Campaign World Pantheons

Credit: KEKAI KOTAKI

Hello and welcome to my world building blog!

Today, I will be talking about Campaign World Pantheons in Richard Baker's companion book to Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: World Builder's Guidebook, published by TSR Ltd in 1996.

A game setting's pantheon could consist of any and all legendary creatures and beasts.  They could take on the form of anybody or anything.  The majority of the gods and goddesses in Greek, Roman, and Norse mythology are intended to resemble humans so that we may relate to them better.  But there are other creatures that exist in fantasy settings, such as elves, gnomes, halflings, and dwarves.  The gods and goddesses in our fantasy world might take on the appearance of those races in order to connect with them.  Or, they might take on the appearance of anything.  In one of my campaign worlds, I have a goddess, Velia, a goddess of the dead who appears as black smoke.

So, let us look into what the people of Azamar deem their pantheon.  Using our random generator, we see that Azamar's pantheon is one universal pantheon.

According to the World Builder's Guidebook:

"All deities in the campaign belong to a single pantheon, regardless of racial or social divisions.  Several gods may share responsibilities (or squabble over) important portfolios, such as war, leadership, or love.  The FORGOTTEN REALMS pantheon is a universal pantheon."

In Azamar, all deities (be it elf, dwarf, gnome, etc.) belong to a single pantheon.

So, how big is the pantheon?  How many gods and goddesses share this single pantheon?

Azamar has a medium pantheon size, meaning they have:

3 Greater Powers

4 Intermediate Powers

5 Lesser Powers

5 Demi-Powers

The greater powers are like that of the big three in Greek mythology, Zeus, Hades, and Poseidon.  And now that I think about it, I really enjoy it when things come in threes.  Above, I mentioned the mythologies of Greek, Roman, and Norse (3).  Each one of these mythologies have three greater powers:  Greeks has Zeus, Hades, and Poseidon; Romans have Jupiter, Mars, and Neptune; and Norse mythology has Odin, Thor, and Loki.  And, so, Azamar also has three greater powers.

Examples of intermediate powers are Athena, Hera, and Venus.  Azamar has four of them.

Lesser powers could be like Vulcan, Chronos, and Heimdall.  Azamar has five of them.

And lastly, Azamar has five demi-powers, much like that of Perseus, Astrild, and Hercules.

We can figure out the portfolios of each of these powers in another post.

The organization of this medium pantheon of Azamar is familial.

"The pantheon is composed of one extended family of powers, each with roles or portfolios generally related to their position in the traditional family hierarchy.  The Greek pantheon has a strong familial organization; Zeus is the father of several other gods and goddesses, and serves as the ruler of the gods; Hera, his wife, is the queen of the gods; and Ares and Heracles, sons of Zeus, are the warriors of the family.  In addition to the family position, the gods may be associated with particular virtues, emotions, or situations -- Apollo was a musician, his sister Artemis the goddess of the moon and the hunt, and so on."

In Azamar, the religion is family-based.  The lesser and demi-powers may have descended from the greater and intermediate powers.  Of all, in an universe where there are many different races, it's possible that some of them underwent strange mutations that gave rise to the elves, dwarves, and other races.

Now that we are aware of it, the small, relatively new kingdom of Azamar has a medium-sized familial pantheon that is the source of many of the racial tales.  But to what extent does this pantheon interact with its adherents and settlers?  And our random generator is telling us that the pantheon of Azamar is meddlesome.

"The powers take interest in even the fairly minor events or situations concerning their followers, and the manipulation of their temples' fortunes is the primary means of discourse (and field of rivalry) of the deities.  Moderately important followers receive advice and guidance, and the highest-ranking followers are in frequent communication with their patron.  Deities create avatars at will [in] order to interact with their followers or meddle with mortal affairs."

This could be a good thing, or a bad thing, for the people of Azamar.

Next week, we'll give Azamar's deities their portfolios, and maybe even give them names.

I hope you enjoyed the read, and until next time, thanks for reading.

Kingdom Subsistence Systems

Credit: Rewilding Europe

Hello and welcome to my world building blog!

Today, I will be talking about Kingdom Subsistence Systems in Richard Baker's companion book to Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: World Builder's Guidebook, published by TSR Ltd in 1996.

Last time, we left our kingdom of Azamar in the sub-arctic region of our campaign world.  The Chieftess Yngvild Skoptidottir and her Council of the Storm conscript able-bodied settlers/citizens to explore, persecute, and defend the realm.  We do not, however, know how this community sustains itself in such a desolate place.

Okay, so if you do some research on sub-arctic cities and communities on our world we call Earth, you will notice that a lot of them are really not all that desolate.  Winters may be brutal, but the summers, although quite cool, could very well be pleasant.  Like I had mentioned in my entry, Planetary Temperature and Seasonal Variations, "think of it the climate as being like that of southern Greenland, northern Sweden, or the middle of Alaska; summers are cool, but the winters will be frigid."

Looking at the tables in the World Builder's Guidebook, you will see predominant terrains like Deserts, Grasslands, Forests, and Prairies.  These terrains are further splint into tropical, temperate, and arctic regions.  Since Azamar is located in the sub-arctic region, we'll be using those tables and figure out what sustains the kingdom.

First up, the barrens.

"Wastelands incapable of supporting any type of life other than a few specialized species.  Visitors must bring their own food and water or perish.  Non-glaciated portions of Antarctica, mountain peaks, and the worst regions of the world's deserts are examples of this category."

These barrens regions, probably located closer to the arctic circle and beyond, will more than likely hold such specialized species of life.  And according to the book, what sustain Azamar is whaling/sealing.

"A good portion of the people spend much of their time on long whaling or sealing expeditions that can last for many months.  Unlike fishing, whaling and sealing tends to be more sporadic, bringing in large quantities of food and trade goods at less frequent intervals.  Whaling and sealing is almost exclusively a cold-water trade.  In other respects, whaling and sealing resembles fishing as a means of subsistence."

This gives us an idea that there is a frozen sea nearby.  Or perhaps the builders of Azamar settled next to this sea naming it the Wasting Bay.  Settlers of Azamar navigate the Wasting Bay, avoiding icebergs and cracking ice to locate and fish whales, spear seals, and then bring the spoils back to the community.

Desert, rocky

"Desert regions marked by boulder fields, stony wastes, and stretches of weathered bedrock with little topsoil.  Cactus forests or similar desert-adapted plants are common.  Scattered wells and verdant regions can be found."

We can imagine this same book's description within our own kingdom, except all is covered in ice and snow during the winter time.  In the summer, where there are just a few months of warmth, the cold-adapted plants spring up between the boulder fields and stony wastes.

Azamar, in these rocky deserts, are sustained by grazing and herding.

"Along with light agriculture, animal husbandry is the most common means of subsistence.  It is especially prevalent in cold, arid, or infertile areas such as the tropics where agriculture is impractical.  Grazing can support large populations, but also requires several times the amount of land that agriculture does.  As a result, villages and towns tend to be much farther apart in areas devoted to the keeping of livestock.  Sheep, cattle, goats, horses, and swine are the most common domestic animals."

This is all self-explanatory.  However, we have to keep in mind that our kingdom has a diameter of 450 miles.  Many villages and towns will be settled and built, and there is probably one major city where people will congregate because of religion, bartering, and/or other reasons.  So, these grazing areas probably dot the land.

Forest, light

"Needleleaf evergreens are the most common tree found in light forest.  There are two distinct types: taiga, the northern spruce and hemlock forests, found in the sub-arctic regions of the world; and sub-tropical pine forests, found in warm regions where the soil is unsuitable for heavier forestation."

A few light forests grow within Azamar, which is a good thing because it shows this "desolate" kingdom is not too desolate, at all.  What strikes me as interesting is the subsistence system within these light forests: Mining.  According to the World Builder's Guidebook:

"A specialized form of industry, mining in the medieval times included the excavation of coal, copper, iron, peat, salt, silver, and tin from the earth. The technology permitted only easily accessible ores to be reached. Various types and grades of stone were quarried for use in castles and cathedrals. Rare and precious materials such as gemstones and gold were almost always found by luck or circumstance. Mining communities are located at the site of the mineral in question, and may often be completely reliant on trade to supply food in exchange for raw ore. Dwarves, gnomes, and humanoids such as goblins are extremely efficient miners and can actually support mining camps or towns with very little agriculture, fishing, or herding."

What kind of mines are in these light forests?  Do the forests grow atop the foothills of mountains?  Perhaps there is a mountain range nearby and the Azamars take advantage of the little warmth tree roots provide within the mines.  Maybe it's the tree roots themselves, deep in the earth, that produce a resource that calls for the mines to be built in the first place.

Forest, medium

"Mixed forest, ranging from broadleaf evergreens found in tropical highlands to temperate and subarctic woodlands.  If you don't know what kind of forest to select for a particular region, this is a good default."

The subsistence system in these medium forests is fishing.

"Obviously, fishing is only an option if a sizable body of water is nearby.  Large rivers and lakes can support fishing communities, but most harvesting of water resources can be found near the ocean, especially in very cold or very hot regions that are difficult to cultivate.  Fishing alone can support small towns in rich waters, but fishing communities often supplement their catch by keeping herds of livestock, whaling and sealing, or turning to raiding in lean times."

One could imagine a few of these forests growing on the shores of the Wasting Bay.  A large river flows from the nearby mountains and empties into the bay, where smaller villages spring up within the forests to be fished.  Look at that!  We have a huge sea the Azamars know as the Wasting Bay, and a large river they call the Surging Beck that flows through the Fairsend Wood.  More than likely, creeks and streams flow from and to the Surging Beck with their own smaller ecosystems of fish and other aquatic life.

Grassland

Within Azamar, grasslands grow.  I am thinking that the capitol city of Azamar is built within that grassland region.

"This covers a variety of terrain types, ranging from tropical grasslands to dry northern steppes and prairie.  Warm, humid grasslands may consist of tall elephant grass or regions too steep or high to support forestation.  Warm, dry grasslands tend to form savannahs or veldts--the Serengeti Plain of Africa is an example of this.  Temperate and sub-arctic grasslands are steppe or prairie."

The Skarfanes Expanse is where Reykjaa, the capitol of Azamar, was built.  This is also where Chieftess Yngvild Skoptidottir has built her longhouse palace.  Within this grassland region is a light agriculture system.

"Some form of basic agriculture is possible in almost any climate.  Examples of light agriculture include slash-and-burn agriculture in the tropics, orchards, marginal regions supported through heavy irrigation, or special measures, or low-yield grain harvests in the short growing season.  Small cities can be supported through light agriculture, if a strong social organization exists.  Otherwise, light agriculture can only support small towns or villages."

And lastly, marsh/swamp.

"Large expanses of marsh or swamp only form in low-lying regions with poor drainage, although smaller bogs and fens might occur almost anywhere.  Marshes tend to include large reed seas and expanses of semi-open water; the Florida Everglades is an excellent example of this type of marsh.  Salt marshes along low-lying coastlines are also common.  Swamps, on the other hand, include large tracts of drowning forest, with trees such as cypresses or mangroves adapted for life in standing water.  The Louisiana bayou is an example of swamp."

It's hard to imagine a marsh or swamp within our frozen tundra of a kingdom.  But doing a search on our planet Earth brings up a whole list of subarctic locations well within the region and close to the arctic circle.  Maybe the salt marshes of Azamar are located in the south on the shores of the Wasting Bay.  Within this region of marsh must be a drowning forest of sorts because the subsistence system here is forestry.

"Logging, trapping, and hunting are the three main practices associated with forestry.  Forestry by itself cannot support towns of any size unless the towns can supplement their food supply through fishing or whaling.  However, communities that trade forest products in exchange for food can grow into large towns or small cities.  Elves are known to be able to bring large areas of forest under light cultivation without disturbing the natural beauty of the woodlands, and can build much larger kingdoms based on forestry."

One could imagine the winter elves of Azamar caring for and cultivating the area of the kingdom.

A look back at our (is it really ours, at this point?) kingdom of Azamar, we can see that the kingdom supports itself by whaling and sealing, fishing, mining, grazing and herding, light agriculture, and forestry.  With all of this supporting Azamar, one wonders what was left behind in the nearby ruins that is so important.  Perhaps a delve into the pantheon of Azamar will shed some light as to the creators of these ancient ruins.

Next week, we'll delve into the religions of Azamar.

I hope you enjoyed the read, and until next time, thanks for reading.

It's Not the Size of the Kingdom That Counts

Credit: Brooke Olson

Hello and welcome to my world building blog!

Today, I'll be talking about Cultural Characteristics, Government Forms, Situations, and Kingdom Size, all of which are drawn from Richard Baker's companion book to Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: World Builder's Guidebook, published by TSR Ltd in 1996.

Many kingdoms in the fantasy genre differ in a variety of ways. You can choose from a list of cultural features in the World Builder's Guidebook. I, on the other hand, prefer to enter the list into a random generator and watch the mayhem ensue.

Following up on my earlier blog postings about my frozen country, the frozen kingdom's characteristics are set in a gloomy age, similar to the Dark Ages in European history. The following is a synopsis of the book:

"European, Dark Ages: In this setting, the landed nobility and the feudal system have not fully developed.  Instead, kings are little more than chieftains surrounded by warbands and bodyguards.  Parts of Eastern or Northern Europe remained at this level hundreds of years after western and southern Europe had developed.  Charlemagne's Paladins depicts Europe in the Dark Ages."

This kingdom appears to be in the process of discovering itself. The chieftain or chieftess sends out scouting groups to examine the surrounding tundra, as well as adventurous parties to investigate the neighboring ruins.

My generator chose gynarchy from a list of government forms in the book. According to the book, a gynarchy is a government run solely by women. Interesting! Our ice country is ruled by a chieftess and female warriors who will protect it. Women are also more than likely to lead scouting and adventurous parties.

The book also suggests this form of government be paired with another form.  My generator chose bureaucracy.  According to the book:

"Bureaucracy: Various departments and bureaus together compose the government, each responsible for some aspect of rule.  The department heads, ministers, or secretaries may answer to a figurehead autocrat or council."

As a result, the chieftess has access to a council from whom she can seek guidance. Perhaps the kingdom is run like a pirate ship, where the crew can fire the captain if they don't like how he's leading them. They hold a gathering to choose whether they want to elect a new captain (chieftess) or keep the current one.

A crisis is always forming, or has already developed, within the gates of many fictional, or even real-life kingdoms. Persecution exists for our cold bureaucracy.

"Persecution:  A particular group or type of people is persecuted mercilessly.  This may be completely unjustified, or the persecution may be a reasonable and necessary step to purge the kingdom of evil influences such as dopplegangers or necromancers.  In the case of hunting down evil, the quest to purge a perceived threat may rise to the point of paranoia.  PCs may fall into the persecuted group or may be responsible for locating and attacking the creatures to be persecuted."

So, among the ruins, we've already established a cult. Perhaps this is the persecuted, who are being sought and purged so that the queen can gain access to the ruins' resources.  Seems like a fair deal.

I'm leaving out a LOT of material and details on kingdoms, as you may expect if you've previously read the book. Major and minor races, languages, technologies, and social alignments are all examples. Even without all of those details, I believe we still have a good idea of what our kingdom will be like. We can always go back and fill in the blanks afterwards.

So, how big should our frozen kingdom be?  The World Builder's Guidebook has a few suggestions and, again, a table you could use to randomly choose.  Our frozen kingdom is a small one.

"Small Kingdom: Most [fantasy] campaigns are set in fairly typical kingdoms, with several large cities, a number of moderately-sized towns, and villages and hamlets scattered over the countryside in between.  The PCs may use a small village or town as a base of operations, and never come in contact with the 'big city.'  Tribal areas are considered kingdoms, although there are no cities and very few large towns in a barbaric or nomadic setting."

Our small kingdom encompasses 4 hexes on a map, the equivalent of 450 miles in diameter.

Looking back, we see a country located near the arctic circle, where ruins contain fantastic wealth, power, and hidden danger, but are exploited and safeguarded by a wicked church or cult worshiping a hazardous deity. The community is a small kingdom still finding its feet, but is led by strong, accomplished women. Chieftess Yngvild Skoptidottir and her Council of the Storm send expeditions from the kingdom of Azamar to explore, persecute, and defend the realm.

Next week, we'll see how Azamar sustains itself in such a rough environment.

I hope you enjoyed the read, and until next time, thanks for reading.

Planetary Temperature and Seasonal Variations

Credit: Susan Shankar

Hello and welcome to my world building blog!

Today, I will be discussing Planetary Temperature and Seasonal Variations taken from the accessary book for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: World Builder's Guidebook by Richard Baker, and published by TSR Ltd in 1996.

The climatology of a planet is important because it affects the entire planet.  Depending on what kind of campaign you want to run, there are five different categories you can choose from: arctic, sub-arctic, temperate, sub-tropical, and tropical.

The Planetary Temperature will dictated which region of the world your campaign will be set.  Here is an passage from the book:

"Mean Planetary Temperature:  If the Earth orbited the sun at the distance that Mars does, the planet would be extremely cold.  On Mars, daytime temperatures rarely approach the freezing point of water.  The Earth would be in somewhat better shape due to its thicker blanket of atmosphere and increased ability to trap heat, but even equatorial regions would be sub-arctic, at best.  You can create an unusually warm or cold campaign world, and adjust the climatic bands to match."

If you remember last week's blog entry, one of my World Hooks was a desert.  I imagined my campaign to take place in a sandy desert setting, but, the frozen tundra is a desert, as well.  Having said that, my random generator chose Freezing as the Planetary Temperature.  A note from the book:  "Freezing:  All climate bands are two steps colder than normal; the poles are uninhabitable."  If the poles are uninhabitable, that would mean the arctic, sub-artic, and temperate regions are pushed closer to the equator of the planet.  There are no sub-tropical or tropical regions. for this world.  That doesn't mean that the poles can't be explored with the proper equipment, of course.  According to the book:

"Uninhabitable:  The conditions are simply too hot or too cold for unprotected humans to survive.  Areas that are too hot may range from 150° F to 200° F or more, while areas that are too cold rarely climb above -150° F.  The Earth does not possess truly uninhabitable terrain, but large portions of Mars could be considered uninhabitably cold."

Putting all this together, I could still set my campaign inside of the temperate region.  Although, it would be more interesting to set it in a colder region, somewhere in the sub-artic, but closer to the artic.

The Seasonal Variations of a planet is dependent on its tilt and rotation.  According to the World Builder's Guidebook:

"Earth's seasons are created by a slight axial tilt to its rotation.  From March 21st to June 21st, the north pole is actually closer to the sun than the south pole because the Earth is tilted in that direction.  As the Earth's orbit carries it around the sun, it still leans the same way; in wintertime, when the Earth is on the opposite side of the sun, the north pole is farther from the sun than the South Pole.  This increases or decreases the amount of sunlight each hemisphere receives at different times of year.  In summer, the northern hemisphere absorbs more solar energy, generating warmer weather and longer days.  In the tropics, seasonal variations are almost meaningless because the equatorial regions receive about the same amount of sunlight all year long."

This is all scientific, and your fantasy campaign does not have to abide by these rules.  The explanation is to give you an idea of how things work.

My random generator rolled up Moderate as the Seasonal Variation.  The book's description is:  "Moderate:  The seasons have a variation similar to Earth's.  The arctic circle is located at the border of the arctic and sub-arctic climate bands (about 23° from the Earth's poles)."  Since my setting is a freezing planet, that would move the artic circle quite closer to the equator.  That doesn't change where my desert setting will be located, it gives me an idea that it's located near the artic circle.  Think of it the climate as being like that of southern Greenland, northern Sweden, or the middle of Alaska; summers are cool, but the winters will be frigid.

Putting is together, so far, I have a pretty good idea about what my campaign setting is going to look like.  A community had settled in a desert region bordering the arctic circle where ruins hold fantastic wealth, magic, and hidden danger, but are used and protected by an evil religion or cult worshiping a dangerous deity.

I hope you are enjoying this little journey of mine through world building and creativity.

Next week, we'll go through forming a kingdom for this frozen desert world, complete with cultural characteristics, government forms, and kingdom size.

I hope you enjoyed the read, and until next time, thanks for reading.

World Builder's Guidebook

Credit: TSR Ltd.

Hello and welcome to my World Building blog!

 

Today, I will be discussing the accessary book for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: World Builder's Guidebook by Richard Baker and published by TSR Ltd in 1996.

 

One thing you should know about me is my love for tables and the chaotic nature of randomness.  And the World Builder's Guidebook is chock full of tables.

 

The first aspect of the book is the World Hook.  These hooks are like plot hooks, but instead of drawing the players into the adventure, these World Hooks set the tone and theme of the world you are creating.  There are different categories like climate, landforms, sites of interest, and cultures.  A direct quote from the book:

 

"Because the hook is so central to your entire design effort, you should make every effort to come up with an idea you feel enthusiastic about and follow it through.  However, if you find that a good idea is not presenting itself to you, or you just want to throw some dice and see what comes up, you can roll [...] for a bare-bones world hook.  If you don't like the result you get, feel free to roll again."

 

Using a random generator, my World Hook landed on Sites of Interest.  There are eight different sub-categories under Sites of Interest of which my generator landed on Ruins.  The description in the book for ruins is:

 

"An ancient culture left behind ruins with fantastic wealth, magic, and hidden danger.  Locating unknown ruins to plunder and piecing together the lost knowledge of the ancient race is the major challenge of the campaign."

 

Already, I'm getting visions of the overgrown ruins of the Aztecs, the sandy deserts of Egypt, or jungles of Angkor Wat.  And with a hook like this, there would be plenty of adventure for your players.

 

However, the World Builder's Guidebook does suggest:

 

"Optionally, roll two or three times and look for an interesting mix or juxtaposition of hooks of different themes."  [...] “Sometimes, hooks that seem to clash may spark an unusual idea."

 

So, for this example, I'm going to roll two more times on my random generator.  My results are Situation: Religious. and Climate or landform: Desert.  Wow, this combination is straight out of an ancient Egyptian scenario.

 

The description for Religious is:

 

"An unusual religious situation exists.  Perhaps priests venerate the elements instead of anthropomorphic deities (Athas, the world of the DARK SUN setting, is a good example of this), or there may be a faith or religion that is so powerful that it dominates a region or the entire world."

 

Since I'm a fan of HP Lovecraft, it's easy to see this religion or cult worshipping an Elder God, or an Old One.  They use the ancient ruins for their research and/or culminate resources for them to bring forth their dangerous deities.  On the other end of the spectrum, there is a religion that is trying to thwart this Elder God religion at all costs.

 

The description for Desert is:

 

"The world is unusually arid, with vast reaches of waterless waste.  Agriculture and civilization is concentrated in fertile belts near sources of water.  Water could be the measure of wealth."

 

This combination works well together.  An ancient culture left behind strange and unusual ruins in a desert world.  There are so many possibilities here, and many questions to answer.  Who was this ancient culture?  Did they have abandoned technologies?  Are the ruins full of these magics and unknown technologies?  Who are these fanatics that live and worship in the ruins?  Did they bring forth monsters to protect them within?  Was the world always a desert, or was there a cataclysm that made it that way?

 

So many possibilities!

 

Next time, we'll be discussing Planet Temperatures and Seasonal Variations

 

I hope you enjoyed the read, and until next time, thanks for reading.