Well, that’s a difficult thing to announce. The vote was tied between all three world options, though there was early preferences for “Failed Demon Incursion” and “A Plague of Biblical Proportions.”
Your future appears cloudy . . . with a chance of uncertainty.
However, I think I know exactly which direction I want to go.
I’ve decided to use “Failed Demonic Incursion” with a few tweaks based on “The Sky is Falling.”
The world will still be a century or so out from the demonic war, the newest deity is a demonlord, and the viridemons are still a new race, but psionics will also be a newly emerging power source, greatly distrusted by all peoples, especially users of arcane, divine, and primal magic users.
Now, the next major thing I want to go over is the D&D Next situation. Since the newest edition of D&D is coming out–now in open playtest mode–4E is on the way out. So, for the most part, this blog is going to look more in the non-mechanical aspects of this new world, bring in the story, history, and mythology elements.
Up next, look for some stuff on maps of the world and deity design.
I’ve been staring at this blank entry box for several minutes . . . which is basically the same situation I’ve always had whenever the mood strikes me to once again attempt to create my own world.
As an aspiring fantasy writer, I’ve always wanted to attempt to make my own world, but every time I’ve tried it, my mind shorts out, mostly because there is so much that goes into making a world, and not just deciding which kingdom or city-state goes where or dragons of the ancient world became the deities.
The major issue that I always run into is the, for lack of a better term, the gimmick behind the world. All of the other published worlds have that gimmick. Eberron has the Last War and magical technology. Dark Sun is post-apocalyptic with no divine magic. Forgotten Realms has tradition and . . . Drizzt.
Drizzt Do’Urden: poster boy for the Forgotten Realms since the Year of the Singing Skull, 1297 DR.
So since this is where I really need to start, let’s look at some of the ideas I’ve come up with.
Failed Demonic Incursion: In this world, the world is still suffering from three centuries before when a demon lord–at this time not specified–made a nearly successful bid to rule the universe. Three major things happened because of this: (1) a new, hopefully-playable human/demon hybrid race, called the viridemons, has been somewhat integrated into society; (2) the demon lord’s bid failed when the armies of world managed to defeat it army, causing casualties and the fall of numerous societies; and (3) the demon did succeed in attaining godhood during a final, desperate ploy for power. This world would be characterized by stabilized though fractured power bases, racial tensions, and fanatical factions.
A Plague of Biblical Proportions: Not hardly fifty years ago, a deity of disease enacted a demented plan to destroy the world by unleashing a plague upon the world. nearly thirty percent of the population died because of the disease and others have become plaguetouched, leaving them with strange, toxic abilities. The plaguetouched would probably tak the form of a theme that could be applied to any race. Civilizations crumbled and only the self-sacrifice of the deity of life was enough to strip the deity of disease of her immortality, though she managed to escape. The life deity had created a mortal avatar to house a spark of that divinity, but the avatar was scarred by the attempt to defeat the deity of disease and has yet to be able to ascend to full godhood. This world would be characterized by gods in the flesh, a semi-post-apocalyptic society, and shaken faiths.
The Sky is Falling: Well, at least the stars are. Over the last decade, at least fifteen large meteors have fallen from the heavens. Arcanists and priests alike cannot figure out what is causing this mass shooting star phenomena. Strange things happen to the sites of the meteor crashes: strange lights, manifestations of bizarre powers, and mutations, such as some sort of playable aberration race. Another thing making this situation all the more baffling is the emergence of a new source of power: people with ability to create strange effects on the world solely with their minds, what is being called psionics. This world would be characterized by mistrust of psionics users, strange cults popping up, and fears of impending apocalypse.
These three ideas are the ones that stood out from the mix. Each one hinges on the major catastrophe. The first has the catastrophe in the past, the second nearly present, and the third overhanging in the future.
And now that I have laid these options out, I’d like to hear what others think of these ideas. Keep in mind that, just because a world might received more votes than another doesn’t mean it will be the one I’d chose, though a huge percentage for one compared to another will tell me which one is a more worth my time. So, check out this poll–bare with me, I’m new and I wanted a poll.
Also, feel free to let me know your thoughts below in the comments.
The Bloodrift Canticles 