TVTropes builds a campaign setting!

That image is copyrighted; we can't use it.

I'm contacting some artists to draw original artwork do the book once I get it done. No worries.

edited 11th Apr '12 9:17:40 AM by Exelixi

Mura: -flips the bird to veterinary science with one hand and Euclidean geometry with the other-

Oh, I don't mean we actually USE other people's art without permission, just link to them for now. When and if we actually turn this into more than a forum hobby project, THEN we would worry about copyrighted art. For now, I just want to *see* what our ideas look like.

Oh, sure.

Speaking of! Play testing. I'm doing it soon.

edited 11th Apr '12 10:13:50 AM by Exelixi

Mura: -flips the bird to veterinary science with one hand and Euclidean geometry with the other-

Speaking of Art I used a free-to-use and free-to-share character maker to create one for Elena*

: here and a close up.

Rarely active, try DA/Tumblr Avatar by pippanaffie.deviantart.com

God, after this voting round, please repost those geographical suggestions.

Mura: -flips the bird to veterinary science with one hand and Euclidean geometry with the other-

Domain Spells

These are spells that have etched themselves into the very Aether by virtue of repetition. They are fluid and indefinite in their life span. Any one wizard can access it gathering he meet a few prerequisites. First, he must know a name closely associated with that spell, usually a word in an ancient language as often it is ancient people that repeated that spell so much it etched itself into the Aether. Sometimes though, a more recent spell could have achieved Natural Domain status by dint of other factors (Power and fame being big ones). This establishes a metaphysical 'direction' for the wizard for which he then must then power a 'bridge' to the spell and then he must actually power the spell itself. For this reason, Domain Spells are more power intensive then having one of your own but easier to learn. Now knowing more and more of the theory and structure of the spells makes the 'direction' more precise, meaning the wizard uses less power to cross the 'bridge' but at some point the wizard knows so much he no longer need to use the Domain Spell and uses his own.

Artificial Domain Spells

It is possible to create artificial structures in the Aether that imitate Domain Spells. Usually this is done for one of two reasons; one because the spell is so vast and complex it is undesirable to hold it all in one's own mind or two one wants to make the spell available to a large group of people. It is possible to limit access to the spell, which is actually desirable. 'Natural' Domain Spells are like canyons that were carved in the Aether by a 'river' of spell casting. Artificial Domains Spells are like rocks, worn away by a 'river' of spell casting, requiring constant maintenance less they be worn away completely. Access then can be keyed to number of factors, genetics, memberships, other thing.

Artificial Domains Spells can be tied to Material objects for further stability, although doing so often limits the spell then to Material area. Over time and continued use and maintenance, stability may instead be achieved by the Artificial Domain Spell becoming a permanent fixture of the Aether, as if it were 'Natural', although it will still be stubbornly set in its ways.

Aetherial Reservoirs

Often associated with Artificial Domain Spells, Aetherial Reservoirs are normally artificially created stores of power for other to access. Magic items meant to be used by non-wizards will have small ones, normally tied to some Material object on the item. Organizations may have large ones tappable by their members. They may be directly tied to an Artificial Domain Spell, the structure of the spell itself is the metaphysical container of the Reservoir.

Something must actually feed these reservoirs, although their are a number of different ways, none of them exactly easy. Nodes are of course naturally occurring and self-sustaining Reservoirs, hence why they are so hotly contested.

Divine Spells

Spells of a god, spells of 'Clerics'. Their is marked different between that of Celestial Gods and Terrestrial Gods. Celestial Gods are more 'Natural' in their Domain Spells, the spells tend to exist merely as a byproduct of the very god's existence. Mortals with natures closer to that of the god's aspect will find it easier then to access the spells. The name of the spell is even more up in the air (It could not yet exist, waiting for someone else to come up with it, established by previous worshippers, being something more abstract then a name or then just a single name. Really screwy stuff). Active worshipers of the god may be granted access to tap the god as a Reservoir when casting their spells. Holy symbols act as mystical connections to that god.

Terrestrial Gods are more Artificial, they created their Domains Spell by their intelligent design and limit the access to them and access to their reservoir of power however they see fit. Usually though they style the process by granting access to a select few of their faithful with trapping similar to Celestial Gods, like holy symbols.

Users of Divine Spells are called 'Clerics'. All clerics, with few exceptions, are priests of their respective gods, but not all priests are clerics. The vague factors that make a capable cleric are about the same vague factors the make a good wizard. Priests though tend to be fully capable mystics of all the trapping associated with their god or gods, but that's a detail for another entry.

Will do.

Vyc: Very cool! Thanks for the heromaker link (geez, I need to start archiving my bookmarks.)

GOA: Does that mean I should remove the Public Domain Spells entry from the current ballot?

edited 11th Apr '12 5:03:37 PM by Sijo

I think that if people think this new one is a better idea, they should vote no on the last one.

Or you could remove it. I'm just thinking about what happened with the Proto-Beastfolk entry.

edited 11th Apr '12 5:52:14 PM by God_of_Awesome

It's your call.

Exelixi: how do you plan to playtest the setting?

I'm running a campaign set in it, of course. Using Legend Game System.

Mura: -flips the bird to veterinary science with one hand and Euclidean geometry with the other-

Wait, you already are running the game?

No, this won't be for about a month.

Mura: -flips the bird to veterinary science with one hand and Euclidean geometry with the other-

So what do you guys think of my reworked Domain Spells? This one or keep the old one?

Grog, God of Damnation

It would be more accurate to call Grog the God of Death, or God of the Dead, he is also a God of Justice, in a way, pertaining solely to the dead. He is the manifestation of the ideal of the 'Final Reward', that even if you don't worship a particular god that if you did good in life you will be rewarded and those who did evil will be given their 'Just Desserts', ie damnation.

He is also called the Messenger of the Gods, so really he seems to fill a number of roles so other concepts slowly become applied to him. This is an extension of his function as a psychopomp, one who guides lost souls to their proper after life, giving him free reign to travel to the various realms of the gods in the Aether. However, do to the nature of the Aether, where like souls attract to like, he usually isn't much for work as a grim reaper but does perform it in the few times it becomes necessary.

Mostly he uses his psychopomp-granted abilities to follow other pursuits, such as being the God Messenger. He is also the Grand Historian, since his powers lend him to being a grand ol' voyeur who watches and records everything. It is said that he appears at every death, which he might even if he isn't exactly needed to guide the soul, but the concept he was originally dreamt up for usually compels him to make a token effort. It is also said that the undead can always see him since he revealed himself at the moment of their death and then never bothered to hide himself again. He will also appear to people having near-death experiences and pass along any messages that the gods or the dead may have for them.

He usually appears in the form of an albino human wearing the trappings of a bureaucrat or a merchant. He has pale silvery hair, short and evenly spaced about his head but so thin you can still see his scalp. His eyes are pitch black save for tiny pin points of light, like the light at the end of a dark tunnel. He is the source of the expression, 'Grogdamnit'.

edited 12th Apr '12 4:38:56 PM by God_of_Awesome

-Strokes completely nonexistent mustache-

Iiiiiiinteresting.

Mura: -flips the bird to veterinary science with one hand and Euclidean geometry with the other-

Wintermill Shipping and airships

While the Dominion does have laws against flying airships, it has no laws against building them or selling them.

Wintermill Shipping is the Eastern Dominions oldest shipbuilding family, with the legacy that dates back before the First Great Conflict, any vessel air or sea worthy was either built by Wintermill shipping, or the people who did build it got their training, materials, or approval from Wintermill shipping.

Wintermill shipping sells and builds naval vessels and airships for whoever asks. They have two classes of airships magical and non-magical.

Non-magically are much bigger on average and use steam and wind turbines, balloons, directional fans and a whole lot of clockwork.

Magical ones do have steam turbines, and balloons but rely more heavily on runes and are much smaller.

In addition all models since the ban are also sea-worthy, so that they can be sailed out of the dominions waters and then flown to their destination.

The only type of airship that WS won't make are warships at least not for public sale, they have made several prototypes for the dominion navy.

The Wintermill family-

The Wintermill family has to be the biggest non-royal family in the entire Eastern Dominion, fame and fortune wise. At least one member of their family has had a hand in every major event in the Dominion in the past five hundred years. Depending on the era and leaders they have been anything from great heroes to the people, to vicious mobsters who have paid off most officials to turn a blind eye, sometimes both at once.

Despite being such a big family within the dominion they are not native to the dominion though they have been for the last few centuries. They originally came from a northern island far from The Dominion, they landed in Azhinan where a husband and wife duo worked with their only son and quickly turned a simple immigrant logging business into one of the dominion first and longest running ship building services.

Major events and Wintermill family-

Milla and first great conflict-

Milla Wintermill was the family's headmistress at the time and very popular with both nobility due to her constant themed parties, and with the people due to her stance on workers rights. Which was unheard of concept in the Dominion at the time. When the war brokeout her family continued to build ships until their wood supplier's area was taken by enemy forces.

Milla used her ties with the Nobles and the commoners to from The Wintermill pact this was a royal bill the said that Azhinan's Government as well as the wintermill family would help fund militias in turn Azhinan would write up a workers rights bill and pass it.

Milla did not simply stop there. She hired several well-known warriors to train her in staff and shield work. While she had never been a warrior before, she had always kept in shape. She quickly picked up how the staff- an shield worked and while she was no legendary warrior. Three years later when she appeared on the battlefield people began to notice. She fought in 17 battles over the course of 5 years before retiring back to civilian life, and cemented herself as a hero of the people. During these years she wore a persona band and her heroism is the trait it picked up. The band is said to be housed in a warehouse within the dominion with other items the Wintermill family had acquired over the years.

Jackson " The Red Spider" Wintermill-

Jackson is the other side of the Wintermill coin, he wasn't a leader just a member. She was just a punk teen during Milla's late years. She rose to power not thought the family but through the underground first. Deepening his ties with the underground and the Nobles that associated with them. He slowly brought these dark ways into the family arranging dirty work for the nobility that did business with the other side of his family, by the time the family figured out what he had done he had already involved so many of them in dark deals without knowing it. And many of them liked his results, so he was eventually made the family's headmaster.

Within a few months he turned Wintermill from a name that was associated with heroes, to a name associated with thugs and black magic dealers. He also created several dark and powerful pacts via secretly arranged marriages between members of the Wintermill house and other clans, and Nobles across the Dominion and even in other countries*

. He even created his own organization outside of the Wintermill's, The red spiders which acted as his enforcers.

The red Spiders were his greatest piece but his ultimate undoing like a chess-player that relies too much on their Queen. He eventually made it so that the red spiders were the ones pulling the strings not the Wintermill family. And in that the remaining uncorrupted members of the Wintermill's, and the nobility publicly exposed Jackson's criminal involve meant with the red spider gang.

Jackson and many members of the family were captuted and many nobles either had their titles stripped or in some cases their entire families power demoted. But the damaged had been done Wintermill now had a divided opinion among the populous were the always acting as criminal puppet masters or was it all just Jackson's doing.

til this say, the symbol of a red spider is a symbol of crime, bloodshed and era the Dominion and the Wintermill's wish they could but behind them.

Red Spider symbol -

A gang sign in the dominion many thugs and enforces get it tattooed on to themselves, as a sign of dedication to the life style and to how "tough" they are. It's said those who get the sign have killed before, and if you haven't but have the tattoo that you've been marked for death.

Many people also have it as a Wall-scroll but it's hard to tell if they have it because they are actually thugs or because the wall scroll appeared in a wildly popular play written about the events. The play itself is factual inaccurate and has Wintermill's using enchanted red spiders to kill. This never happen, very few of the Wintermill's or the red spiders used magic at the time.

While the Wintermill's could have easily had the play shut down, they feared it would only make people think even less of them and that it was shut down as censorship. So they kept quite instead. Which wasn't much better.

Perhaps the biggest insult of the red spider though is it being craved at the base of a statue that was erected before Jackson was even born, of Milla honoring her service to the people .

Milla's workers right where passed and last through her life, but eventually Jackson had the rights repealed. since then workers rights have been passed and repealed several times, the dominion as a whole. Though many of the countries within the dominion have their own bills of workers rights.

Current times

Cammy Wintermill-

The current leader of the Wintermill family was born of one of the Black blood ties. She is half-Black Empirian and half Dominonian. She isn't as noble as Milla but she is far from what Jackson was. She values hard work and hard coin and doesn't cut corners to get there. In the three years she has expanding the Wintermill's brand out farther than her predecessors. She is said to be kind and gentle if your close to her, but can be blunt when she needs to be.

Though she had enough wealth to never work a day in her life she spent most of her teenage years and into adulthood in a shipping yard. She often stay in her office during the night to study instead of going to school. She has a workaholic until around 19 which is when she started to only work the yard 3 days a week. Now at age 28, she stills works at building a shipping for six to 8 hours a week, and spends at least three days a week in her private study there.

On her off time she likes to ride horses and has been known to dabble in blacksmithing and even learning a few spells here and there.

Dominion's secret files-

Every powerful person in the Dominion has a government file on hand, Cammy Wintermill is not exception:

Cammy Wintermill

Gender: Female

Status: Single, never married, bisexual

Age:28

Race: Human

Ethnicity: Half-dominion/half-empirian

Royal/Nobel status: related to a Rank 3 family in The Black Empire

Power rating: Rank 5 out of 5

Collective wealth: 0.5% of TED total wealth

Family wealth: 15% of TED total wealth

Religious Status: Cloe, with minor worship of several other gods.

Issues of interest: Cammy has ties in all the Dominions sates as well as several smaller nations. The issue of concern is her ties with The Black Empire, While she has openly complied with Dominion her opening businesses in TBE is concerning. Many who have complied this file fear she may be sympathetic to Hrod's ways and given her power and influence this may serve as a foothold for Hrod to extend control into the Dominion.

In addition, she also has ties with several workers movements and magic schools. She appears to have plans to open private schools within the next five years that will teach other technical and magically training.

Verdict: Watched, new file to be compiled every three months.

edited 12th Apr '12 6:03:12 PM by Vyctorian

Rarely active, try DA/Tumblr Avatar by pippanaffie.deviantart.com

Ascended Gods

The cults of Ascended Gods are some of the oldest and most widespread, the ascension of the god solidifying and spreading his belief further and the deep solidification and spread of his belief causing his ascension in the first place.

You see, when a Terrestrial God gains enough worship, the metaphysical mass of his aetherial presence may begin to pull his physical form away and cause his 'Ascension'. A Terrestrial God may resist this change and he has reason to do so. For one, their is a certain loss of self as the god is 'purified', becoming more like a combination of their defining traits while the complexities and nuances of their personality are ironed out and this is partly influenced by the image their followers have of them. They also become distant, as the ascension literally makes them something more like a Celestial God.

However, Terrestrial Gods may already grow old and distance and feel the pull of the aether like a tempting compulsion deep in their soul. The ascension of gods is marked by the faithful as a holy day and marks a new age for the cult. This is not necessarily a good. Without their direct intervention, many will still worship the god but will begin to deviate from their word. The cult will mutate, splinter cults will form and generally a whole mess of beliefs will form in their name.

Proto Gods

A largely theoretical title although one claimed by a few but remaining unverified. Their are gods that claim to have arisen from the primordial chaos of the ancient aether before life, or at least intelligent life, formed. Then usually, or so they claimed, they went ahead and made intelligent life in their image. This position, they claim, gives them precedence over other gods and 'holier than thou', so you should worship me, the creator of the world, over that schmuck. What do you mean he said he was the creator too? He's a liar and you're a heathen for listening to him!

Just a reminder: please try to have your votes in before next week. Thanks.

Public Domain Spells No, I came up with something better then this ass hole ever could

Elena's Secret Yes

Black Empire Facts #4: Calendar and Holidays Yes

Race: Troll (Botananthropes/ Spore Trolls) Yes

Atemet and Trickster day Yes

Siobhan Mac Tir Yes

The Shining Knight Yes

No, yes, yes, yes, yes. And yes, respectively as per the order of the list.

edited 15th Apr '12 8:04:49 AM by Exelixi

Mura: -flips the bird to veterinary science with one hand and Euclidean geometry with the other-

This is Exelixi's vote:

Public Domain Spells No

Elena's Secret Yes

Black Empire Facts #4: Calendar and Holidays Yes

Race: Troll (Botananthropes/ Spore Trolls) Yes

Atemet and Trickster day Yes

Siobhan Mac Tir Yes

The Shining Knight Yes

Thank you, God.

Hm, here's a thing we really really should have covered, but didn't, for some gods-unknown reason.

Nephilim (Subrace)

Oft mistaken for the children of mortals and Aetherial spirits, Nephilim are in fact ostensibly mortal children marked at birth or in the womb by an Angel, Daemon, or Fairie. Such beings can expect three things.

A strange appearance.

The appearance of a Nephilim can vary as much as the appearance of any given Aetherial spirit. However, they will always look weird. They will be immediately identifiable to any who can see them as something other than their base species.

Power.

Much like the Godspawn, Nephilim are granted a measure of power by their (usually very powerful) patron- whether the patron likes it or not. These abilities function much like a Sorcerer's or Mystic's, being largely instinctual. Depending on how potent these powers are, the Nephilim may be rendered unable to interact with magic that isn't connected to their patron's kin.

Behavioural influence, AKA the Literal Devil On Your Shoulder.

How much their supernatural gift alters their mind depends on themselves and their patron. Some will be mostly normal but with particular compulsions to things, some will have their mind periodically molested by a Fairy as old as civilisation.

How people react to Nephilim depends on the individual, culture, and sort of entity that touched the person in question. Remember that there will always be some person, somewhere, who sees Angels as Daemons and vice-versa. Most people, however, are going to panic and reach for the pitchfork when a handsome stranger with horns and cloven feet walks into town.

Mura: -flips the bird to veterinary science with one hand and Euclidean geometry with the other-

In the Black Empire, girls go crazy for the Devil In Leather Pants.

My votes:

• Public Domain Spells: witheld for next ballot
• Elena's Secret: yes
• Black Empire Facts #4: Calendar and Holidays: yes
• Race: Troll (Botananthropes/ Spore Trolls): yes
• Atemet and Trickster day: yes
• Siobhan Mac Tir: yes
• The Shining Knight: yes