Not signed in (Sign In)

Vanilla 1.1.9 is a product of Lussumo. More Information: Documentation, Community Support.

Welcome Guest!
Want to take part in these discussions? If you have an account, sign in now.
If you don't have an account, apply for one now.

Play Advice: RPG Fantasy Setting Wishlist

Bottom of Page

1 to 26 of 26

  1.  
    •  
      CommentAuthorAndy
    • CommentTimeJun 21st 2007 edited
     # 1
    Totally Stole-d from this cool post over on the Roleplayers LJ community:

    So, there's been threads about awesomizing existing settings. What are some things (3-10) that you'd love to see, or see more of, in a fantasy game? I'd even throw in setting-based rules into that mix as well.

    Mine, in no particular order:

    Airships and airship-related coolness (ideas for fighting, tactics, morale when they look like they are going to sink, a reason for them to exist, etc).

    INDIA, and indian-themed cultural goodies.

    Cool and interesting weapons, and real reasons to use them.

    A magic system that's based on something: It doesn't have to all make total sense, but maybe it's based upon some simple rules or conventions that can limit it a little (rather than "all magic from fireballs to scrying to raising the dead can be done... because it's magic!")

    Rules that let you draw upon your culture for boons.

    More focus on clothing and food (particularly in a "non European" setting)

    -Andy
  2.  # 2
    Different cultures other than the usual quasi-medieval tropes.

    Either no races but human, or better developed races.

    A distinction between race and culture when it comes to non-humans.

    I'll second the airships! Everything's better with airships.
    •  
      CommentAuthorMikeRM
    • CommentTimeJun 21st 2007
     # 3
    (Scribbling notes) Clothing... food... airships, got airships, but haven't done much with them yet... culture gives you Stuff, check... India? Hmmm.

    Mine include:

    Magic items relatively easy to make, and make gadgety and steampunky.

    Fantasy races that have strong histories and character and are a bit like SF alien races, generally, not just pointy-eared humans (or short, bearded humans). Some things playing off, and other things playing against, the usual archetypes (so dwarves aren't just gruff and acquisitive, they're exploitative industrialists; elves aren't just remote and emo, they're ex-imperialists with a God complex, except for the ones who've gone back to primitive forest-dwelling).

    Setting stuff that isn't just "Montanus exports opals and wool and is dry and cold" but gives you a reason to be a character from Montanus and tells you what that means in terms of who you are likely to be in conflict with, what your abilities are likely to be, what you probably care about...

    Built-in conflicts - not just political and military, but social and ideological - and ways of participating in them, taking sides, getting behind the changes that are happening and pushing.

    Ability to go intimate or go epic as far as scope is concerned. Argue with your brother-in-law, or participate in the creation of an empire.

    Some attempt at realistic spirituality which makes a difference to how people live.

    Shapeshifting (and prejudice attached thereto).

    Interracial love (and prejudice attached thereto).

    A map that has filled-in and not-filled-in parts so you can pick which you like.

    Rank means something in terms of how much you can achieve - but it's starting to break down...
  4.  # 4
    More flying in general. ^_^
    •  
      CommentAuthorJosh Roby
    • CommentTimeJun 21st 2007
     # 5
    Posted By: MikeRMAbility to go intimate or go epic as far as scope is concerned. Argue with your brother-in-law, or participate in the creation of an empire.


    Or argue with your brother-in-law about the creation of an empire. That's one of them for me: I'd love to see feudalism that juxtaposes both Matters of State and Family Relations, which is what it, you know, was.
    • CommentAuthorJDCorley
    • CommentTimeJun 21st 2007
     # 6
    I'd like to see a licensed fantasy setting of Richard Grant's Rumors of Spring.

    And I would play Lord Tattersall.

    And I would win.
    •  
      CommentAuthornoclue
    • CommentTimeJun 21st 2007
     # 7
    I want Noblesse Oblige to matter.

    I want words and songs to matter and the power of satire and praise to matter.

    I want Evil to wield truth in one hand and righteousness in the other

    more later...
    •  
      CommentAuthorNathan H.
    • CommentTimeJun 22nd 2007
     # 8
    magic actually magical.
    •  
      CommentAuthorDanielSolis
    • CommentTimeJun 22nd 2007 edited
     # 9
    Oh! I forgot! My girlfriend and I were lamenting the lack of fantasy movies in the past twenty years. Sure, you have your Harry Potters and Lords of Rings, but there's something so different about the fantasy movies from the early 80s.

    Labyrinth, Neverending Story, Legend, Dark Crystal... They just feel different and we couldn't quite figure out what it was that made them so cool. Finally, she realized what it was:

    Muppets.

    I want more muppets in my fantasy. :D
    •  
      CommentAuthorJosh Roby
    • CommentTimeJun 22nd 2007
     # 10
    Puppetland, Daniel. ;)
    • CommentAuthortalysman
    • CommentTimeJun 22nd 2007
     # 11

    Arrrgh, I didn't like the muppet-based fantasy movies from the '80s. The barbarian fantasy/sword & sorcery movies, though... those are definitely missing. No more Conan movies, nor any cheesy rip-offs (Beastmaster,) although I suppose we can look on the bright side: no Ator, either.

    Best '80s sword & sorcery movie: Hawk, the Slayer.

    •  
      CommentAuthorBen Lehman
    • CommentTimeJun 22nd 2007 edited
     # 12
    Either a light heart or unspeakable horror.

    Basically, fantasy speaks to the emotions of childhood. So, you know, speak to the emotions of childhood.

    yrs--
    --Ben
    • CommentAuthorKynn
    • CommentTimeJun 22nd 2007
     # 13
    This is fun, because I'm working on my own game setting, Driftworld, this week. Thanks for the ideas! I'm totally going to steal some.

    Also: Gender, race, sexual attraction, class, and other human factors handled in a reasonable and fun manner. Settings based on "girl fantasy" archetypes instead of simply "boy" power fantasies.
  14.  # 14
    "Airships!" was my gut reaction, but there has to be some other reason why I haven't been playing much fantasy lately.

    Legacies. Not just the bragging about how righteous it was when you and your allies did something, but having other people tell the stories as well. And then getting some of the facts wrong, watching the whole thing grow.
  15.  # 15
    Character responsibility, connections, and relationships.

    I am *not* an adventurer, I am vassal of a duke, a teacher at collegium, a watchman on the wall. I have a place in society, a thing of value to protect. I have duties and obligations to motivate me and challenge me with difficult choices.
    • CommentAuthorTim Gray
    • CommentTimeJun 22nd 2007
     # 16
    Posted By: RoninZombieCharacter responsibility, connections, and relationships.

    I am *not* an adventurer, I am vassal of a duke, a teacher at collegium, a watchman on the wall. I have a place in society, a thing of value to protect. I have duties and obligations to motivate me and challenge me with difficult choices.

    Thinks: HeroQuest. Well, at least some of that is intended to be a staple of it; the community thing.
    • CommentAuthorlachlan
    • CommentTimeJun 22nd 2007
     # 17
    Gaslight, hearth taxes, and a legal system based on Anglo-Saxon eorls.

    Or a world that Doesn't Make Sense. I could go for that.
    •  
      CommentAuthorAgentFresh
    • CommentTimeJun 22nd 2007 edited
     # 18
    More satisfying, detailed and realistic treatment of religions.

    On a related note, more wonder and mystery. Most fantasy settings seem to suck both those things out of magic, spirituality, and fantastic places and creatures.
    •  
      CommentAuthornoclue
    • CommentTimeJun 22nd 2007
     # 19
    Posted By: talysman

    Hawk, the Slayer.



    I love Hawk the Slayer! I was just about to post about it when I saw you beat me to it.

    Posted By: RoninZombieCharacter responsibility, connections, and relationships.

    I am *not* an adventurer, I am vassal of a duke, a teacher at collegium, a watchman on the wall. I have a place in society, a thing of value to protect. I have duties and obligations to motivate me and challenge me with difficult choices.


    Yes! Adventure is the stuff that happens while you're trying to do something else.

    I want all magic items to have a history. If it was made by a human, it was made for a reason. If it is a gift of the gods, beware, gods never really give gifts. If it is inherently magical (beholder eye or something), well, it has a history. These things shape empires and cause brother to turn against brother. Truly the most overlooked thing in all of RPGdom is the effect items can have on plot.


    Posted By: lachlanGaslight, hearth taxes, and a legal system based on Anglo-Saxon eorls.

    Or a world that Doesn't Make Sense. I could go for that.


    There's lots of nonsense in RPGs. How about setting that makes sense? If your world is chock full o' mages that can transmute rock walls to mud, you don't spend your resources making castles. Suddenly, castles are stupid and everyone lives in nomadic tent communities. If there's only one dragon in the world, then the guy who kills it is pretty awesome and that wagon load of dragon hide he carts back might upset the balance of the entire kingdom.

    Anglo-Saxon legal system idea is cool, or Scandinavian Things.

    Airships? Cool. But only if its....hydrogen airships (and all that that implies).
    • CommentAuthorjdrakeh
    • CommentTimeJun 22nd 2007
     # 20
    Here's a blast from the past. This is text from an old document of mine that inspired (at least in part) David Johansen's "among the beautiful creatures":

    1. All (or nearly all) human PCs - think "Thieve's World" or "The Black Company".

    2. An in-depth political overview (not just some quick, two-sentence blurbs on who controls what). A loose confederation of walled city-states seperated by hundreds of miles and who may not even be aware of one another's existence.

    3. A fully detailed economy that doesn't have the campy "gold-piece standard", takes taxes into account, and takes a good look at supply and demand.

    4. A fully detailed language system - nothing so generic as a universal "common". I'd like to see a dialect system implemented. Sign languages and the like would also be a nice touch.

    5. A fully detailed guild/society section. Again, avoiding the ultra-generic standard of simply naming guilds and societies after the classes that they correspond with. Also, a break-down of how these guilds and socities interact might be a nice addition to the "politics" section.

    6. Pantheons that play only minimal parts in the current world state, being looked upon as sad relics from less civilized times. Belief and worship in and of gods is a rare thing.

    7. A largely (if not completely) ritual magic system would be a nice change of pace (and would fit the setting described thus far better than simple verbal or somatic casting). Perhaps an element of "belief magic" added to the ritual, meaning that if somebody believes enough in the power of a certain item, place, ideal, ect - that they can channel power through it.

    8. A city-based or province based setting would be nice. There are not enough well-done localized campaign settings out there.

    9. A planet that has stopped spinning on its axis, creating a "Nightside", "Sunside", and "Twilight" effect over the surface of the globe.

    10. Monstrosities that lurk in the eternal darkness of the "Nightside" area, the target of regular incursions from "Twilight".

    11. Ancient (and quite advanced) technology hidden in "Nightside", "Sunside", and remote "Twilight" ruins from aeons past.

    12. Torchbearers as a guild specifically in charge of manning the night watch (excursions into the "Nightside"). Both warriors and scientists are important Torchbearer elements.

    13. Clockwork technology, though nothing as fine as watches yet - many excavation machines, surveying equipment, and the occasional weapon.

    13. The secret: The current state of the world is a direct result of the evil that they inherently do. That is, the collective dreams of the world's children have become manifest.Everything is symbolic. Specifically, the "Nightside" represents entropy and evil, the "Sunside" represents creation and divinity, and "Twilight" represents the place of man between the two. The rotation towards the "Nightside" represents mankind's slow but sure descent into evil.
    •  
      CommentAuthornoclue
    • CommentTimeJun 22nd 2007
     # 21
    Oh, I got more:

    An otherworld, that's, well, otherworldly.

    The law of Weregeld.

    The Hanseatic league (or something like it).

    Ruins of perfectly fitted massive stones from an ancient race of "Giants".
    • CommentAuthorJudd
    • CommentTimeJun 23rd 2007
     # 22
    Two things that come to mind immediately:

    I like when gods walk the earth, effing shit up, making titanic messes.

    I also like when you can walk to heaven or hell, when those places are just over the mountain range or in that there cave.
    •  
      CommentAuthorHoho
    • CommentTimeJun 23rd 2007 edited
     # 23

    Uh, I was gonna make a list, but basically: Earthsea, except with people that speak languages that sound Polynesian and South Asian. Y'know, like, color that's more than skin deep.

    •  
      CommentAuthorJosh Roby
    • CommentTimeJun 23rd 2007
     # 24
    Earthsea was supposed to be polynesian? o.O

    I thought it was just... Urusla K LeGuinian.
    •  
      CommentAuthorHoho
    • CommentTimeJun 23rd 2007
     # 25

    O.o

    That's entirely beside the point, isn't it?

    •  
      CommentAuthornoclue
    • CommentTimeJun 23rd 2007
     # 26
    Just got done listening to a Fear the Boot interview of Ryan Dancey and he said something about D&D that struck me as interesting:

    First he likened dungeon loot to oil, saying basically that if Riches were to be found in hole underground, then massive corporations would be created to extract it. Dragons would be slayed by armies not adventurers. Gave me interesting ideas about what a fantasy merchant guild might look like.

    He also mentioned about how the economy in D&D is aimed at game balance and if you try to use it to simulate a real world economy it will drive you mad.

    As an aside, its a particularly insightful interview if you like RPG industry info.

1 to 26 of 26

  1.