Crafting A Fantasy Realm For A Classic Hero vs Dungeon RP
Darkness has descended upon the realm of Eramar, as an unknown evil stalks the land. During the night, frightened peasants fortify their scattered villages, townsfolk nervously go about their business, ever wary of the shadows, and nobles lead their troops on a hunt for a faceless terror.
Come the morning, all that's left of the fortified villages are stacks of charred timber, and the bodies of the villagers are strung from every tree and fence post. The towns fall eerily quiet, but the silence is broken here and there by screams as the night's victims are discovered in house and street. The nobles return from their hunt, with fewer men than they set out with, and with tales of horror.
And where is the King in all of this? No one has seen His Majesty, Timmothe the Young in over four weeks -- Not even his highest ranking nobles. Rumours are abound that he is dead, another victim of this mysterious plague of bloody murders and massacres. Apart from the nobles, whose efforts to stop the killings have so far been in vain, the realm has mustered no real military response, and the King's army remains at its barracks.
With the peoples largely defenceless, many settlements now lay abandoned, roads unwatched, and forests no longer stalked by hunters. This has allowed a multitude of creatures, from Goblin to Ogre, to crawl from the realm's darkest corners to establish themselves anew, building over the ruins of Eramar's absent or murdered citizens. From their camps and lairs, they launch attacks and ambushes on nearby villages and wandering travellers, leaving behind yet more death and scorched wagons.
Eramar is dying, for she is only a small realm of a few thousand souls. Her allies are uninterested with getting themselves involved with what they perceive as a civil war, and without the King's formal request for assistance, they would be unlikely to anyway -- unless they sought to invade and annex the realm for themselves.
As a last resort, the nobles of Eramar have dispatched riders beyond the realm's borders, promising gold to any would-be heroes who can track down and rid them of their unknown menace, and who can drive back the beasts and monsters who have set up camp in the carcases of Eramar's crumbling infrastructure.
Several answer the call, and many make their way to the besieged realm.
This is kind of an experiment really, and I don't expect it to go very far, though I thought it'd be interesting. Basically, the above story will become a real RP, but what I need is a world to base it in -- that is to say, the Realm of Eramar.
Unlike a world building collab, that are often too epic for players to take on, this will simply focus on one small nation. Players will originally be tasked with creating one settlement, and one monster lair, each, to secure their place in the RP at launch. I will then create a map and compile a list of information based on what they provide me with.
My hope is to have players tell a story of their heroes in a world of their own creation, but as (hopefully!) it'll be a joint effort by several people, then the heroes will be encountering enemies and environments that their players or the GM might not have thought of. It'll give more colour, and plus, everyone involved will get full credits for what they do.
First thing we need to do, is tackle a few minor yet significant details. So, let's start by deciding what we want to do with magic. Shall this be a high fantasy setting? Or a low fantasy setting? If it is high fantasy, what kind of magic system should we use?
What kind of races should be allowed. Just humans? Classical D&D? Or allow for customs?
Here's a list of things we'll need to create:
Forests
Villages
Towns
Castles
Lakes
Eramar's Religion - Done.
Settlement Sheet
Name:Population Size: 1 - 100 for a village, 100 - 700 for a town, 50 - 300 for a castle.
Settlement Type: Canp, Town, Village, Castle
General Visual Description: I don't expect schematics, just a paragraph or two covering the style of architecture and the layout.
Settlement Garrison and Defences: Does it have a wall? Is it guarded by professional troops or militia? If so, how many?
Structures of Interest: List a few structures of interest, such as taverns or churches -- anywhere players might want to visit. A brief description of them would be helpful, but wont be necessary.
People of Interest: Any NPCs of interest the players might want to meet, such as a renowned weapons merchant or a famous bard. Again, brief descriptions would be helpful, but not necessary.
Settlement's Leader: The name and description of the individual in charge of the settlement, whether it's a count, mayor, military general, village elder.
Location: Either indicate with an image editing program on the map provided, where you would like it to be, or describe it to me - I'll do my best to put it where I think you mean.
Lair sheet
Name:Inhabitants: Zombies, Orcs, Goblins, Gnolls, Bandits etc
Lair Type: Cave, encampment, ruins, forest etc
Alignment: Neutral or Hostile. Neutral lairs will function as tiny independent factions, that will be indifferent to Eramar's plight, or inadvertently connected to it.
General Visual Description: As with settlements, I don't expect schematics. Just give an overall visual description of the lair, and what the players can expect it to be like if they visit it.
Population: How many monsters are there? Choose between 1 and 30, to avoid making them too unapproachable.
Places of Interest: List any places of interest, such as shrines, ancient burial tombs -- anything the players might want to discover when they're there.
People of Interest: Does the lair have any captives that can be rescued? Are there any monsters there that are unique from the rest?
Lair's Master: The chieftain, boss, overlord, lich -- whatever creature governs the lair. Please include a brief description of them and their powers.
Location: Either indicate with an image editing program on the map provided, where you would like it to be, or describe it to me - I'll do my best to put it where I think you mean.
The Map
The map so far ^
Where To Start
I'm taking any and all help. Settlements and lairs will be enough, but if you've got a creative knack and want to attack another subject I've not mentioned, have at it. Literally, anything goes at this stage.
I'm just going to leave this IC here, and see if it gains traction. In the mean time, I'll probably get to work on it myself, as it's defiantly an RP I'd want to play (though none of you pesky people seem to want to make one!).
Suggestions? Ideas? Shout them out! Especially if they concern the use of magic, because that's a subject I'm a bit divided over.
