Greetings
worldbuilders, plotters and schemers! Welcome to the Nations of the
Void!
On
the bizarre planes of the dreamlands, floating in the glittering sea
of stars, we will write history! Prepare for grand strategy with
drama, magic, and intrigue!
This
is not your usual DnD game. You will not be playing as individual
characters, rather as the rulers of factions. You will each design a
faction for the setting. Be it a guild, a noble house, a cult or
something else entirely. Through Microscope play we will expand on
the history of the world and the factions, we will establish
rivalries and alliances. (Microscope is a roleplaying game where you collaboratively build and roleplay a history by adding periods, events and scenes, playing them out and building on eachother's ideas. It is a bit like a structured brainstorm with plenty of roleplay).
When
that is done the game will be play-by-post on discord where each week
the players send in a list of commands for their faction and its
agents, which I will resolve as the GM (kind of like the Diplomacy
board game if you've ever played that).
Experience
with Microscope is not required, however some experience with DnD 5e
is good since the setting will be (loosely) based on it. It will have the
same magic system and classes. I hope to start the first worldbuilding session this saturday (the 11th) at 5pm GMT. We'll play no longer than 3 hours. After one or two live sessions timezones will not matter as much since we will play by post. There might be some additional live sessions later, but I haven't planned any more as of yet. The Roll20 game will be an interactive map with tokens for the players to keep track of characters they control, as well as resources, locations, and such. If you are interested please send me a PM and I will invite you to the discord server. I am looking for 3 players at the moment!
-
- - - - - - - - -
The
Setting:
It
is a post-apocalyptic steampunk fantasy with an emphasis on planar
travel. We will try to strive for some measure of realism. The world
can have as much magic in it as we want, but we will try to consider
what effect it has on society, the economy, religion, warfare, and so
on. Resource management will be an important part of the strategy
game, especially food, and so certain spells like Create Food and
Water will either be cut or changed from the start. Narrative
consistency is key. No joke characters, factions or real-world
references. If this is not your cup of tea then please move along.
-
- - - - - - - - -
The
Story So Far:
The
old world suffered a cataclysmic event where the gods were vanquished
(or banished, they are gone for all we know). After this the land
slowly decayed. Each year the soil yielded less crops than the year
before it. The sun started to dim and the colors of the world began
to fade. Fertile fields would turn into deserts of grey dust.
Thousands died from starvation and the little remnants of
civilization that had survived collapsed entirely.
Everything
would have been lost forever if it was not for a coalition of magi
who, having predicted the cataclysm had worked tiredlessly to find a
refuge. They opened a massive portal to the shimmering dreamlands
beyond the material realm, and together with hundreds of followers
they left their doomed world behind them.
They
arrived in darkness at the very nexus of the void. A vast, black,
stygian rock floating in a sea of stars. With no supplies to speak
of, the survival of the people was far from certain. Opening small
portals, the magi led the people to forage and hunt in the twisted
and fantastical realms. Few returned. But eventually they found a
lush swamp with strange plants and even stranger creatures. There
were fruits to forage as well as fish and game aplenty. A small
settlement soon formed, and ever so slowly civilization returned.
-
- - - - - - - - -
Travel:
Travel
in the dreamlands is uncertain and dangerous. A mage must cast a
spell that seperates their soul from their body, and then they must
navigate the treacherous mist between worlds. If they should become
distracted by the strange visions that assails them and lose
concentration, then they will be lost, likely forever. If the mage
reaches a different plane, then they can establish a connection and
open a portal, safely returning their soul to their body.
Another
method is especially constructed ships which are able to float in the
void. Two mages capable of casting the portal spell are required to
operate it. It is a slower, safer means of travel. Since the ship is
capable of moving between planes, carrying its cargo and passagers
with it, the mages do not need to leave their physical bodies behind.
Lastly
is the construction of gateways, permanent portals between planes.
These are exceptionally expensive to build and maintain. To keep them
open, several mages must continually pour magical energy into both
gates, at the same time. These are rare and they are usually only
opened at specific intervals.
-
- - - - - - - - -
Races:
The
planes of the dreamlands are not entirely real, and so they twist
everything in them in subtle ways. Each plane has an aspect that
shapes everything within it. People living in the plane will over the
generations take on characteristics of that aspect.
A
question I will leave open for discussion is whether all the races
that exist originated from humans who were changed by the planes, or
if different races existed before the cataclysm, and were among the
refuges. Even if we go with the standard DnD races it would be
interesting if you put your own spin on them.
