Elves of all kinds

Between myself and a player in my campaign, Elves have made an appearance in Angadurgh. They are different - both from Tolkien's and "standard" D&D. The notion here is that the Elves are pre-downfall (of the drow). That there are no hard and fast lines between the various types (Eladrin, Elf and Drow) - but rather the various powers and characteristics are blended in many different combinations.

The Moving Poles (and some theory)

The frigid polar region corresponding to the Earth's Arctic Circle (that area which receives at least one 24 hour day of full darkness) is about 4,000 kilometres across. This zone shifts constantly at about 100 km per year, meaning that over an average person's life-time (say 70 years), the climate can shift from polar Arctic, to sub-Arctic and into temperate zones - or almost two full climactic zones. There can be one zone-shift in as few as 40 years, or a zone could persist as long as 120 years, depending on how obliquely the zone moves over the observer.

However, it is possible (and quite likely) that the pole will transit obliquely to any one spot on the surface, and not pass directly over that spot for hundreds of years. This could mean that a particular climate could be over one spot for a considerable period of time - perhaps centuries, or that more likely, an area oscillates around 2 or 3 climates for a few centuries before being thrown into the deep freeze.

The poles oscillate (or wobble) about the surface of Angadurgh in an overlapping sinusoidal fashion, ultimately tracing the entire surface over time. The appearance of the planet from space (if sped up) would look like a spinning top as it decays - wobbling in a circular fashion with a certain pattern to its seeming chaos.

The Dying Cities

Jak dove to the ground in mid stride hauling his sister down behind the fallen log, as he wrapped his cloak around her face to muffle her cry. He struggled to control his own ragged breath as he took out his Gun and removed the oily rag covering the priming pan. The things that hunted them were far enough away (he hoped) that they would not have seen them drop out of sight. Jak and his sister had been running for the best part of an hour, deeper and deeper into the forest. The shadowy creatures followed, always at the edge of vision, flitting from tree to tree, ever closing.

It seemed like ages had passed since they had been sitting together in the family tower. Jak leaning against the window and gazing over the interminable forests as his sister bemoaned her fate. Their step-father, never the diplomat had announced her betrothal just the day before, with the wedding itself to be in two weeks time. Just long enough for the groom's family to travel from the nearest city-state rival, Kellinstat. Jak had always wondered what lay beyond the next hill. What it meant to survive beyond the walls and confines of the dwindling citadel. He hadn't really thought Sarei would agree to his suggestion when he challenged her to run away with him. Right now, he wished she had put up some more resistance.

The cities hold the last libraries above ground, as well as tight clans of old families, generally inbred as well as dangerously paranoid and xenophobic. Around the towers of the highborn cluster ramshackle cottages and tightly packed terraces of houses, where dwell the serving classes, artisans, and merchants who deal with the outside. Highborn of the cities tend to be educated, and have access to certain technologies such as arcane magic of the Wizardly variety, and alchemy such as black powder, steel, primitive steam driven machinery and coal-gas. Use of these and other technologies is by no means widespread in the cities, but neither is it unheard of. Most of the tools and dies used in the creation of the technological items are ancient beyond knowledge, and cannot be re-created by any techniques available at present, but there are dies and diagrams for making crude pistols and blunderbusses, as well as single-piston reciprocating steam engines, crude airships and a terrifying inventory of torture devices.

Rumours exist of even more exotic artifacts in the holding of some of the oldest families - weapons so terrible that whole armies might be vanquished if they only had the key to their function - or the fuel they required.

Divine characters

I have mentioned already that the deities in Angadurgh will be fickle, egotistical and not particularly reliable (although still very powerful).

I see this playing out in a way that divine characters will have to make "concordance" checks, much like those for artefacts. Being "in concordance" makes it very likely that ones divine powers will work as usual. Being out of concordance will make it unlikely. I would actually recommend that players build hybrid characters, so that they can at least draw from their non-divine class when the gods fail them.

The mechanic would be based on a modified d20 roll at the beginning of each encounter (or before using any divine powers such as rituals outside of encounters). If the roll succeeds, all is well, divine powers will work as expected. If the roll fails, then divine powers will be "variable" in result. A roll on a table will determine what happens when a power is used. Results will range from "works as usual, but with a minor non-mechanical side-effect, through simply not working at all, to wreaking significant damage and/or conditions to the caster and those around her.

As for following the wishes of the deities, the DM will have to follow/create plotlines for them. Using their personalities, and some pattern of events taking place in the heavens, one can create a dynamic that would have the Gods demanding certain actions of their mortal followers as they (the deities) jockey for position, carry out vendettas, or vie for prestige in their heavenly realms.

Savage Races

Angadurgh, with its shifting climactic zones and occasional sudden upheavals has destroyed entrenched civilisations, and snuffed out nascent ones. However strange and exotic niche races have found room to persist, if not thrive. I have mentioned the Sky-pirate flying elves. Now I come to the Sasquatch. Indeed, bigfoot is alive and well - albeit as reclusive as ever. The legendary Sasquatch live in and around the islands of freezing polar climate. They seemingly come in two varieties - the high-mountain or sub-polar white Sasquatch, or Yeti, and the more commonly encountered brown furred variety that inhabits the surrounding sub-arctic and cool temperate zones.

These heavily furred, tribal humanoids are strong and enduring, as a race that preys on the giant Mastodon - while avoiding the Sabre-toothed Tiger would have to be. Averaging 7 feet tall and 300 lbs, they tower over their human cousins although they can disappear in a trice in their natural habitat.

This rounds out the main playable races that have already been assigned a place in Angadurgh. Doubtless more will come to me as I flesh out other parts of the setting (or would be players plead for their personal favourites).

A Nod to Tolkien

There is one place where I would like to see a concept lifted almost whole cloth from the works of J.R.R. Tolkien. I have always loved the Dunedain - the long lived, super-human humans of Numenor of whom Elessar, Aragorn was born. To me it is something of an omission that their representation in D&D is as the Ranger character class. I see them as a race and a lineage and Angadurgh has a place for them. They are the people in whose tongue Angadurgh is named - the Durough E'na An - the people of the land as they are known in their ancient language.

They originate before the calamity, and are one of the peoples responsible for the marvellous but decaying cities that form oases in the ever changing landscapes of Angadurgh. Their closest D&D analog would be the Deva, or Aasimar. A noble but diminishing race "never more, but sometimes fewer". Like the Deva, I see them as being reborn over and over - perhaps by some ancient magic, or even a lingering divine connection.

No one knows exactly how many there are - perhaps one or two thousand Durough E'na An in the whole of Angadurgh, and they are rarely found in gatherings of any size. Twenty Enaan (as they are known in the common speech) is considered a host - and would never be seen except as some great event.

Although as a people they are slowly diminishing - every generation or so some few fail to be reborn for reasons unknown to outsiders - they are not resigned or bitter. Rather they labour seemingly tirelessly on great tasks and quests known only to them and perhaps a few scholars. They are known to maintain the library city of Engedda - although few outside their ranks can read the tomes stored there, and the Enaan themselves seem to read them only occasionally.

Underground Race

So many people love Dwarves, incuding myself, that I couldn't bring myself to leave them out of the setting.

Using my initial ideas about Angadurg's climate, this would have some indirect effect even on underground dwellers. Instead of isolated, dwindling clans, the decay of civilization on the surface, caused in part by the rotating climate actually allowed Dwarven clans to survive, and centralize. Without technologically advanced surface dwellers competing for minerals and metals, the Dwarves were able to grow and prosper. Of course not all threats were reduced, and the Dwarves are as ever militaristic and organized. In fact, they have taken advantage of the lack of organization amongst most surface dwellers to control many mine access point on the surface even in the midst of nominally human lands. As the surface dwellers struggle against predators and competition, the Dwarves would arrive with large, well formed armies and "negotiate" their terms for "mutual cooperation" while they extracted the mineral wealth of the area.

Indeed, the human villages would thrive under Dwarven protection. Their populations would rise as agriculture could proceed largely unhindered by the ravages of savage species or vicious monsters and a new merchant class would be allowed to deal with other human settlements for sale of precious forged metal tools and weapons. Few human settlements have successfully resisted Dwarven economic colonization and gone on to successfully exploit their own resources. Generally, the relationship can be seen as symbiotic, although as in most business dealings, it seems to favour the Dwarves in the long term.

The Dwarven military is somewhat modelled on the ancient Roman style. Much like the Romans, they bring fine engineering works such as roads, aqueducts and fortifications wherever they go.

In terms of beliefs and culture, the Dwarves believe that their attitudes and practices are manifestly superior to those of most any cultures they meet, since they are so obviously successful in the only ways that count to most Dwarves. In other words, they believe it is the manifest destiny of Dwarves to either succeed over, or ultimately control all other intelligent races. That said, they are somewhat xenophobic, and the increased contact with other races that their expansion has incurred is making many in Dwarven society very uncomfortable. While not as a whole directly cruel or evil in intent, many a Dwarf views other races as at least mildly inferior, if not with outright contempt.

Characteristics of Angadurgh

I am considering such issues as climatology and tectonic activity. I like dinosaurs, and I think the possibilities of very big dinosaurs would be good - see Lost World for why I like 'em. I am thinking a world that is more oxygen rich than ours would give larger animals: insects and reptiles (and birds) included. Greater feats of athleticism are possible with greater oxygenation.

Another possibility is lower gravity, which makes for a greater variety of flying creatures - as well as more heroic leaping and jumping by non-flyers as well. Actually, lower gravity could be caused by less metals in the core (less iron, nickel), which would change economics and warfare - and perhaps delay any industrial revolution tendencies.

So gravity of - say 80% earth normal. Free oxygen about 30% (earth is 21%). Mountains could then be higher, and life could exist further up them than on earth.

More of the planet would be primordial swamp and rain forest both tropical and temperate. For an element of uncertainty increased tectonic activity would be fun - offering natural disasters to wipe out civilisations periodically with Krakatoa like eruptions.

My final decision as to a chief distinguishing feature, is to have the planet knocked off its kilter, and have the polar axes wander across the entire globe. The climate will constantly shift so that every generation, a particular location will swing from one climate zone to the next. From polar complete with sea ice and glaciers, then 30-40 years later, sub-arctic with permafrost and no trees, then another 30-40 years, temperate, then subtropical, then tropical, and back through the zones until it is polar arctic once more. Coupled with at least one pretty large continental mass (which will allow migration to stay with a particular climate zone), and we have something that will encourage a nomadic existence, or at least inhibit "civilization" (city building) significantly.

Elves are Sky-pirates

So having decided that I must have sky pirates, and having decided Tolkien's Elves would probably not have a place in my world, the nearest race to elves in standard D&D will be the Graf - a race of tree and cliff dwelling humanoids that have developed various Graf powered and assisted flight technologies.

The Graf are of similar height to elves, but weigh about 50 lbs less on average. They look somewhat emaciated, although some of their reduced weight comes from extremely hollow bones and reduced digestive tract. Their glide capability comes from their "wings" which are a skein of tissue that stretches from their arms to their hips with radial stiffeners of cartilage such that when their arms are outstretched form natural wings in the manner of flying squirrels and lizzards. Even the hands and feet are adapted to a lesser degree to provide in-flight control surfaces.

They are skilled in acrobatics and perception. Their walking is awkward and slow but they are adept climbers and can fly for short distances. They can also glide indefinitely as long as their finishing position is of lower altitude than their start position (and they haven't crashed into the ground). The short flight capability is expressed as a racial encounter power.

Alongside the Graf there will be a smaller, less intelligent race that exists perhaps symbiotically alongside the Graf, the Gekk. These are small, chattering monkey-like creatures that resemble the Graf somewhat, although they lack recognizable speech. Graf ships are frequented by numerous Gekk, which are apparently trained by the Graf and operate the ropes and sails that allow navigation of the skies of Angadurgh.

Speaking of which, Skyship technology is based on a native create of Angadurgh, the Balaron. The Balaron are apparently non-sentient jellyfish-like creatures that float the skies above Angadugh. They produce hot gas internally and contain it in a huge bag that lifts them off the ground. They can then unfurl their tentacles which exude paralyzing and anaesthetising poison. When they paralyze a creature, they haul the creature up to their gelatinous maw where they will digest it at their leisure.

Introduction

I am building a world, provisionally called Angadurgh. This world is to be the location of a fantasy role playing game (most likely Dungeons and Dragons 4th Edition ).

Here I list a few sources of inspiration - note that I don't really plan to create a world like any of these - but rather I like these sources, and I would like elements from them to infuse my world if only from a thematic or flavour point of view.

Obviously I have enjoyed Tolkien and cannot deny its influence on the genre. I suspect that some of the earlier eras described in the Silmarillion would make interesting campaign settings, but I do not intend to create anything much like that myself.

Other books I read in my 70's adolescence would include Michael Moorcock's works Elric: The Stealer of Souls (Chronicles of the Last Emperor of Melniboné, Vol. 1), Roger Zelazny, Piers Anthony, Robert Asprin, Sprague DeCamp, Aldous Huxley, Jules Verne, Arthur Conan-Doyle. I watched Doctor Who, Blake's Seven, Logan's Run, Mad Max. I love Monty Python, Terry Pratchett, Douglas Adams (although it is not obvious how these last will infect my world).

No list would be complete without Robert E. Howard, and H. P. Lovecraft.

More recently I have enjoyed China Mieville Perdido Street Station, Steven Erikson Gardens of the Moon (Malazan Book of the Fallen), the Indiana Jones movies, Avatar (yes, there are strong RPG useful elements there), Dan Simmons' Hyperion. Of the D&D campaign worlds out there I have most enjoyed Eberron.

I am a lover of early fiction, and have read La Morte D'Arthur and its variants more than a few times, loving the simple prose and profound ideals present in early fiction.

So - what else do we have? I like my worlds to feel whole, in the sense that they have some kind of consistency. But I want them to have diversity, and even weirdness. I want adventuring possibilities to go all the way from dark, frightening gritty realism to world-shaking sorcery and high magic. I want slimy political intrigue, bloodthirsty arena crowds, marching legions, dark horrors dwelling in subterranean crypts, ancient mysteries reaching dark tendrils into the here and now. I don't especially want Elves, Dwarves, Halflings and Humans in the Tolkienian (or even Gygaxian) sense to permeate my world, although I don't rule any of them out, if I can see where any of them fit into my vision. I like steampunk but I don't want my whole world to be that way. I like pirates and ninjas, but I think to fit them into this world will require some re-imaging. Sky-pirates spring to mind - yes, I love the idea of aerial cut-throats raiding towns and villages, carrying off loot and fair maidens (or daughters of wealthy citizens).

I would like the dominant civilisation(s) to be human (whatever that means). There will be several competing cultures, some ancient, some new and "barbaric", each with varying degrees of decadence. There would be some significant non-human presences, both intermingled and separate, and both widespread and localised.

In terms of gods and deities - this is a tough area. I think I would like the gods to be dark and dangerous. Seldom giving a gift without exacting a price. Jealous, and fitful, perhaps even childlike and capricious, like ancient Greek gods. Demanding of complete obedience and servitude from ordinary folk who wish to gain any benefits from them. Those few individuals of personal power or prowess that may attract the attention of a deity may have some bargaining power, and may indeed obtain a favour or two. Deities may choose who they favour, and it is not always obvious why they choose one and not another, although performing great deeds is usually a pre-requisite. I see dangerous mobs of cultists mindlessly carrying out what they see as their god's wishes, heedless of morality or even personal well-being, and priests twisted by ambition directing their activities until their fickle gods abandon them for some other tribe.

For magic, again I like my magic to have dark and dangerous overtones - and this will apply to what I shall term "high magic" or ritual magic. Low magic usually has only a short term effect, and duplicates some mundane power. All species have some representatives that are infused with the capacity for low magic, this is represented by their powers. I shall term these "gifted". The majority of each species is simply mundane, although being mundane does not mean that such an individual cannot rise to great temporal power. Today's pope cannot cast spells or heal people miraculously, although there are other religious people claimed to have this ability who have no power within any religious structure. All player characters, and most of what they will fight will be in the gifted category.