Wednesday, March 28, 2018
Continents!
Two more continents have been finished for the world of Aladron: Amara and Anaku. They represent the largest landmass on the planet. More info will be posted later!
Thursday, March 22, 2018
Developer Diary: Cenowar
Cenowar provides an excellent ground for any type of man-against-nature campaign. It is surrounded by wild steplands (populated by centaur clans) to the south, steep mountains (homeland of the dwarves) to the west and dark forests (populated by tribal worgs) to the north. It is the nation's main purpose to provide this setting.
The main difficulty with designing Cenowar is, quite obviously, to explain its existence. How did this civilized state come to be so far away from all other nations? The logical idea seems to be that the population are settlers from the south - choosing Cenowar because of the prosperity of the land. As there aren't any orcs in the area it isn't suitable that this colonization should have been part of the imperial invasion of the Northlands. Something else must have sparked this movement.
Here the already established evens in Damasa provides a reasonable explanation: as the nation reforms its military (basically overthrowing the old military-caste) disgruntled soldiers and officers assemble their entourages and leave the nation. Though relatively few in numbers they possess wealth, knowledge and - not least - vast experience of surviving in hostile territory. They travel north along the eastern coast until they finally decide to settle in Cenowar.
As it seems unlikely that the number of people doing this migration would be enough to populate a whole kingdom we need something to form the base for the population. As goths have already been described as living across many other places in the Northlands it doesn't seem unlikely that they lived here as well - though their primitive settlements just barely kept centaurs and worgs at bay.
From this point Cenowar is quite a straight journey. The former damasan soldiers take control over and unite the gothic settlements in the land. Introducing military discipline and new technologies they quickly transform Cenowar into a powerful nation and expell the centaurs and worgs from their lands - their main limitation being that they only recruit soldiers from the military families.
As it is my desire to connect the dwarven kingdom of Thzud to the rest of the world Cenowar should become a trading partner. While I imagine the dwarves viewing the human expansion with some distrust, once it has been established the two nations have little to fear from each other they seem bound to start exchanging goods. With dwarven craftsmanship at its markets Cenowar would soon attract the interests of merchants from the south, though because of the distance contact is limited.
It is easy to see that the more nations that are established it actually gets easier to fit in the story of the new ones as there are more existing context to build on. Cenowar is a great example of this.
Monday, January 22, 2018
LinCon 2018: The Great Escape
And so for the last LinCon adventure: named the Great Escape, which takes place in the Age of Steel. As with the other two adventures this is a standard roleplaying scenario which also serves to introduce a campaign, which will be available for download after the event.
A light rain fell over the shoddy huts that made up the miners’ camp. It was so early that it was almost dark with only the fires from the watchtowers burning brightly, sheltered under their roofs. But still you got up, donned your miner’s gear and headed for the shafts. It wasn’t that you longed to swing your pickaxe; this meeting has been decided the day before. The ever-present guards didn’t question you, though you did notice them writing something in their books. Climbing down the rope ladders you reached one of the middle shafts. Down here it would have been completely dark if it wasn’t for the lanterns. Careful, as not to drop down the big shaft which continued for quite a while longer, you climbed onto the wooden platform that took you into the tunnel. The meeting was set to be further in. They said one miner died for every 5 meters of tunnel. You counted 10 lives before you saw the others. Words could travel far in the tunnels and even though the guards rarely came down into the mine there were others who could be listening. And what you were about to speak of could certainly get you in trouble. It was the beginning of a plan. A plan for escape.
A light rain fell over the shoddy huts that made up the miners’ camp. It was so early that it was almost dark with only the fires from the watchtowers burning brightly, sheltered under their roofs. But still you got up, donned your miner’s gear and headed for the shafts. It wasn’t that you longed to swing your pickaxe; this meeting has been decided the day before. The ever-present guards didn’t question you, though you did notice them writing something in their books. Climbing down the rope ladders you reached one of the middle shafts. Down here it would have been completely dark if it wasn’t for the lanterns. Careful, as not to drop down the big shaft which continued for quite a while longer, you climbed onto the wooden platform that took you into the tunnel. The meeting was set to be further in. They said one miner died for every 5 meters of tunnel. You counted 10 lives before you saw the others. Words could travel far in the tunnels and even though the guards rarely came down into the mine there were others who could be listening. And what you were about to speak of could certainly get you in trouble. It was the beginning of a plan. A plan for escape.
Monday, January 1, 2018
LinCon 2018: The Message
Time for another update on preparations for LinCon 2018. The idea for next year is to host one adventure for each age. Standard roleplaying but each adventure introducing a campaign which will be available for download after the event. That said the intention is of course that it can be enjoyed as a stand-alone experience.
Second adventure is for the Age of Knowledge and is called The Message:
Second adventure is for the Age of Knowledge and is called The Message:
The pleasant
journey on the train felt far away as the scenery of the grand Merdonia station
was shifted towards the narrow streets of Merdun’s Novella district. It hadn’t
yet acquired the true grime of the city but there were already signs that the
polished facades wouldn’t stay new for very long. Inquisitor Cathrine hadn’t
been very clear on why she had sent you here, but thankfully her local
informant had provided some more worthwhile information. There had been some…
disturbances. Killings even. But it was senseless actions – regretted as soon
as they were done. Why was it happening? It smelled like sorcery and if so it
was doubtful that the local police would be able to get to the bottom of that
question. But if anyone could it was the agents of the inquisition. That meant
you – and the others of course. You looked around at your companions; it had
been some time since last time. Indeed, this could get interesting…
Thursday, December 14, 2017
Developer Diary: The Southern Dwarves
The dwarves of Centuria are divided into two categories: the northern dwarves of the kingdom of Thzud - basically the birthplace for the dwarven civilization - and the southern dwarves occupying the Umo Mountains and Danea to the east.
The southern dwarves exist were they are because I wanted them to interact with the human kingdoms that form in Gothia (the setup is somewhat inspired from the computer game Arcanum). As the idea was to match up with much (but not all) of common fantasy lore regarding dwarves it was decided that there should be several independent holds. To explain how this came to be I came up with the idea that these southern holds were colonies, new settlements, founded by dwarves from the ancestral hold located further to the north. A reasonable explanation for their exodus was overpopulation, so I left it at that and moved on.
A few rather positive conclusions can immediately be drawn from this scenario. The dwarves are portrayed as staunchly traditionalist and very patriarchal. In order to get along with the humans a slightly more relaxed tone is helpful and given that these southern outposts had to fend for themselves they are likely more pragmatic than their northern brethren. Also, being colonies they are likely to be less self-supporting and thus more prone to accept trade with the humans. And finally: with a common ancestry but local isolation we have a good explanation for small cultural differences which can provide interesting political conditions to create more depth in the game.
The dwarves of Danea then, were invented mainly to fill the role as "hobbits" - putting a face on a familiar term present in so many other fantasy settings. Since I really didn't want another race (see this blog post) having the hobbits to be dwarves with a different culture felt like a good compromise. Keeping the rural image created by Tolkien gave a pretty good idea what was needed, and given the migration story it was easy to picture the hobbits as just another dwarven clan that had changed more than the others.
Explaining that change seemed a pretty easy challenge; given their strict social hierarchy it seemed plausible that new customs and traditions could have been created from overthrowing the original order - in this case through the failure (death) of the clan's leaders. This would push the clan further away from the other clans, speeding up the cultural transformation. We get a good foundation for adding depth and also for material to help develop a dwarven character's sense of self!
The southern dwarves exist were they are because I wanted them to interact with the human kingdoms that form in Gothia (the setup is somewhat inspired from the computer game Arcanum). As the idea was to match up with much (but not all) of common fantasy lore regarding dwarves it was decided that there should be several independent holds. To explain how this came to be I came up with the idea that these southern holds were colonies, new settlements, founded by dwarves from the ancestral hold located further to the north. A reasonable explanation for their exodus was overpopulation, so I left it at that and moved on.A few rather positive conclusions can immediately be drawn from this scenario. The dwarves are portrayed as staunchly traditionalist and very patriarchal. In order to get along with the humans a slightly more relaxed tone is helpful and given that these southern outposts had to fend for themselves they are likely more pragmatic than their northern brethren. Also, being colonies they are likely to be less self-supporting and thus more prone to accept trade with the humans. And finally: with a common ancestry but local isolation we have a good explanation for small cultural differences which can provide interesting political conditions to create more depth in the game.
The dwarves of Danea then, were invented mainly to fill the role as "hobbits" - putting a face on a familiar term present in so many other fantasy settings. Since I really didn't want another race (see this blog post) having the hobbits to be dwarves with a different culture felt like a good compromise. Keeping the rural image created by Tolkien gave a pretty good idea what was needed, and given the migration story it was easy to picture the hobbits as just another dwarven clan that had changed more than the others.
Explaining that change seemed a pretty easy challenge; given their strict social hierarchy it seemed plausible that new customs and traditions could have been created from overthrowing the original order - in this case through the failure (death) of the clan's leaders. This would push the clan further away from the other clans, speeding up the cultural transformation. We get a good foundation for adding depth and also for material to help develop a dwarven character's sense of self!
Friday, November 10, 2017
Developer Diary: Highlanders and Teghirs
The presence of avarai people in the Northlands was established very early in my design of the world. Inspired by the european struggles against eastern horse peoples gave birth to the idea of the teghirs, which fitted the terrain with open steppes. The highlanders (also called the asiatsu clans) were inspired by, well, highlanders but also strongly by japanese culture - also two iconic historical conflicts.
The idea for a background was that during its height the Zhengdi empire had started to colonize the southern reaches of the Northlands. The taming of native horses allowed them to drive away the orcs from most of the area. But as the empire collapsed the colonies were left on their own and had to fend for themselves. This created a good story for the teghirs, but not for the highlanders.
As the main difference between the two was the use of the horse the most simple solution seemed to be that the highlanders had simply been driven from the steppes and adapted to a life in the forests of Gothia. Given the orc presence there this would have been dangerous so a strong incentive was needed. A civil war seemed plausible enough; as the central government of the colonies collapsed war tore the land apart and those who didn't want to bow to the warlords (who, naturally, favored the horseback) were forced to seek refuge elsewhere. The dense forests of Gothia prevented the teghirs from pursuing while it was also free from gothic settlers, who preferred the more fertile lands to the south.
From this point, everything about the highlanders and the teghirs is really trying in as many cultural references as possible. Both to create a depth for these peoples but also to spark imagination and help game masters bring them alive.
The idea for a background was that during its height the Zhengdi empire had started to colonize the southern reaches of the Northlands. The taming of native horses allowed them to drive away the orcs from most of the area. But as the empire collapsed the colonies were left on their own and had to fend for themselves. This created a good story for the teghirs, but not for the highlanders.
As the main difference between the two was the use of the horse the most simple solution seemed to be that the highlanders had simply been driven from the steppes and adapted to a life in the forests of Gothia. Given the orc presence there this would have been dangerous so a strong incentive was needed. A civil war seemed plausible enough; as the central government of the colonies collapsed war tore the land apart and those who didn't want to bow to the warlords (who, naturally, favored the horseback) were forced to seek refuge elsewhere. The dense forests of Gothia prevented the teghirs from pursuing while it was also free from gothic settlers, who preferred the more fertile lands to the south.From this point, everything about the highlanders and the teghirs is really trying in as many cultural references as possible. Both to create a depth for these peoples but also to spark imagination and help game masters bring them alive.
Tuesday, October 24, 2017
Developer Diary: Arbea and Tala
Getting back to writing about Age of Steel nations I realize giving each of them a whole post wouldn't be quite fair. As has already been revealed in previous developer posts, many nations have come along just to fit with the stories of the major countries.
The nations known as Arbea and Tala was invented for the same purpose: as ways to create a power balance between Menlor and Damasa. As part of the original lands conquered and settled by the Empire in the Northlands, both Menlor and Damasa have claims on these nations. Both are, however, strong enough to defend themselves in the short term and would quickly ally with the opposing power in the case of an invasion.
Culturally I modeled them on the idea that Menlor can be compared to historical France. Arbea would then be more like Germany and Tala would resemble Italy. Similar to their sources of inspiration both nations are very decentralized with no single faction able to dictate politics. What I wanted was for both these nations to be intertwined in the Menlor-Damasa hostilities in such a way that it would create opportunities for political/espionage campaigns and also prove an opportunity for minor conflicts where the major powers are involved but not directly deploying troops.
As for explaining their existence, both Arbea and Tala are breakaway nations - areas too far away for the queen of Menlor or the emperor of Damasa to retain control over them during the worst years of the civil war.
Getting thus far in the story what is wanted for both these nations is to make them interesting; they should add something to the world in terms of experience and depth - not just fulfill their intended roles.
Arbea I figure would make a good battleground - tugged in between the major powers to the east and south and mountains and orcs to the north and west. A place for both skirmishes and raids to full scale battles. At this point I wanted a reason for how the country was kept together to begin with as this would provide information as to were the cracks where. I decided another imperial order was a suitable explanation, and thus was invented the Order of the Wolves. While the name had been on my mind for some time I quickly realized it didn't really fit in with a Southland empire. Griffons, lions and falcons could be connected to such an environment, but wolves are more of a northern thing. The idea was then that the order had been created in the Northlands - presumably then for battling the orcs. Again the idea of manpower comes to mind - a shortage of soldiers from the warrior caste prevented further expansion, so the Order of the Wolf was formed, which accepted commoners into their ranks. Thus was the land wrestled from the orcs.
So the order is influential in the country, but it doesn't control it - the land is still a feudal one like Menlor, but without a king or queen. A council of nobles, many also members of the order, collaborates to a certain degree to keep Damasa and Menlor from absorbing them. However, they only stand united against exterior threats so fighting between the noble houses and indeed different factions within the order is quite common.
Tala then seems a good place for political intrigues and trade. Like its inspiration medieval Italy I imagine small city states joined together in a union. Some are ruled by nobles, others by merchants. Since money has more influence than blood both Damasa and Menlor have agents who works from within the country. Then there's also the steppes to the east - an opportunity for civilization versus nomads that can be about both trade and warfare.
All in all Arbea and Tala both end up as rather boring nations in the sense that they don't contribute much to the grand scheme of things - but they are very interesting places for players to explore. The fact that any conflict threatens to draw the attention of both Damasa and Menlor makes sure that there's always something at stake and the decentralization provides a plethora of possibilities for conflicts and intrigues.
The nations known as Arbea and Tala was invented for the same purpose: as ways to create a power balance between Menlor and Damasa. As part of the original lands conquered and settled by the Empire in the Northlands, both Menlor and Damasa have claims on these nations. Both are, however, strong enough to defend themselves in the short term and would quickly ally with the opposing power in the case of an invasion.
Culturally I modeled them on the idea that Menlor can be compared to historical France. Arbea would then be more like Germany and Tala would resemble Italy. Similar to their sources of inspiration both nations are very decentralized with no single faction able to dictate politics. What I wanted was for both these nations to be intertwined in the Menlor-Damasa hostilities in such a way that it would create opportunities for political/espionage campaigns and also prove an opportunity for minor conflicts where the major powers are involved but not directly deploying troops.
As for explaining their existence, both Arbea and Tala are breakaway nations - areas too far away for the queen of Menlor or the emperor of Damasa to retain control over them during the worst years of the civil war.
Getting thus far in the story what is wanted for both these nations is to make them interesting; they should add something to the world in terms of experience and depth - not just fulfill their intended roles.
Arbea I figure would make a good battleground - tugged in between the major powers to the east and south and mountains and orcs to the north and west. A place for both skirmishes and raids to full scale battles. At this point I wanted a reason for how the country was kept together to begin with as this would provide information as to were the cracks where. I decided another imperial order was a suitable explanation, and thus was invented the Order of the Wolves. While the name had been on my mind for some time I quickly realized it didn't really fit in with a Southland empire. Griffons, lions and falcons could be connected to such an environment, but wolves are more of a northern thing. The idea was then that the order had been created in the Northlands - presumably then for battling the orcs. Again the idea of manpower comes to mind - a shortage of soldiers from the warrior caste prevented further expansion, so the Order of the Wolf was formed, which accepted commoners into their ranks. Thus was the land wrestled from the orcs.
So the order is influential in the country, but it doesn't control it - the land is still a feudal one like Menlor, but without a king or queen. A council of nobles, many also members of the order, collaborates to a certain degree to keep Damasa and Menlor from absorbing them. However, they only stand united against exterior threats so fighting between the noble houses and indeed different factions within the order is quite common.
Tala then seems a good place for political intrigues and trade. Like its inspiration medieval Italy I imagine small city states joined together in a union. Some are ruled by nobles, others by merchants. Since money has more influence than blood both Damasa and Menlor have agents who works from within the country. Then there's also the steppes to the east - an opportunity for civilization versus nomads that can be about both trade and warfare.
All in all Arbea and Tala both end up as rather boring nations in the sense that they don't contribute much to the grand scheme of things - but they are very interesting places for players to explore. The fact that any conflict threatens to draw the attention of both Damasa and Menlor makes sure that there's always something at stake and the decentralization provides a plethora of possibilities for conflicts and intrigues.
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