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.