My campaign setting so far, let me know what you think

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My campaign setting so far, let me know what you think

Post by old school gamer »

Hi,

I have been running Castles and Crusades on and off for about 6 months or so now. I have been playing 7th Seas and L5R (both really good games BTW), so I have been taking time to write down some of my material that has been stuck in my head for some time.

Also, to give credit due the world of Agmire was originally my wifes but she has graciously allowed me to use it for my new C&C game. The following is just a rough draft and sort of a primer for players unfamiliar to the worlds history. Any criticism or comments would be welcomed.

Castles and Crusades

A brief history:

This campaign is set in the world of Agmire. Agmire is an island world which is about 89% water. There are no large masses with the exception of some large islands. Continents are non-existent to at least a majority of known inhabitants. There are two polar icecaps although they are considerably smaller than those on earth. Much of Agmire is tropical in climate with colder climates existing only north of the equator. Weather is tropical in nature with heavy rain seasons in the southern parts. Hurricanes and tornadoes are not uncommon and are a threat of land and sea dwellers alike.

Ocean dwelling creatures are in abundance and many of the inhabitants are seafaring races. There are farmlands on some of the larger islands as well as some livestock. Tropical fruits are in abundance on some islands and are a large part of trading.

The world was either created or found by the island volcano Goddess Mia-tia-loa. She is the chief main goddess of this world and for quite some time was the only Goddess worshipped in Agmire. Then in the distant past, in a time known only to scholarly types, new arrivals appeared on the ocean world. They were Giants, but not just regular Giants. They were the forerunners and ancestors of that race. They came from another realm to Agmire to make it their world. They came with their servitor races, Goblins, Orcs, Ogres and many other monstrosities.

Mia-tia-loa was at first curious of these new arrivals and welcomed them with open arms. They showed her a new power, the power of the Arcane. But they betrayed her and used their evil power to corrupt the earth. The Goddess attacked them with all her godly fury and banished most of them. But in her desire for destruction she failed to notice that the servitor races were still alive. She at first considered destroying them as well but as fate would have it some of them started to rebel against their masters and became worshippers of the Goddess. Some of them only did this to save their own selves from her wrath and still clung to their traditional gods. Some others would become true followers and thus was created the first druids.

These races would eventually start to war against one another, either for territory or because they were hereditary enemies. These wars would cause much disease and pestilence but not enough to provoke the Goddess to too much wrath. Then more events unfolded.

Sharing a synchronistic orbit with Agmire is the world Adrobigaria. From this world by way of a secret permanent portal a band of human refugees led by one Ronalok a great explorer and master Ranger. He came with his small group and founded the island of Plovari. This was named after the very wise and powerful female wizard Plovari. Eventually it would be called Port of Plovari. These refugees would suffer much in their arrival. The original inhabitants, the goblinoid races resented this intrusion into their world and sought to eliminate the humans. Only the leadership of Ronalok and one other new inhabitant would save the humans from total extinction: The Elves.

Some years ago, the extra-dimensional land known as Elfland landed temporarily in the forest of Port of Plovari. They left a small community of Elves who then settled in the large unexplored forest. They too encountered the humaniods and suffered great losses. Then an alliance was formed and the humans and elves managed to hand such a defeat to the goblinoids that they ceased the actions and left the island nation mainly alone.

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Some player info

Post by old school gamer »

This is some information concerning classes and races. Let me know your opinion.

House Rules for Castles and Crusades

Critical Hits and Misses:

A roll of a natural 20 on a to-hit die causes maximum damage to an opponent.

A roll of a natural 1 on to-hit die causes the attacker to drop his weapon; he will have to use a half-action on his next initiative to pick up his weapon.

Languages available for Agmire:

Elven

Lizard folk

Giant

Halfling

Dwarf

Draconic

How Classes work in Agmire:

Fighter: Pretty standard, most fighters are either in the militia or are mercenaries.

Ranger: Function as scouts and hunters.

Rogue: Since Port of Plavari is a too small for any kind of thieves guild, most thieves are either independent operators or members of Tonys spy network.

Assassins: Like the Rogue they are either independent operators or work as spies against the many enemies of King Darius and his family.

Barbarians: Primarily these are Berserkers that are considered to be touched by Thor in order to fight in battle.

Monk: These characters are worshippers of Thoth the god of knowledge, a deity from another world. They are commonly searchers of truth and knowledge.

Wizard: These are split between followers of Thoth and those who follow after Frigga or Freya: Thoth wizards are dedicated to the search for knowledge and truth. The latter are more interested in adventure and excitement and defense of the people.

Illusionist: These are more like entertainers. They make of their living using their magic either steal or act along with Bards in telling stories.

Clerics: Pretty much like in the PH. See below for the pantheon. Most clerics start out as children dedicating themselves to their god and then deciding to spread the message.

Druids: These are worshippers of Mia-Tia-Loa, the earth goddess and the original goddess of Agmire. They sometimes clash with Clerics of the other gods who they see as interlopers.

Knights: These are an elite group of fighters who are trained as horsemen and tacticians. They are masters of siege warfare and spend most of their time acting in defense against invaders and raids from humanoid bandits.

Paladins: These are worshippers of Tyr (Dariuss patron), or worshippers of Sif, Thors wife. As can be imagined, most female Paladins are followers of Sif, but this is not always the case.

Bards: As is seen in the book these are basic storytellers. They travel Agmire so they can have stories to tell.

Races of Agmire:

Dwarves: Are fairly new to Agmire. They are not normally seen on the Port but live in some of the northernmost islands, particularly those with more of a mountainous terrain where they can mine. Most of them have overcome any dislike of ships and sailing out of practicality.

Elves: Elves came over about the same time that humans came, give or take a decade or two. They came over from Elfland, a floating inter-dimensional land mass that settles in one area for a time and then leaves. They have amiable relations with the humans but mainly stay in their forest home northeast of Port of Plavari. They mainly worship their own deities.

Gnomes: The Gnomes were originally brought over as slaves of a race of Yuan-Ti invaders. They were liberated with the help of some Kenkudai adventures. They have since traveled the seas of Agmire in order to sell their services as craftsmen and magic-users.

Halflings: About two generations ago some Halflings came from a dimension that had been blasted by magic in a holocaustic god war. They came as poor refugees when some heroes from Plavari entered into this doomed world and brought the Halflings with them. Although the original Halflings were suspicious and untrustworthy, they did manage to find settlements on Plavari and have recreated their culture and lifestyle. The present generation is much friendlier, but dont be mistaken, they are not fools.

Half-elf: Half-elves are the result of a union between a human and an elf. They are considerably rare as the human inhabitants and Elven keep to them for the most part. Still with the trading and political ties that both races have sometimes the two races will intermingle. They are usually considered to be outcasts among both races although elves tend to just feel pity for them.

Half-orcs: Are usually born from raped human women, either from raids or when they are taken as booty or as slaves. They suffer from prejudices on both sides, and are met with suspicion from elves, dwarves and humans. Still those who persevere to the end become great heroes.

Weapon Rules:

When using a Bastard Sword two handed, the wielder can do one-half of his strength damage bonus. He does normal damage if one-handed.

Slings are considered thrown weapons for determining adding strength damage.

Bows and Composite bows can add their strength damage if the wielder spends the regular cost of item at x5 the cost. Fighters who specialize with a bow do not need buy such an item.

The Humans of Agmire:

There are presently only two known civilizations of human in Agmire. There may be several others but they have yet to be encountered.

Kenkudai:

Culture:

Humans from this island nation are very similar to Nordic peoples. They primarily worship Norse gods and wear the standard dress of the people of this era. They are expansive and seek to find new lands to settle, although unlike real world Nordics they do not raid and pillage. This is mainly because Kenkudai do not suffer from a loss of goods and services. There is very little poverty in Kenkudai and rarely do they suffer from bad weather, pestilence and other such things.

Another contributing influence is that of their Jarl, Darius whose worship of Tyr, the god of Justice prevents many of their explorers from acting on such evil impulses. Also one the major reason also is that most of the military operations in past where devoted to attacks from humanoids raiders and bandits. This has caused the Kenkudai to develop certain solidarity between them.

Economy:

Kenkudais major economy is sea trade and fishing. There is farming farther inland and some have taken to raising cattle and horses. Sea trade has suffered setbacks in the past due to piracy, particularly from Silver Dragonmen and Bentaran pirates.

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Post by anglefish »

A cool twist on standard fantasy, which is always a plus in my book.

Check out 50 Fathoms from Pinnicle for more ideas on how to merge fantssy with island nations, including pirates.

My only complaint, per say is the name of "Elfland," which doesn't seem suitably exotic for the race. There's been a few names for the land of the Fey, though they escape me for the moment.

Grabbing a simlar floating city from literature, "Remba" comes to mind.

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Post by Maliki »

I agree, nice tweak to traditional campaigns, without going overboard. My players would hate it, they have a fear of thier PCs getting on boats (shipwreak them one time and they never forgive you ), but good never the less.
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Post by Treebore »

What does "Kenkudi" mean? Such as "Kenkudi adventurers"?

OOps!! Found the write up when I looked to check for spelling. Norse guys, got it.

I like what your doing. I have been thinking of using your bastard sword rule in my campaigns too.

Your crit/fumble rules are OK. Not what I do, but still good/fair.

I love the "touched by Thor" line.
I like playing Illusionist that way too.

Good basics. Are you going to write up more?
Since its 20,000 I suggest "Captain Nemo" as his title. Beyond the obvious connection, he is one who sails on his own terms and ignores those he doesn't agree with...confident in his journey and goals.
Sounds obvious to me! -Gm Michael

Grand Knight Commander of the Society.

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Post by DangerDwarf »

I like it. Only thing that stuck out to me is Thor being the inspiration for the berserks.

Utilizing the northern pantheon, I would have gone with the more traditional view of Odin as the one who the berserks were touched by.

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Post by Traveller »

Some random thoughts regarding the two planets. You said "synchronous" orbit. Is one planet orbiting around the other? If not, then in sharing the orbit, how do these two planets share it? Does one planet follow behind the other? Is one planet always hidden from the sun from the view of the people on the other planet (ala John Norman's Gor). Do the two planets orbit about a common center in a trojan relationship (ala Vulcan and T'Khut in Star Trek) or something else entirely?
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Post by old school gamer »

Traveller wrote:
Some random thoughts regarding the two planets. You said "synchronous" orbit. Is one planet orbiting around the other? If not, then in sharing the orbit, how do these two planets share it? Does one planet follow behind the other? Is one planet always hidden from the sun from the view of the people on the other planet (ala John Norman's Gor). Do the two planets orbit about a common center in a trojan relationship (ala Vulcan and T'Khut in Star Trek) or something else entirely?

Actually they are in a rather odd orbit around each other. The inhabitants of one planet consider the other to be their moon. Not only that but there is strange time variance between the two so that one month spent on Agmire is five months spent on Adrobrigaria.

There was one adventure in which some PC's from Agmire had to investigate what had happened to a Ranger named Hawkthorne who had gone on a diplomatic mission. After about ten years had passed since his disappearance from his home world, the heroes were surprised to find out that alot more time had passed, and nobody had a clue as to who this Ranger was.

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Post by old school gamer »

DangerDwarf wrote:
I like it. Only thing that stuck out to me is Thor being the inspiration for the berserks.

Utilizing the northern pantheon, I would have gone with the more traditional view of Odin as the one who the berserks were touched by.

Mmmmm, Maybe but Thor always struck me as being a real lover of battle type god. That and he's Chaotic.

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Post by old school gamer »

Hi, It seems my husband is entralled by my world of Agmiere (not Agmire) And what he has written is mostly what he remembers from the games I ran on that world.

I liked the idea of a world consisting of mostly islands because you can have an endless variety of cultures and so much room to explore.

He has adapted the world for C & C and has done well with it.

I would like to correct some spelling here because until after he posted this note my bigger half had never seen them written.

Adrobrogaria is the sister world, or moon of Agmiere.

Ranalok is the ranger and first king on Cankudai, in the capital city Port of Plauvarie. Ranalok had six wives, his favorite and queen was Sorelle after whom he named the largest mountain on the island. Plauvarie was another who studied magic and became a powerful wizardress.

If there are questions or suggestions please feel free

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Post by old school gamer »

Here's some more:

After the expulsion of the humanoids from the island the humans and elves settled down to affairs of state. The elves went to live in the woods and plains of Plauvarie and built tree communities. The humans then under the ruler ship of Ranalok built a stronghold out of wood and stone. They then started to create a port city that would be famous throughout the known world as the Port of Plauvarie. They built ships for trading, fishing and exploration. Although occasionally piracy and raiding would occur from the humanoids, the Port residents fought with valor and courage that could only come from those in defense of their new home. With hard work and perseverance, the inhabitants of the Port managed to live in peace. Then after the death of Ranalok his son Ranas took over ruler ship, a new threat would appear in Agmire, one that would bring great tragedy, drastic change and epic heroic adventure.

As time passed the powerful and wise wizard Plauvarie married a minor noble by the name of Lord Halkrim. They began to raise a family and were hoping for a predecessor to Lady Plauvarie as Arch mage one day. Alas, none of Plauvaries children were born with any kind of aptitude for magic. Then finally when Plauvarie was already grey with age and wisdom her granddaughter Miragloire was born with a great potential for magic. As soon as she was old enough she went into training with her grandmother. Miragloire excelled as a student but for two flaws. She had a strong hunger for arcane knowledge and little patience. Plauvarie tried to instill wisdom and patience in her but she would only tell her grandmother that she would try to quell these feelings. Then one day when Plauvarie was called away from her laboratory on an expedition Miragloire sneaked into her mistresss study and started search through her library of scrolls and books. It was a summoning spell in the forbidden section that caught her attention. Although many spells of protection her cast on it, Miragloire was skilled enough to dispel them. But as she cast the spell her skill at control was not enough.

The Arch demon Moran, Lord and Master of the underworld had appeared. He (or it as the case may be), easily dominated the young apprentice and made her a pawn in his plan for total control of Agmire. When Plauvarie returned Moran tried to destroy her instantly but as luck would have it Morans journey to this new plane had weakened him considerably and in the subsequent battle Plauvarie was only severely injured and comatose. Moran left to regain his strength but before that time he deceived a team of adventures into bringing special seaweed from the lair of a Kraken. He claimed that this would save Plauvarie but instead it was deadly poison that would insure that she would never recover. The team that would one day be called Darius and his Mates accepted the mission and succeeded but thankfully discovered the deception. Unfortunately even though they had discovered what had happened it was too late. The great wizard Plauvarie, the woman who had led her people to a new land and was considered the wisest of all, was killed by an act of folly.

When the Demon Lord Moran left Port of Plauvarie he gathered the humanoid inhabitants and sent them against an already beleaguered city. The city resisted as best they could and eventually with the valiant efforts of King Ranus was able to fight of the invaders, but not without great cost. Many people were killed and King Ranus decided that more intelligence was required. Noting that the same group of adventurers led by the Paladin Darius was effective and talented he charged them with finding a way to defeat Moran. So Darius the Paladin, Cheriko the Elven Fighter, Samandra (Sam) the Elf Cleric and Zoltar the mad, a human Rogue/Wizard set out on their quest to defeat this hellish evil. After setting off to the farthest islands of the world, exploring ancient ruins and fighting against incredible odds, they succeeded in sending the evil one back to the hell from which it came.

Miragloire however was punished for her foolishness and was forbidden from practicing magic. She continued to in secret which turned out to be a good thing as she was able to with her arcane knowledge and the help of Darius and his mates defeated the Demon Lord using an amulet of the Planes that she had created. She continued to study and teach magic, eventually creating her magic store and school of arcane studies.

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Post by serleran »

Quote:
There's been a few names for the land of the Fey, though they escape me for the moment.

Tir Taingire

Tir-Nan-Og

Aes Sidhe

Emania

Fid-Nemith ( Fid-Neimid)

Nemeton

Well of Segais

Those have all been used at one point or other to describe "fairy land."

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