the multiverse theme a few times already.

Will our character's actions affect reality? I'm on board for a crazy adventure, but not so much kobayshi maru.

Thinking I may run a conversion of one of my earlier characters...

Thanks, most of it came from different artists on Pinterest.  I like the multiverse stuff as it gets us out of set genres.

At the moment, I am not thinking of another Inception\matrix\alice in wonderland\mindbender (we did that already).  Characters may have some minor reality-bending abilities, but not on the scale of the last story.  

for example (and this is not set in stone) the ability for PCs or significant NPCs to bend the paradox with items\abilities - a mage casting a spell in a "none" magic zone or a laser gun working in a "low" tech zone.  I don't have specific mechanics in mind yet - it might be a roll, or an item or a Xtimes\short rest kind of thing.

there won't be matrix agent aliens popping out of people every time someone does it either    
but there will likely be laws in the various wards about what is allowed and those law will be enforced locally

the Road is an ALL zone, so that will be the most heavily monitored areas in each ward, but also the most interesting and profitable

whit10 wrote:just to ask Chris, what are your nuts and bolts for this?  Stat block pts. and level?

Just wondering

no idea yet, haven't gotten that far

no worries... was just curious

I see 5e has a system for Renown.  I will likely use something along those lines.

for example (names just thrown out at random), there will be a few factions in each ward and some that are universal with which you can earn renown by doing jobs and\or joining.

high tech ward:
Lonestar cops
Ares armstech
Tyrell synthetics

egyptian fantasy ward:
priests of Ra
followers of Set
Ali Baba and the 40 thieves

universal:
merchants guild
Marshalls (on the Road, so go into all wards)
black market dealers


at some point, the group will need to decide a general direction at the start: law enforcement\Marshalls, freelancers (shadow runners) or criminals.   This focus can change over the course of the story.  It should also allow people to come\go as needed.  I may even consider 2 groups if there is strong interest in different directions.

I could also see the possibility of some solo play for short stories or interludes.

This could be as much roleplaying or combat as the party decides on any given mission.

After chatting with Josh today, I was reminded that the idea of re-skinning was new to some folks the way we use it.  I want to give a couple examples, specific to this game, just to help spark ideas

Let's say you want to play a healer and decide on Cleric class as the best healer (whether that's true or not)


Egyptian fantasy ward:
jackal-born race
prays to Thoth for spells
waves arms and chants to cast
wears magic armor
wand of cure light 50 uses
belt of giant strength


high tech cyberpunk ward:
cyborg-human
uses high tech medical devices (re-skinned spells, limited uses\day remain the same)
speaks medical diagnosis out loud to program AI to produce correct medicines
wears kevlar armor (re-skinned chain)
combat med pack 50 stimpacks (re-skinned wand of CLW)
muscle stimulating belt with adrenal injectors (re-skinned belt of giant str)

victorian age world of darkness\occult:
human mad scientist
mixes alchemical potions and salves (re-skinned spells)
speaks ingredient list out loud
wears lupine-hide jacket (re-skinned chain)
set of 50 vials with components (wand of CLW)
rubbed a salve made of vampire blood on his belt


In the last SW game, Matt used the Summoner class and re-skinned the summoned monsters into nanobots.  His character would decide the form, release a swarm of nanobots and they would take the shape of a dinosaur (summon monster 5 or whatever).  
Or it could be like the old SR Rigger class that calls in drones (summon monster) from his warehouse (they still arrive in the same time period).  
Or a mad scientist that pours an alchemical potion on a nearby rat and it mutates into a giant monster (re-skinned summon spell).

race: Asura (borrowed from GW2) re-skinned gnomes
ward: floating city

tech:none
divine: low
social: high
magic: high

The Asura are fantastical inventors, if a bit on the eccentric side.  All of their inventions are powered by crystal-magic energy.  None of their machines would actually work without the power of the crystals.  

They live in levitating cities.  Their architecture is roughly Mayan style.  They also build self-automated golems and power suits in which they ride.  Asuran Engineers (re-skinned mage classes) are very common though they can be of any class.

Asuran society has no real leadership.  They have evolved into a self-determining social collective.  

race: Dorn (re-skinned 1/2 orks and such)  (visual match to orks in Warhammer 40k)
suburb:  The Citadel (a mechanized city that moved along the road)

The Dorn come from a world that has seen war for centuries.  Survival is war in the Charred Lands.  The Charred Lands are a steampunk tech horror realm full of monsters and ancient evil beings of unfathomable power or purpose.  

The Dorn turned to technology, albeit unusual tech, to fight these horrors.  As their technical prowess grew, their reliance on their own gods faded.  Eventually the Dorn turned on their gods and slayed them all with their machines of war.

Dorn cities are mechanized machines that move on their own devouring resources as they crawl.  The Citadel found the Road and has been crawling along the planar highway.  

tech: medium (steampunk, not true future tech)
divine: none (they killed their gods)
magic: medium
social: low (really just a war chief tribal mentality)

Dorn are barred from any divine class.

Some great examples!

Robyo wrote:Some great examples!

thanks!

I am probably using the races I posted, but the medics were just examples.

What are you thinking??

last time we got an robot living among dinosaurs as their shaman

Dorn's "walking city"



"walking suburbs"

rough map, just to give an idea




remember, this city is built on a convergence of 4 planes:  Egyptian fantasy, high tech, (maybe) Dorn WH40k, and Asura floating city.

The 4 planes converge on a large inland sea, roughly the size of a great lake.  There are rivers separating the 3 landborn planes.  The floating Asuran city can raise\lower island suburbs for trade and there is a main Road that leads upward.  

the 5th zone, commonly referred to as the "Crunch", is an island in the center of the bay.  the 4 planes all push together like tectonic plates.  The "Crunch" is a vertical junk plane.  Gravity functions differently and the inhabitants live in a disorienting vertical slum of compact housing.

There are bridges connecting the wards of the city. They are heavily guarded and monitored. The waterways provide an alternate means of transport for people and goods, mostly through the black market.

the Core Road connects planes



this is not 100% the final map. I am hoping to add planes as players create new ideas. this is just a rough idea of what I am thinking, absent any new input

I'd like to hold off and see how the subclasses in Xanathar's Guide read...

Right now I'm thinking some kind of cyborg. Not sure how I'll reskin that, maybe with warlock powers.

What level are you thinking?

Are you using the rules for guns in the DMG? Or just reskinning crossbows and longbows? The former has bigger numbers and will throw the math off compared to casters, I think.

I can use any race and just reskin as future guy (augmented)?

Robyo wrote:Are you using the rules for guns in the DMG? Or just reskinning crossbows and longbows? The former has bigger numbers and will throw the math off compared to casters, I think.

I can use any race and just reskin as future guy (augmented)?

not sure on level yet, sorry.  at least 3rd to give access to the kits for each class.  I am hesitant to go too big given my unfamiliarity with 5e

guns... another good question.  I would certainly listen to any opinions from 5e veterans on the subject.  
do guns with the higher damage codes still get the dex bonus to damage?  
2d6 vs 1d6 +X is about the same

I have looked through Volo's guide, so I think any race is fine, just run it by me first to make sure.  there's probably a lot of 5e I haven't seen yet

I could see a cyborg as a caster.  I could see a Monk (monk powers are like built-in cyber ware).

I was thinking Monk too. Unfortunately it doesn't hybrid with Warlock very well. Too MAD.

My vote would be too keep as-is the Dex bonus for all ranged attacks. We can just run with the knowledge that even Wizard is gonna try to score for his own a 3d6 laser pistol or a 6d8 antimatter rifle.

You may want to use the "figuring out tech" rules, since we'll be from different wards with different tech levels.

Robyo wrote:I was thinking Monk too. Unfortunately it doesn't hybrid with Warlock very well. Too MAD.

My vote would be too keep as-is the Dex bonus for all ranged attacks. We can just run with the knowledge that even Wizard is gonna try to score for his own a 3d6 laser pistol or a 6d8 antimatter rifle.

You may want to use the "figuring out tech" rules, since we'll be from different wards with different tech levels.

I saw the figuring out Alien Tech rules.  I like that but it doesn't make as much sense in a city where there are already multiple planes intersecting and "alien" as common as NY to  NJ.

I agree that I need to figure something out regarding the big damage guns.  I will probably just exclude the anti-matter rifle outright.  I am thinking that regular guns (med tech) are re-skinned xbows\bows and laser guns (high tech) are in the 2dx group.   ***GM note, I may alter it further to just re-skin all to the same damage****


I was thinking of some mechanical way (like low tech wizards can't use high tech, etc) but in reality...   everything is a re-skin from fantasy.  It really doesn't matter if a wizard uses a gun (re-skinned xbow) or an actual xbow.  It doesn't matter if a Cyborg uses a cloaking device (re-skinned cloak of invisibility) or a magical cloak of inviso.  A grenade launcher is just a re-skinned wand of fireballs, etc etc

a really powerful laser rifle might just end up being a magical weapon, like a re-skinned heavy xbow +3 with +2d6 flaming damage or something

Having no restrictions keeps my life easy and makes it fun for players to have much (or little) cross-realm flavor as they want.

Map of Sigil: The City of Doors

Kinda cool and somewhat relevant.

Are all races simply re-skins, or can we customize races as per DMG guidance?

MAS wrote:Map of Sigil: The City of Doors

Kinda cool and somewhat relevant.

Are all races simply re-skins, or can we customize races as per DMG guidance?

What exactly are you referring to in the DMG? the only Race Builder stuff I saw was 285-287 which doesn't give any set rules like X attribute points + Y traits

it just says look at the current races as a guide


I am not opposed to a totally custom race, since we do that a lot, but definitely look at Volo's guide too, which seems to have a bit stronger races than the core ones.

https://lodgestgaming.forumotion.com/t367-josh-s-page#19076


Josh is doing some fabulous work on his page! please feel free to check it out

Josh helped create one of the core wards of the mega city. You are welcome to create a ward or adopt one of the wards\planes that I showed in the planar maps I posted earlier (work in progress).

If you want to create a totally unique plane = that's cool!

If you want to flesh out an existing plane with a story = that's cool!


specifically, I am looking to push the WH40k orks, commonly referred to as the "Junkers" back a space, so they are not an actual ward but just a suburb of the mega city. they are a threat that is encroaching the city

Where is Volos guide? I don't see it in Matt's storage.

navyik wrote:Where is Volos guide?  I don't see it in Matt's storage.

Don't think I had it. Someone who has it should upload it to share.

I added Volo's guide to monsters

Chris wrote:I added Volo's guide to monsters

I don't see it in the 5e section. Where is it?

navyik wrote:

Chris wrote:I added Volo's guide to monsters

I don't see it in the 5e section.  Where is it?

I don't know, I just dropped it into the 5e area

2nd row in the middle

I found it.

Where is the tech stuff?

navyik wrote:Where is the tech stuff?

like what?

most high tech devices are re-skinned magic items

common items don't really need stats like computers or cell phones, though they could be enchanted\upgraded to provide a bonus, ie computer of hacking +2 (+2 to investigation or whatever)

in general, keep it simple

DMG

There had indeed been dispicable acts. There was a reckoning to follow. It was no more fair, but it was decisive. The record was blotted along with the offender's and their ward. There was no trial. There would be no public debate or even perceived satisfaction. In fact, no-one should ever speak of it again. But there was a remnant and, perhaps a hope for redemption. But no-one will ever know...

More coming...

navyik wrote:There had indeed been dispicable acts.  There was a reckoning to follow.  It was no more fair, but it was decisive.  The record was blotted along with the offender's and their ward.  There was no trial.  There would be no public debate or even perceived satisfaction.  In fact, no-one should ever speak of it again.  But there was a remnant and, perhaps a hope for redemption.  But no-one will ever know...

More coming...

I had a lot of windshield time yesterday and got a few more wards\suburbs to share:


On the previous map, the plane labeled "Atlantis" (on the road to the Deep Abyss\water elemental plane) is populated by a race of sentient Cephalopods



tech: high, social: med, magic: low, divine: med

Cephalopods vary in size from small to medium (use halfling, any medium or goliath as templates)

The Road that leads from the Deep Abyss is an underwater current through their city.  Their capital city is built into a coral reef the size of the Grand Canyon.  



The Road turns into a river as it flows into the high tech city ward of Meta City (name for the great city at the planar crossroads)

Another ward of Meta City is occupied by the Chromites.  They are an organic mineral-based sentient people.  Their ward is an underground city called Capadocia (after the ancient underground city in Turkey).

tech: low, social: med, divine: high, magic: med

Chromites can vary in size from small to medium (use gnome, dwarf or goliath as templates).  Chromites have the longevity of elves.  Their appearance can vary from solid rock to crystal to gem.









The Road is underground through their ward but emerges from a cavern that leads to Meta City.