04-29-2009, 05:01 PM
I've seen a project like this before, and for a while there was gigantic interest, then all of a sudden it vanished without a trace. (I think the one who started it left, or something?) Either way, timmyd123 (Valen) and I have decided to start a little project of our own, to kill time during server 'low-times'. (being European, the times when we're best awake there's few people online, so might as well use that time productively on something else.) Most RPers enjoy coming up with stories, and lore in particular, and we decided we want to build a Neverwinter Nights 2 module and build it heavily with lore. And then we figured, the other project had such a gigantic enthusiasm going on with tons of people replying their ideas, giving ideas for gods and races and the like, why not open up a topic in the off-topic here where people can chip in ideas? Build an interesting setting with the community, so to speak.
The Setting:
We want to really focus on building the lore of one place, rather than trying to go for a project ala 'build the entire world, then an astral plane, a dream plane and .....', so our story takes place in a large town called Aelden. What originally started as a small settler village by Elves and Humans quickly grew out to become a large centre of trade thanks to its position. Over time it grew larger, attracting people of all walks of life.
Yet recently disaster struck as a strange plague started spreading across the lands. At first Aelden served as a sanctum, but the town quickly grew full. As the plague reports got closer and closer, martial law was declared and the city gates were shut, the docks cleared and every contact with the outside world cut. The story begins for players as arriving in the city just before the lockdown and getting stuck.
The town:
A quick map I did in paint of roughly how the town is made up.
Dock District: What was once a bustling area of trade has now degenerated into drunken sailors walking the street. With martial law in place, only the fishing ships are still allowed to leave dock under strict guidelines, and no other ship may come or go, leaving many sailors stranded. Open drunkenship and unrest have started setting in as sailors want to return to the open ocean, but are disallowed from leaving.
Market District: Still relatively undisturbed, trade still continues from what the town itself can produce. This is where most inns and shops are located. The gate in the south has been shut closed however, and the muffled cries of peasants begging to be let in can vaguely be heard above the guards screaming orders.
Commons: The living quarters of the masses, this is where the majority of the humans live. Those living here live in relative luxury, compared to those who have to do with the slums. Most peasants are still fairly calm, believing the whole 'plague thing' will pass soon enough, something droned into their minds by the king's guard.
Slums: As the city grew larger, settlers came. Dwarves, Gnomes and Halflings arrived, commonly seen as degenerates that are good for little more than labour. To prevent unrest, the slums were built, a rackety bunch of homes in a lower section of the city, separated from the rest of the city by walls. With the sheer amount of peasants seeking refuge inside the city, the slums are overflowing. A hive for criminals and bad hygiene, the place would have already been at unrest, but the lack of clean water made it even worse. Fearing that the river would carry in the plague, officials have dammed the only source of clean water leading to the slums.
The recent arrival of Orcs into the city's slums has only made things even more unruly down there.
Heavy Industry District: The mine and the forges are located here. Dwarven blacksmiths and miners work day in, day out to craft armour and weaponry, while Gnomes attempt to create concoctions that'll combat the plague. The air is thick with smoke and most avoid going there.
Noble District: Home to the King's castle, as well as the holy and the nobles, this place is a far step up from the commons. It's home to the elite, where posh traders discuss petty issues and priests preach about their religion.
Arcanum District: Also known as the 'Elven District' or the 'Park District', this place has been grown, rather than built. A waterfall feeds water to the section, which is then taken to the commons and noble district through underground masterpieces of engineering. Homes here are built into trees or placed around the park, and it feels incredibly natural. In the mighty wizard tower, haughty elves practise their magic here.
Races:
Races will be first and foremost the basic races provided in Neverwinter Nights 2, but provided with actual lore different from the default settings. Some still need to be fleshed out, so feel free to give your ideas!
Dwarf (Shield, Gold, Gray)
Miners and blacksmiths. Discriminated against, live in the slums. Might have to reconsider the various subraces so they all have proper lore.
Elf (Sun, Moon, Dark, Wood)
Might drop dark, depending on if we can get lore going. Elves were the original settlers, together with the humans. They are considered on-par with humans in the town, and mostly reside in the arcanum district. They are well known for their spell craft.
Gnome (Rock, Deep)
???. Good at alchemy, discriminated against and live in the slums. Not sure what to do with their subraces.
Halfling (Strongheart, Lightfoot)
Considered rather useless by the masses, discriminated against and live in the slums. Every crime in a mile radius is generally pinned on them.
Half-Elf
Just as respected as ordinary humans and elves.
Half-Orc
Are actual orcs in our setting. They were the original inhabitants of the lands, living in nomadic tribes. Aelden is built on one of their holy sites, which put them into constant conflict with the town. Raids against it had no real success. As the plague grew closer, panicking tribes laid down their arms and accepted surrender under near slave-like conditions, after their seers predicted the death of them all if they couldn't get into Aelden for safety.
Heavily discriminated against for their past war, generally don't like elves and humans either. Live in the slums.
Human
Original settlers with the elves. Not much to say here.
So now what?
You know a bit about our general idea for the setting now. Unrest, disorder, the town's still doing pretty darn well compared to the ones hit by the plague, but slowly the place is turning more grim. Yet as you can see, we have gigantic gaping gaps in our lore.
What kind of religion to the humans and elves have? Where did the halflings come from? What's with them beardy dwarves?
We'll be using this topic to both keep people up to date as to what we've actually made (yay, screenshots of our sub-par level design.) as well as looking for input. So just grab a race and flesh it out! Do you want to design the religion of dwarves? Want to describe the halflings in more detail? Just make some suggestions and we'll work out something nice together as a community!
Note: Try to keep WoWism low. xD This is a new setting, not Azeroth after all. No Gnome tinkers or Holy Light!
The Setting:
We want to really focus on building the lore of one place, rather than trying to go for a project ala 'build the entire world, then an astral plane, a dream plane and .....', so our story takes place in a large town called Aelden. What originally started as a small settler village by Elves and Humans quickly grew out to become a large centre of trade thanks to its position. Over time it grew larger, attracting people of all walks of life.
Yet recently disaster struck as a strange plague started spreading across the lands. At first Aelden served as a sanctum, but the town quickly grew full. As the plague reports got closer and closer, martial law was declared and the city gates were shut, the docks cleared and every contact with the outside world cut. The story begins for players as arriving in the city just before the lockdown and getting stuck.
The town:
![[Image: map.png]](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v371/Theik/map.png)
Dock District: What was once a bustling area of trade has now degenerated into drunken sailors walking the street. With martial law in place, only the fishing ships are still allowed to leave dock under strict guidelines, and no other ship may come or go, leaving many sailors stranded. Open drunkenship and unrest have started setting in as sailors want to return to the open ocean, but are disallowed from leaving.
Market District: Still relatively undisturbed, trade still continues from what the town itself can produce. This is where most inns and shops are located. The gate in the south has been shut closed however, and the muffled cries of peasants begging to be let in can vaguely be heard above the guards screaming orders.
Commons: The living quarters of the masses, this is where the majority of the humans live. Those living here live in relative luxury, compared to those who have to do with the slums. Most peasants are still fairly calm, believing the whole 'plague thing' will pass soon enough, something droned into their minds by the king's guard.
Slums: As the city grew larger, settlers came. Dwarves, Gnomes and Halflings arrived, commonly seen as degenerates that are good for little more than labour. To prevent unrest, the slums were built, a rackety bunch of homes in a lower section of the city, separated from the rest of the city by walls. With the sheer amount of peasants seeking refuge inside the city, the slums are overflowing. A hive for criminals and bad hygiene, the place would have already been at unrest, but the lack of clean water made it even worse. Fearing that the river would carry in the plague, officials have dammed the only source of clean water leading to the slums.
The recent arrival of Orcs into the city's slums has only made things even more unruly down there.
Heavy Industry District: The mine and the forges are located here. Dwarven blacksmiths and miners work day in, day out to craft armour and weaponry, while Gnomes attempt to create concoctions that'll combat the plague. The air is thick with smoke and most avoid going there.
Noble District: Home to the King's castle, as well as the holy and the nobles, this place is a far step up from the commons. It's home to the elite, where posh traders discuss petty issues and priests preach about their religion.
Arcanum District: Also known as the 'Elven District' or the 'Park District', this place has been grown, rather than built. A waterfall feeds water to the section, which is then taken to the commons and noble district through underground masterpieces of engineering. Homes here are built into trees or placed around the park, and it feels incredibly natural. In the mighty wizard tower, haughty elves practise their magic here.
Races:
Races will be first and foremost the basic races provided in Neverwinter Nights 2, but provided with actual lore different from the default settings. Some still need to be fleshed out, so feel free to give your ideas!
Dwarf (Shield, Gold, Gray)
Miners and blacksmiths. Discriminated against, live in the slums. Might have to reconsider the various subraces so they all have proper lore.
Elf (Sun, Moon, Dark, Wood)
Might drop dark, depending on if we can get lore going. Elves were the original settlers, together with the humans. They are considered on-par with humans in the town, and mostly reside in the arcanum district. They are well known for their spell craft.
Gnome (Rock, Deep)
???. Good at alchemy, discriminated against and live in the slums. Not sure what to do with their subraces.
Halfling (Strongheart, Lightfoot)
Considered rather useless by the masses, discriminated against and live in the slums. Every crime in a mile radius is generally pinned on them.
Half-Elf
Just as respected as ordinary humans and elves.
Half-Orc
Are actual orcs in our setting. They were the original inhabitants of the lands, living in nomadic tribes. Aelden is built on one of their holy sites, which put them into constant conflict with the town. Raids against it had no real success. As the plague grew closer, panicking tribes laid down their arms and accepted surrender under near slave-like conditions, after their seers predicted the death of them all if they couldn't get into Aelden for safety.
Heavily discriminated against for their past war, generally don't like elves and humans either. Live in the slums.
Human
Original settlers with the elves. Not much to say here.
So now what?
You know a bit about our general idea for the setting now. Unrest, disorder, the town's still doing pretty darn well compared to the ones hit by the plague, but slowly the place is turning more grim. Yet as you can see, we have gigantic gaping gaps in our lore.
What kind of religion to the humans and elves have? Where did the halflings come from? What's with them beardy dwarves?
We'll be using this topic to both keep people up to date as to what we've actually made (yay, screenshots of our sub-par level design.) as well as looking for input. So just grab a race and flesh it out! Do you want to design the religion of dwarves? Want to describe the halflings in more detail? Just make some suggestions and we'll work out something nice together as a community!
Note: Try to keep WoWism low. xD This is a new setting, not Azeroth after all. No Gnome tinkers or Holy Light!