Loose History

I need to read up on some Finnic lore before I do a workup of the history, at least deep history. I want to avoid cataclysmic type events since they appear in about every setting it seems like. At best I may use periods of deep winter (or even other seasons) to shake things up. Also I plan on molding all races into the history as equally as I can rather than having a very human centric history. In particular I want to play up some racial tensions, namely the Halflings who routinely rally up the other races to thwart the effects the humans are having upon the future. Dwarves will be a bit more internally divided with various sects vying for control of the last remnants of clockwork technology. Elves will be a mixed bag with lots of tensions amongst lots of factions.

I am loosely basing the recent history of the humans on the Three Kingdoms era in China, though on a lesser scale rather than having millions of inhabitants. Backstabbing eunuchs, rebellious wizards, assassin-doctors, battles of wit with fate of empires at stake, and of course some downright brutal warfare - it is hard to compete with the shit people actually did when you try to create something original. Also I think some of the events can reflect what I am trying to do with the humans in general; small, vicious creatures with little regard beyond whatever motive is in front of their nose.

That said, I see some parallels with this history and where the other demi-humans could fit in well. In particular the prescient vision of the Halflings. Also areas where Finnic lore will match up nicely and my statute on superstition and bloodlines. And so, I have at least three major Human realms in mind with about a dozen small (human and demi humans) ones intermingling with them. Here is one such realm I have in mind:

Cias Lynnm - The western empire was eventually undone by a year-long revolt based upon the wizardly teachings of Caphias Mennoc. He taught the peasantry foreign concepts of equality, fairness and non-oppression which were left unchecked too long by the local lords. The peasantry rose against their militant masters, the Southrom lords. Although the rebellion was eventually put down, its teaching remained and eventually settled in the ruined provinces of remote west, where Caphias himself and those who survived the revolt fled. Although Caphias is since dead, his teachings have held on stubbornly further fracturing the remains of the western empires. Lorda Lynnm, a boy of supernatural wisdom and unmatched charisma came to the realm in this a period of anarchy and formed a civilized core wherein a rule of law was set and the nation of Cias Lynnm was officially formed. His dream is clear, peace and prosperity, and the Halflings in particular have taken an interest in him, although it is not sure why. Unfortunately the neighbors to Cias Lynnm do not want to have anything to do with a realm of free men who can waddle along side their noble brethren unabated, and so the realm is very restricted with supplies.

This will be one of the smaller realms, not one of the big three, and would be a decent place as any to start a game up. I will probably end up writing 20 or 30 such realms by the time this is completed in May/June, at least I hope so. I think a lot of the realms will write themselves for the most part. I may have some issues with the Halflings, but perhaps they will be the most mysterious of the bunch intentionally. The Elf and Dwarf realms will be on a similiar scale to the humans and I amjudging how much I want to interweave with the humans them at this point.

Rollin rollin

Character generation will be 3d6 in order. I will allow 4 lines, player picks which they want to keep. This way players have some choice in what toon they prefer without getting a total gimp that has no business holding a spoon let alone a very sharp claymore. It also allows for some odd combos like wise Thieves, strong Mages, and so forth.

I will be fairly set on this, as I have gone through the pros and cons of other methods ad nausem. I think this is the best for anything D&D pre-3rd. And even in 3rd its not bad.

Classes

If it makes any sense, I am fond of both simplicity and choices when it comes to classes. Perhaps because I grew up in a world of the Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord, but I still think of the must-have classes as Fighter, Thief, Mage, Cleric. It feels natural and it would seem like something was missing if they were removed. However expanding beyond these four is extraneous, at least most of the time. Is a Barbarian really something other than a Fighter? Is a Ranger all that different from a Barbarian? Not really, and nothing that could be tailored into the game with a background and some common sense.

On the other tangent of 'choices', I always liked something to work for as a character. It is a big part of the game to level up, get magic crap, and big piles of treasure. Again, in Wizardry it struck a cord in me to have a character change classes to something beyond what they once were. Prestige classes in 3rd edition did something similar but they had their own bag of worms; I believe in my 7+ years of playing 3rd I can count the prestige classes I used on one hand, out of dozens of characters.

Still, I want to add something for flavor. So with that in mind I will allow all character to be all classes and allow them to use xp in whatever class they want. PC can devote xp to different classes as they see fit and some class combinations will give some flavor name-titles and abilities. I've narrowed the list as follows.

Fighter/Cleric - Paladin
Fighter/Mage - Monk
Fighter/Thief - Ranger
Mage/Cleric - Bishop
Mage/Thief - Illusionist
Cleric/Thief - Assassin
Elf (T/M/C) - Druid
Dwarf (F/M/T) - Stratogineer
Halfling (F/M/T) - Sheriff
Human (F/M/T/C)- Bard

That is to say, only a certain combo will apply to get those name titles. Lets say a Halfling Fighter/Mage/Thief for Sheriff. Should the said character gain Cleric, it would be removed. Secondly I may apply a stat limitation for a said name title; something like a 12 Charisma for a Bard and so forth, although this will be fairly lax. Fluff abilities will be something on par with the racial abilities, that is something to be used in game and though of, but no overt modifiers.

Paladin - Zealous and self-righteous, the Paladin smites his foes with the holy might and clarity of purpose. Valorous and bold, the Paladin is is both a slave and a master of his Lawful nature.
Req : Lawful, Charisma 12
Abilities : Paladins may re-roll a failed savethrows once.

Monk - Mystic warrior who study with forbidden masters and ancient warschools occasionally return more than they once were. Unpredictable and aloof, Monks are both rare and unsettling, never quite at home away from the isolated training grounds they left.
Req: Wisdom 12
Abilities: Monks may cast spell in armor.

Ranger - Often seen as well trained brigands, Rangers are masters of the wilderness, striding with ease where others loose their footing.
Req: Int 12
Abilities: Ranger may use ranged weapons for their backstab ability.

Bishop - Unbeholden to the influence of the traditional Clergy, Bishops wander the lands setting their own holy agenda collecting lore and reason in the world.
Req: Non-Neutral
Abilities: Bishops may attempt to identify the nature of magical or supernatural effects; this includes items, spells, phenomena, as well as flora and fauna.

Illusionist - Pragmatic tricksters who use magic and shadows to beguile both friends and foes. They are both the joker and the joked upon, as 'true' Wizards discount their petty ways as demeaning.
Req: Non-Lawful
Abilities: May cast spells listed with a * on their Magic User spells list (Illusionist spells).

Assassin - A super human fighting machine, the assassin is gifted as a spy, a saboteur and a killer. Universally loathed and desired, assassins walk a fine line between life and death.
Req : Non-Lawful, Strength 12
Ability: When hidden in shadows, Assassins may strike while not revealing their location.

Druid - Druids are the keepers of natural lore and the order of the seasons. Compelled to travel to see the world, Druids yearn to wander the years in a new location every day.
Req: Wis 14
Ability: Druids can change their shape to any animal their size or smaller.

Stratogineer - Powerful and possessive, the Stratogineer of the deep workshops hold the might of sway of the cog, gears and steam at thier grasp. Bowing to no one man but to the power of the mechanical alone, Stratogineers tread heavily upon the world in their bronze-tubed boots.
Req: Int 14
Ability: Stratogineers can mechanically replicate any spell they know with mechanical devices.

Sheriff- The halfling Sheriff is prophet, divining the future and setting upon the world to correct and thwart the horrors set in his mind's vision. Ultimately a protector of the halfling people and the world, the Sheriff takes upon the role of prophet and corrector.
Req: Wis 14
Ability: Sheriffs can pregonate certain orrurance in the future.

Bard - Both whimsical entertainer and traveling sage, Bards use dance and music to soothe those around them. Known as true polymaths, Bards seems to have knowledge in just about everything.
Req: Cha 14
Ability: Any intelligent creature listening to the Bards song for a turn or longer will be inflicted by a Charm as the spell if the bard so wishes. Savethrow applies.

These of course will probably change as the setting becomes developed but that is my first inclination. At the very least I need new names for Monk and Bishop. Bards, Druid and Rangers I am not terribly pleased with either. But its a start.

Races, new and old

Creating new races I find to be an excruciating process. This is somewhat of a conundrum since things like monsters, classes, items, etc are typically an ebb and flow of ideas depending on the time of day and if I ate something bad for lunch. This go around I will stick with most of the staple races and just alter them with what agenda I need to set. Honestly D&D simply is not quite the same if you fuck with the races too much so I will not adapt that overly. I am still tempted to remove Humans but the politics of the world are too human-inclined, so I will leave them in as the standard butthole race that they are. I may come up with a little twist for the other humanoids, but beyond that they should be fairly intuitive.

I will try using the three words method; that is simply put forth three descriptors and there ya go, to design the racial twists. Other methods simply do not work well for me so maybe this will:

Elf: Revelry, Self-interested, Seasons
Dwarf: Decadent, Wisdom, Engineers
Halfling: Determined, Change, Fulcrum
Humans: Superstitious, Cowardly, Violent

Elves I am leaning them to be based around the seasons. They change along with the seasons which slowly change their appearance and demeanor. I envision them as a bit mad, self indulgent and paternally obsessed with their own well being. Very few would be serious enough to do serious things with their life, and ironically these individuals probably can't stand the rest of their race. Physically they would be lithe humanoids who skin, hair, eyes, etc match the seasons i.e. winter for whites, blues and purples and so forth.

Dwarves are around because I'd like clockwork bits in the world. I shall make them a decadent old race but wise enough to know they are on a downward slope - perhaps masters of a bygone era. I am thinking something of a mix between the Melnibone and the techno-priests of Warhammer 40k. Half of their technology they do not understand and only keep the rest going through ritualized maintaince passed down from generation to generation. Physically I may make them short and stout of course but also with some Mongolian features.

Halflings I am thinking as a shaper in the world, but so limited in population that they have to work with the other races to get anything changed. I am thinking of a race that has enough precognition to know what is going to happen, but usually fail to stop it from occurring because humans keep getting in the way. So in that sense, they have a good distain for humans for thwarting the golden path that they can so clearly see. That said, they are at the fulcrum of most major events in the world; either trying to stop it or spurring it on to prod along their own vision of the future.

Humans will be the most violent of the races. When not fighting another race for patches of prairie they will likely be at war with one another. Luckily they breed like rats and the ambition for power and mates keeps the endless wars going. A superstitious lot, they are well aware they are at the mercy of the natural forces around them.

So there are a few twists to keep things a bit fresh and give some possible plot movers. I may use some new races but these will probably be non-PC since two-headed giants, salt-water turtle men and shape-changing black dogs ultimately are better when they are a mystery. I will leave the PCs with the familiar.

Spiral Development Method

While working on the rules and setting I think I will be applying the years of labor my masters cost me and use a method that is commonly used in complex software. In this case it is called the Spiral Development Method, where you concentrate on concept, risk analysis and requirements heavily. Then build a draft, long before you actually test anything. In contrast most writing has you perfect a stage before moving on and you don't really know the limitations before it is completely finished. A poor way to do it, at least for game design in my opinion.

The main merit of the Spiral Method is that it is iterative so are essentially rewriting the same work several times before a final phase of detailed design, proper testing, and squaring it away. Maybe there is something similar to this already in writing but I am not aware of it. Maybe because most writing is not a game to be balanced out and using bell curves. So, we shall see how this works, I will put up a initial draft of both rules and setting next week.

Scope

To clarify the scope of the Valley of Blue Snails, it is intended to have a working rule set and setting in May / June of this year. Namely because this is when Lt. Moree deploys and I work better with deadlines. The rules will be primarily written for a DM and 1 or 2 player model with online play in mind - email, pbp most likely since live play will almost certainly not work with the time difference. I will leave open the possibility that some other soldiers can be included but probably no more than a couple.

The setting will be more broad and will likely be applicable beyond this campaign so I am hoping to get a refined version out by May / June and adapt it as we go. It should be broad enough to not be limited to a specific rule set and probably any D&D rules would work fine, but I will keep B/X in mind if I need to stat something out. I want the campaign to last the full tour of duty, so possibly 12-14 months. After this point it will be finished and I will adapt the events of the campaign for the setting and make it official canon. I will probably rewrite it at this point, get a couple pieces of art, and publish a couple copies and give it to a handful of people. I will also put it up somewhere as a .pdf for free. That is assuming it is not a steaming pile of crap and worth the effort to do all that.

So thats the plan.

Its in the Eyes

The setting for Valley of Snails will be easier in some ways than doing the rules. I have an agenda in mind so it is simply a matter of hashing out the details and making it compelling enough to warrant play. The core elements will be as follows:

Mythology based upon Finnic lore - With a mishmash of other mythology thrown in as well. Notably I want a World Tree which periodically drops fruit, acorns and other less savory things. I want the underworld with a fallen World Tree which will drop even less savory things which will be Tuonela. Gods are mainly based upon natural forces but the Finnic lore has some interesting outlooks on things like souls, death, wilderness, and the supernatural.

Mid-Magic - The world will not be particularly low or high magic. Something along the lines of the default B/X world where a magic sword is rare but not unheard of. Things like flying castles will definitely be rare but can exist. I will have an emphasis on supernatural events; things like if you do not make a token offering to the river Väki before crossing it, you could likely expect to be swept down river. Also a persons eyes can ward against supernatural events; so simply gazing into the river unblinking while crossing would bypass any bad events - however when you sleep you are particularly vulnerable to supernatural events.

Bloodline of Eyes - I will create an event in history that will form a group of strong bloodlines (maybe something to do with the World Tree), which will link up with some of the supernatural events above. The bloodlines are relatively rare and denote some power above the norm, so folks with the bloodlines are naturally a cut above. Many of the leadership positions are occupies by the bloodlines ala Birthright. This is dying trait however since only pure-blood marriages breed the power so taboo stuff like incest is not uncommon to maintain a bloodline. Also the bloodlines are delineated into families so different lines will have different abilities/persona ala Vampire Clans to some extent and some war with one another. The bloodline powers do not manifest in all in the bloodline, only those who are strong enough (lets say when XP is first gained), so there are issues with proving a bloodline and odd occurrences like a child killing an orc and manifesting a bad-ass bloodline. Someone with manifested bloodline will have a supernatural power having to do with sight and the eyes will change when it is used so it is very apparent who the bloodlines are. PCs are meant to be of this crop.

Politics - There will be some civilized areas with realms, nations and empires intermingling. This will be interjected with the ebb and flow of the wilderness which applies a constant pressure of the supernatural threats that overtake the unwary borderlands. I do want some strong realm identifiers with a long history so some areas will be civilized for quite some time. There will definitely be some deep wilderness areas as well with the standard plethora of D&D caves, ruins, lost isles, lost valleys and so forth.

Of Races - I am most unsure about races at the moment. I am very tempted to just remove Humans entirely and create a collogue of other humanoids which are fairly amicable to one another. Then another layer of humanoids which are undesirables but not necessarily hostile, and then of course the downright loathsome ones. I am still thinking it over and I am hoping it will become apparent once the setting gets a bit more solidified.

Inclusion of Animals - Animals I will probably place in a much more visible role other than livestock/labor. I doubt I will actually uplift some of them, but I will at the least make them staples of many villages, cities and craftsmen. I don't see why a moose could not be a mount, a bear could not work the billows at a blacksmith or an Otter could not work as a sewer cleaner. So at the very least I am thinking animals will be very trainable and perhaps semi-intelligent. I do not want animal PCs or animal 'realms' however, no Narnia here please.

So that is what I have in mind off the top of my head. Expect some adjustments in the near future as I detail out certain areas.