What's the point of roleplaying in tabletop?It doesn't seem to serve much of a mechanical purpose.Aren't games about winning only?The character is only there to serve as a party tool for completing dungeons. They don't need a backstory or any real characterization.
it's supposed to confuse your opponents OP (the rest of the party).you build up a false persona so that you can break it at the most opportune moment, when the others don't expect it. it's like meta-metagaming.
Yes.
>>31538422
>>31538422That's a nice picture. I keep seeing this pivix fantasia stuff pop up but I dunno what it is. Is it a series?
>>31538544More like sarcasm.I bet you drink ale in character rather than the minimum required water ration, you filthy RPer.
How do you know your win condition unless you roleplay?
>>31538422Alright, fuck this topic.This is now a worldbuilding thread.I'll start.Most of this world is a desert.
>>31538422>DungeonThem there's fluff words. You mean "strategic math puzzle"
>>31538564A bunch of drawings made to create a fantasy world. Consists of weeb character art and rather impressive scenery.>>31538586The desert is littered with flawlessly carved obsidian spires
Oh the off chance this is genuine:There are different ways to win. Not all games have dungeons.What if Victory was instead measured by how well you roleplayed your character?You might say then that hit points didn't serve a mechanical purpose. Most games mix both methods.
>>31538624These spires are worshipped by several desert tribes
>>31538666Because they somehow protect the people from the furious sandstorms of the desert.
>>31538624>>31538666These spires have colorful crystals at the top. Light shined through these crystals acts as a beacon.These desert tribes often use them for navigation in addition to worship.
>>31538422>Aren't games about winning only?No. They're for entertainment. You might as well argue that the point of movies is to wait until the credits arrive, and the actual movie in the middle is just wasting your time.
>>31538725Four-winged harpy-like creatures guard these crystals.They are regarded as angels by these desert tribes.
>>31538725Some have been hollowed out into massive, multi level cities
>>31538764More fanatical tribes have seen this hollowing out as sacrilege and have tried to often destroy those who live there rather hypocritically by burning them out.
>>31538714Stories and eye-witness accounts speak if stilt-legged creatures with luminous eyes - hundreds of feet tall - at the center of the mercifully infrequent sandstorms.
>>31538422Literally worst than hitler
No one's managed to dig beneath the sand deep enough to find the base of the spires.They have, on the other hand, found the tops of other spires buried beneath the sands.
>>31538624The massive dune-worms of the deep-desert are not seen as mindless nor malevolent. They speak to a chosen few of comforting things in a soothing tone.
>>31538905>>31538881>>31538848>>31538806>>31538764>>31538759>>31538725>>31538714>>31538666>>31538624>>31538586This is oficially my favourite board now.
At the far edges of the (kinda) inhabited desert lies the waste of the three sins. There are no spires there, only a great expanse of rough greenish grey sand and gravel. The land itself appears to be cursed, and the outcasts living near it often have their health fail rapidly.A few foolhardy, greedy and desperate souls still journey into it, seeking the rare gems found within. These are prized by likewise greedy and foolhardy witch doctors, for while they can act as powerful catalysts for curses and charms of all kinds, they carry with them the curse of the land, and their mere presence is slow poison.Many never make it back out again, whether claimed by the desert itself or some vile djinn lurking there is unknown.
>>31538586There are many moons in the night sky, and every five years, one or all of them change.This year, three are various shades of blue, one is a deep crimson, and the last does not appear circular.
>>31538905Most of the time, the worms seem terribly, terribly sad.
>>31538881A prosperous spire-city was recently found undamaged but devoid of its several thousand inhabitants. Even the harpies were gone, and the crystal at the spire's top has turned matte, unreflective black.
>>31538967All worms speak cryptically about their seeming ennui; "The fires died but the heat remains"
>>31538996It is not the first to be found like this, but it is the first in several hundred years
Experience point penalties for being out of characterExperience point rewards for exceptional roleplayingThere are more ways to "win" than hitting the goblin with your sword.For other games (I'm defaulting to D&D here), such as Exalted, roleplaying is literally automatic rewards as it directly boosts your combat capacity.
>>31539032Its like this guy doesn't know this is a worldbuilding thread now...
>Not having a GM that rewards you mechanically for proper roleplayTruly my players are a blessed lot. That is, if they can stop pissing me off with their inactivity between game sessions.
>>31539027You were sent by your tribe chief to find your sister tribe, who were all lost in this mysterious event. Most in your tribe whisper that the chief sent you on a quest doomed to fail, but you have a few ideas...
>>31538759These harpies are unnaturally strong and tough.The members of a tribe found a dead harpy once.Inside the harpy was machinery.The dead harpy was promptly disposed of. The knowledge of the it's inner workings is considered a severe taboo.
>>31538945There is a religious leader called the Odarjye by the desert-tribes, who is believed to reincarnate whenever he dies. There is yet to be an Odarjye who has not died the same year one of the moons is crimson.
I know! The world is a giant mothership lost in the deep space for millenia. Its artificial gravity and atmosphere generator still functions, and after collecting space dust for ages it became home for the descendants of the original spacefaring race who degenerated into a primitive tribal society, remembering only a fraction of their people's history as myths and legends.
An old, mad hermit walks the desert alone. His eyes appear as if burnt out, his skin more like sandstone than flesh. he occasionally shows up at the dwellings of various tribes, asking of someone could help find a way for him to die.Some have tried, and died.A few shamans, among those who have made the journey deep into the whispering dunes, whisper that he walks a path which will not allow him any rest until he has seen it to the end. The eldest speak of their elders seeing him as children, so his path must be a long one indeed.
>>31539077A new Odarjye is found by a wandering festival which celebrates the previous Odarjye's life. Children born after his death are fed the flesh of dead dune-worms and the one whose eyes turn wholly black is said to be the Odarjye reborn.
>>31539103He is called the Votise, and the followers of the Odarjye consider him and his sect to be dangerous heretics.
Another species that makes its home in this desert is the iron scorpion.These scorpions have intricately designed metal for chitin. They are mostly docile but fiercely territorial. There are rumors that they act as guards of specific areas of the desert.
>>31539076The harpies often sing in beautiful, melodic voices in a language none have yet deciphered whenever a sandstorm approaches.No one knows if they are warning of the storm, or calling it to them.
>>31539103Some say that this old hermit knows ancient histories. Some of which can drive people insane.This is why I love /tg/. We can take a troll thread and derail it into something interesting.
In the desert tribe traditions, even an enemy is granted amnesty and protection so long as they offer a gift. This is called paneenj.If the gift is not delivered as promised, a blood-vendetta will result. It cannot be satisfied until the entire lineage of the offender is exterminated.
>>31538945The sun is eclipsed everyday, for an hour, at the zenith of its path across the sky. Most timekeeping systems use this to demarcate morning from evening.
>>31538422>What's the point of roleplaying in tabletop?Entertainment.>It doesn't seem to serve much of a mechanical purpose.That's up to you, your group, the game, the GM. But well no it's a RPG not a boardgame.>Aren't games about winning only?What? There's no winning in RPGs, only the experience of the story where ever it takes you (the characters).>The character is only there to serve as a party tool for completing dungeons.Oh we're talking D&D now? Yeah D&D is a boardgame in denial.>They don't need a backstory or any real characterization.You need concept, personality and story (past or present) can come from necessity.If you want a boardgame, play a boardgame (Descent, D&D). If you want to play a RPG, then roleplay.
Rarely, craters made of glass - said to be formed by falling stars - are found in the desert. Few have gone near them and survived, but those who have speak of glass men and crystal monsters.
>>31539231There is no visible object which eclipses the sun.
How do the tribes and those who live in the great skyward stones survive in a desert world in numbers that go past 1000? Where would the food come from?Looking at earths history, civilizations were able to live in deserts but were not able to build cites without fertile land nearby.
>>31539251Undergrounds farms?The people either live in the spires or find caves.Inside they grow mushrooms and lichens.
>>31538941One of the stories told about this waste is of giants made of that sand and gravel. They lumber about, ever-shifting. Fire comes out of their eyes and mouth.Nobody knows exactly how true it is, but the story makes for a good way to make children behave.
A century ago, the a cheiftain of the Hinali tribe styled himself a warlord, and conquered lands far and wide. His warriors where bloodthirsty, his rule cruel, his advance seemingly unstoppable.But when he sent an army to subjugate the tribe living by the two shattered spires, a champion emerged from their ranks, and under the blazing sun he alone killed every last Heinali warrior.Then he journeyed to the Heinali settlement, arrived at dusk, and left at dawn. The Heinali were no more, and Hulasikali Wala disappeared into the dessert. Some believe that he lives still, and a warrior society known as the Ginaz search for him to this day, wanting to learn form him. Some suggest that this is unwise, because it may succeed.
>>31539251The desert-tribes are nomadic, but for a single stop which is always on their route; Wormhome.A hollowed out mountain, with hidden springs and modest farming. At its heart, the dune-worms hold their counsel with those who visit them.
>>31539276Moisture conservation is essential to the food growers. They see to their work growing food inside the life giving spires with religious fervor. They also see themselves as separate and equal from the priests and witch doctors, though not everyone agrees as they keep their distance from most. You can not become a grower, you must be born one.
>>31539356Of this story, the dune-worms speak little; "Only the dunes move, the sand remains"
>>31539454Ashntansi the Scholar once wrote at length about the dune-worms, arguing that their cryptic wisdom did not come from any true systemized philosophy, and that any attempt to deconstruct their aphorisms was an act of submission to absurdity.Of that, the dune-worms retorted "Stinging eyes always distrust the wind."
>>31538881Most of the spire-dwellers avoid going into the very depths of the spire, yet fantastic stories are told.Stories of six-winged harpies with lights emitting from various points, impressive gems, and the most unusual of machines. There has even been a talk of a walking talking image of a person.
This is why I love you /tg/. You take shit and change it into diamonds.
spice
>>31539244Glass statues of those that have attempted to reach the craters can sometimes be found just beyond the edges of the sandstorms that surround them. They seem to be screaming in pain.
Now I want to play in the setting like this one. What would you suggest for a mix of Dune, Populous, Homeworld and Morrowind? Is Numenera any good for this kind of thing?Also, desert seting OST is starting here.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6JZhaNWA9s
>>31539750I don't see Populous fitting in here, but then again I never played it. Definitely the other three, but I'm getting kind of a unique feel from what we have here.
>>31539750I'm actually going to write up this setting for use with Dungeon World. Thinking I could even adapt some playbooks specifically for it.
>>31539687The spire Tol Taanu is notably devoid of harpies or other enigmatic feature which is common to spires in general. The crystal atop it still sparkles, but the spire itself seems empty of curio.
>>31539356Initiation into the Ginaz Brotherhood involves a grueling endurance ritual. From eclipse-to-eclipse for two days, an initiate must spar his brothers-to-be. Spars last until the brother-to-be is satisfied, and notably victory or defeat is inconsequential next to vigor and earnestness. The initiate can lose- so long as he is not defeated.
>>31539750>MorrowindIf we get to mix in some batshit crazy metaphysics, then I'm in. The real deciding factor of system, though, is what the average desert dweller does/can be expected to be able to do.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmNpwBGyiwU
>implying you all won't forget about this setting in a day
>>31539094The engines are no longer functional, yet one can still live there because of the somewhat functioning life support and the weird atmosphere of a near planet.The fires died, but the heat remains
>>31540240I won't. The ideas of this thread will be collected and forged into a setting. This I will present in the Homebrew thread following t's completion.Idividuals may forget, but /TG/ won't and, and Shit shall get done.
>>31540193From the Meditations of Ja Vor Kul>The Chronicles of Ur-Dosh tell that first was the sand. Then the first Ynar* gave breath, and the breath was the wind, and the breath moved the sand to reveal the Great Lie.>There was a Before. The sand was not first. First were the Fingers of the Ynar.>Now understood are the words of Elder Gio when he first came to Wormhome; "For I am not lost among heathens and murderers, but a watchful vigil will I make.">*Scholars note: Ynar is the Hianlu word for 'moon', but contextually refers to the spirits of the world beyond. The desert-dwellers do not have gods, in any traditional sense of the world, but believe the moons to be god-like creatures whose passage brings them close to our world. They watch us, uncaring, and occasionally meddlesome. Still, from such a harsh people living in such harsh conditions, what can you expect?
>>31540347>he desert-dwellers do not have gods, in any traditional sense of the world, but believe the moons to be god-like creatures whose passage brings them close to our world.This is pure cosmological gold if you want to accept a premise with a mothership. I instantly imagine first survivors of the ship's system failure who desperately set course for a homeworld knowing that without working engines even their grandchildren are not going to see its beauty. And after hundreds of generations the legend of the Homeworld got distorted, first survivors were remembered as great heroes or long-dead gods and the changing of the "moons" on the horizon that at first meant small steps on the way of the great return became a holy sign.Also, it's a good way to mix metaphysical and technological aspects of the world. Noone knows what exactly IS their world, but through cryptic ancient rituals passed through the generations people can live and prosper in the desert and use sacred artifacts scattered around.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGeCivJ7zCc
>>31540807I suppose, if that's how you choose to see it. I personally dislike the whole 'crashed ship' thing, but to each their own.
The world is not a sphere, but a giant cube. Some say you would fall off if you reached an edge, while others claim there to be inhabitants on all sides, each more strange and horrific than the last.
>66 posts and 7 image replies omitted. Click here to view.Why?
>>31541000Worldbuilding.
>>31541000Read the thread. It got derailed into something cool.>>31539144Some of these scorpions have become defective with time and are now used as mounts/service animals by a number of tribes.
>>31540959This is super dumb.
>>31540244This should be the tagline for the whole fucking setting."The fire dies, but the heat remains"I fucking love it.
One of the prime creatures that these tribes hunt is the Krovak.A Krovak is a cyclopean tortoise-like creature that grows cacti on the top of its shell.The shells are prized and often decorated. The meat is fairly tasteless but highly nutritious.
>>31539749The infamous Osilid Clan collects and highly prizes these statues in a labyrinthian fetish-worship.Crystal-singers of the Osilids claim to bind the souls of those entombed in the glass to their will.
What weapons would these tribes use?I imagine spears and metal blades would be common.More higher ranking tribesmen would carry around simple or beaten-up firearms scavenged from the spires.
>>31541171The Krovak are dangerous, but slow, and the act of hunting them more a labor of careful planning than artful stalking. This has given rise to the phrase 'hunted the krovak' as a metaphor for having prepared for the obvious or inevitable.>"Sola the Elder passed in the night, the scaleplague finally got to him.">"When is the funeral-feast?">"Next week. His family hunted the Krovak, and had the burial plinth already made."
Far to the south, farther than anyone has ever travelled, lies the grand and terrible Glass Wastes. Nothing lives here, and those that try find neither spires nor worms to help life prosper.No life, but there is activity. Floating across the blackened, glassy surface, lie the Custodians. Shining ovoid discs, their backs bedecked with thin spines. They breathe light at the Glass until it cracks in ways pleasing to them. Then they take the pieces that fall off, and carry them away. Why they do this, no one knows.They are not hostile creatures, but they will attack if provoked. A wounded Custodian was found, bleeding lightning as it died. Yet some who seem dead return to life days or moments later.
>>31541227The warriors of Wormhome would use the discarded scales of the dune-worms as shields and segmented armor.An elite cadre, the Warriors of the Worm, are dedicated to preserving the heart of Wormhome and those creatures who frequent it.
>>31540959I will argue that traditional tribal societies were not capable of such abstract thinking. Perceiving the world in purely geometrical terms is at most as old as an ancient greece of the polis' (polises?) period. Tribal societies should have more concrete anthropocentric thinking tied with a plethora of myths.Look at this paper describing mayan cosmology:>...In the center of the universe, the Earth is layer one of the upper world and the underworld. It is conceptualized as a large wheel surrounded by the teoatl, or divine water, which is an ocean that extends to the horizon. The second layer, called Ilhuicatl metzli, is where the moon and clouds reside. The fixed stars lie in the next layer, known as Citlalco, where the deity Citlallicue ("She of the Starry Skirts") lives. The sun, also known as Ilhuicatl Tonatiuh, occupies the fourth layer, while Venus, the "Great Star," inhabits the fifth. Layer six is called Ilhuicatl Mamalhuazocan, or "Heaven of the Fire Drill," which represents an unidentified constellation (perhaps Orion's Belt). This layer is also where comets ("Stars that Smoke") come from, and where the fire serpents attend to their duty of bringing the sun from the east to the zenith. The seventh layer is the black or green heaven, fierce with winds or storms, and the eighth layer is blue heaven, which is where dust lies. The next layer, the home of thunder, is called Itztapal Nanatzcayan, or "Where Stone Slabs Crash Together." Layers ten, eleven, and twelve represent respectively the colors white, yellow, and red. Finally, the last layer, called Omeyocan, is where the dual male-female god, who created space and time, lives.>As Michael Coe so eloquently states, "The Mesoamerican cosmos was one in constant flux, in which space and time were co-terminous, in which the heavenly bodies moved in fixed layers, and which was in constant peril of cataclysm".So, more myths, less geometry.
>Ctrl-F water>No resultsHow do you talk about a desert culture without addressing water? Near the spires tipped with bluer crystals are cenotes in the sand leading to underground rivers and caverns. Less nomadic tribes build their homesteads and cities in the water caves. Some of these underground rivers are connected to other cenote-towns and are strategic avenues of trade.
>>31541274The worms do not have names among themselves, but identify themselves through strange metaphor-titles which illuminate their general disposition.>"To whom do I speak?">"This one is The Warmth Opening A Desert Flower Beside A Beloved's Corpse">"The Rinbik Clan encroaches on our hunting grounds, and their satrap cannot be made to see reason.">"Blood has never fertilized a crop. Hunger has never saved a Krovak."
>>31541274A broken Custodian was once found outside these wastes. Inside it was complicated, esoteric machinery that causes metal to stick to it, pieces of glass, and an unusual black fluid which forms spikes when in contact with the rest of the machinery.
>>31541378So different colored crystals denote the locations of various types of land/resources.I can dig it. Makes even more sense with navigation.Blue crystals means water is near.Green crystals denote fertile land underground.Red crystals likely means large metal deposits.
>>31540347Wise men are responsible for naming new Ynar when they appear in the sky, during the celebrations every five years. The dune-worms are rarely consulted when it comes to Ynar- it is understood that their wisdom is terrestrial, and secular. Worms speak of the sand- men speak of the Ynar.
>>31541473There should be something about the moons (the Moon causes sea levels to rise and fall, if you didn't know). And we have 5 of them, it should somehow affect water level and\or worms.
>>31541500The current Ynar;Olu'Gayan, the Bloody Mother (red)>She kills one child to birth another. The Obarjye will die so the Obarjye can live.Tau Ya, the Lesser>Smallest of the three blue moons, bringing rain from the sky for the first time in thirty years near Tol Taanu.Sau Yu>Middle of the three blue moons, the sharpest and clearest of the three. He guides travelers and stands at the threshold with a waterskin for strangers.Gau Yu, the Judge>All disputes over land, title, inheritance, or marital infidelity are to be exposed to the light of Gau Yu. Under his watchful gaze are these disputes to be settled justly.Jaol Shalud, The Stranger Who Carries A Spear>Oblong and irregular, with a color that is sometimes brown and sometimes yellow. This Ynar portents strange mysteries that could be bane or boon, depending on whom the stranger points his spear at.
>>31541525We also get new moons every five years.
>>31541525Of the five moons, the lowest and largest of the two control the ebb and flow of the dunes. The lowest shifts the sand this way and that. It is said that when that moon turns golden, a dune is removed to unveil a great treasure. A number of new tribes have found their home cenote on golden moons. The second lowest is just darker, just shiner, and just a bit smaller than the lowest moon. At night, the worms use the differences between the two lights to see their prey. Every five months, there's a week where both of the lower moons are full. On those nights, the worms can see a child run at five miles.
>>31541762That's an interesting question. If we accept sci-fi backstory then the only thing that can explain change of the moons is some kind of hyperjump. Than it would be strange to have different moons and identical suns.
>>31539144>>31541036These iron scorpions do not have a stinger at the end of their tail like common scorpions. Instead, they have a crystal through which highly concentrated fire is emitted.
Do you think the spire harpies and the sandstorms have any past connections?
>>31541910>>31541828I for one am not eager to answer any questions about the singular origins of a lot of this. Is it a mothership? Don't care. Is there technology mixed in with the magic? Still don't care.Less interesting than WHY these things exist is THAT they exist and how the world and people around them react to that reality.
>>31541910If we're going with 'crashed ship' idea, the spires could be the ...control rigs, kinda, for them.That could be interesting on the perspective of tactics, as they would have a rather limitied range of actions.
The dune worms are wanderers by nature, endlessly slithering across the burning sands. They are as tall as two men and at least as long as ten, their bodies tapering to a beak-like pointed jaw at one end and a long, slender tail at the other. The beak hides in it a long, dark tongue, which the worms can use with amazing dexterity and which can ferret out a man's secrets if allowed to touch his bare skin. Above the jaw are two obsidian-black eyes, pupil-less and inscrutable, with thick scaled lids that slide over them, protecting them from the blinding sands. The bulk of their body is covered in thick scales, which are sometimes found discarded and are highly prized as armor. The coloration varies from worm to worm; usually dull earth colors, but sometimes the worms appear with bright swathes of red, green and blue scales. They have no nostrils and can bury themselves in the sand for days at a time, burrowing through the dunes towards unknown goals. It is never sure that one will see a worm on the horizon before coming upon it. It is not understood how they speak. They open their beaks and a deep voice rolls out from nowhere. Each is unique, but they are universally soothing, if tinged with melancholy. Any wandering tribe that finds a worm in a hospitable mood will shower it with gifts of precious food and water just to hear them sing.
>>31542056Wormsong is a treasured experience. The worms seem skilled at using their own bodies as percussive instruments, adding thuds and rattles, although their human audience will accompany them if they can. The worms sing richly and deeply of lost hopes, ruined worlds and relentless sand, of the sadness of life and the small moments of respite to be found in the harsh desert. They sing stories of long-lost heroes and villains, gods and mortals, even ones that humans themselves have forgotten. The memory of a worm runs deep, and it is known that a worm lives many times longer than a man. Sadly, no tribe in recollection has ever enticed a worm into traveling with them. The worms pursue their own goals beneath the sands, distant but benevolent, a constant bedrock in an ever-shifting life.
>>31539687>>31540115Each spire is known for their various eccentricities as one delves deeper inside. From reports of different tribes, no two spires have the same wonders.
>>31541910Noone knows that. But when somebody sees a harpy sing, a sandstorm will follow.
>>31542078>>31542056I adore this.
Holy shit can someone summarize this and archive? I just came on for a few minutes so I don't have time to read all of it
>>31542078>"I am lost, worm, and far from home.">"You are not lost who are loved. For I am The Egg Whose Mother Died. Rest in my shade."
Another species that makes its home in this land is the Sirvus. This is a creature that looks like a cross between a horned lizard and a hawk. They are adept predators and are hated amongst tribesmen for swooping down and stealing livestock.
Ok. Let's see what we have so far.1) The world is a giant desert, dotted with cenotes (sinkholes in the desert filled with water) and spires (giant obsidian things).1a) The spires are home to settled people, who make use of its shelter. All share some commonalities - crystals at their peak, whose color depends on the nearby resources, harpies who protect those crystals, and massive maze-like interiors which are not yet fully explored.1b) Of note is Tol Taanu, whose interior is empty of curiosity, and an unnamed other spire, which lacks harpies and whose crystal is an unusual color. And which is no longer inhabited.2) There are many nomadic tribes which share a common 'base' called Wormhome. Intelligent, enigmatic worm-creatures live there. They dispense cryptic advice and keep their own counsel.3) There are five moons. Every five years, the color and size of these moons change.3a) Among the desert-nomads, the moons are thought of as god-like spirits called Ynar. Their disposition changes with the color/shape every five years, according to tribal shaman.4) There is an ageless wanderer called the Votise among the desert-nomads, and a supposedly reincarnating religious leader called the Odarjye among the spiredwellers. Their respective followers are at odds.And a whole lotta detail that I left out. But them's the basics as far as I can see.
>>31542412That's a pretty good writeup. One thing that should be cleared up; so the nomads get some food/support from the worms, and some from the spiredwellers. But what do they trade to the spiredwellers for those supplies? I wouldn't give someone a free lunch in a desert planet. There must be something valuable in the desert that the spiredwellers need. And maybe trade between different colors of tower, having different resources, is also facilitated by the nomadic tribes. Of course, nomads could also just take what they want by force...
>>31539750
>>31542519Well, I think cenotes could be almost always pretty far from spires, and the nomads get water, plant material, fish (or something akin) from them so they can trade with the spiredwellers.
My sad melancholic album is ready, all we need is a name for our band.
>>31542519The nomads call it 'Sand's Blood', gathered from Glassfalls- the spiredwellers call them 'magic gems the nomads show up on our doorstep with'.These crystals, taken from glassy craters and mined out of hidden cenotes, often have useful powers. The learned crystalwrights of the spires have the skills necessary to awaken these gems, cut them to hone and refine their power, and generally put them to use.
The Yngar are actually asteroids that the ship tows in to harvest via drones. The sun is another ship that orbits this one.
>>31542604Come to think of it, if they're growing their crops inside those towers, they'd need artificial light, right? I don't think the sun is getting in through those walls. Maybe that's what the bulk of the crystals get used for. I'd imagine it would make the spiredwellers and the nomads very interdependent. >>31542590Hm, that's rough...Black Spires?
>>31542590I have an idea.
Hey! Look at the OP image. There's lizard mounts. What do we call them?
>>31542788Dran. Amiable creatures, touch leathery skin, docile enough for children to ride. They're pretty ubiquitous among the nomadfolk, and bred as livestock among the spiredwellers.
I think this font is shitty, but to my defence it has coolest "v" in existence. It's a shame there's no "v" in the title.
>>31542943This kind of looks like it's a Star Wars knockoff.But I'm okay with that.>>31542847Oh, I like this. Simple, easily memorized.
We need to archive this.
>>31542847Sorta like camels, maybe? High ability to retain water, cold blood allows them to go long periods without eating, and they're easy to train, all qualities that make them excellent beasts of burden for desert nomads. Only downside is that it's fucking impossible to get them moving after the sun goes down, on account of the chill on their metabolism. Maybe their natural food is some kind of moss or the like that grows in shaded areas nearby spires and cenotes. There should probably be animals that live exclusively inside spires as well.
>>31542978Kind of wanted to do something simple but stylish like this pic. Going to find sleek straight font for that.
>>31542978>This kind of looks like it's a Star Wars knockoff.>implying this whole setting isn't ripped from other sources anyway
>>31543033Spirekrill. Any spire that has water in it will likely have these - mottled black and white, about the size of your closed fist, resembling halfway between a shrimp and a lobster. Dredgers catch them by the crate, and they're generally considered a lower class of food. The rich can afford to import, the poor survive on spirekrill.
>>31543087Speaking of Poor and rich, what the currency for this setting?
>>31543147water
>>31543147Special crystals?
>>31543168>>31543182Water Crystals. Not ice, Water Crystals.No, don't ask me how they work, but Water Crystals.
>>31543168>>31543182Barter system with the crystals being the equivalent of coins?
>>31543168>>31543182Might depend on who you're trading with. Spiredwellers might not need water as much, but they do need crystals. Actually, I feel like the spiredwellers are the haves of this setting, so they'll probably set the rules on how markets and such work. Although they probably won't all have the same system.
>>31543182The crystals can be used to operate wondrous devices from a forgotten age.
>>31543147At Wormhome, any civilized cenote, and the spires its probably 'dramchits'. Quite literally they are chits, each of which entitles you to a dram of the community water.Among the nomads, shit is pretty much barter only. You own what you can carry and protect- any kind of currency is just another Thing to get you The Thing You Need.
Each spire has a unique Guardian at its core. The actions of the Guardian resonate throughout the rest of the spire, causing changes and events.Twice a year, Spiredwellers make tributes to both the Guardian and the spire harpies.
>>31543379That's super vague.
>>31543205Water Crystals are formed by blue-crystaled spires from the local water source. Water Crystals -unlike ice- aren't cold and look similar to quartz. When the crystal is vibrated -like touching the inside of a bell when struck-, the crystal dissolves into an equal weight of cool water. Each settlement and caravan has their own bell-bowls and hammers for just these occasions. Someone more talented than I should probably come up with a better name than 'bell-bowl'.
>>31538566Of course I drink booze.It reduces the fatigued condition by a level.
So, no one wants to suggest a new title?
>>31543563We are seriously beyond the original bait that was this thread. Worldbuilding now, guy, worldbuilding.
There needs to be some more flora and fauna.Krik - A lizard as big as a housecat. It has a rough, rocky looking outer texture and is very agile. Subspecies of these lizards have wonderous colored coats and have been known to breathe fire.Thrornbren-A species of cactus that is almost perfectly spherical. It is a carnivorous plant that uses thrones vines to ensnare its prey and feed it to the main sphere. The larger part of the plant is buried beneath the sand, where digestion takes place.
>>31543592Not really sure what you're doing. You're making a fake band album for an OST associated with this new setting? Or something?
>>31543592Spireworld?Mundus Pyris?
Spiresands?
>>31543617Just dickin' around with the image. Maybe doing some kind of cover for the book. ("Band name" was an irony, of course)
>inb4 someone tries to date one of the spire harpies.
Thread is archived.
>>31543596I've been participating in the world building going on here, but the OP is still right.RP heavy systems are just pretend time.
>>31543803The harpies are mechanical. I doubt the feelings toward them will be returned.Still would be cute to see some young spire dweller keep trying to date one.
>>31544144I didn't think they'd look very fuckable either.
>>31544090And that's a bad thing?>>31543613Kilirak- Large insectoid species that form hives below the sand.
>>31544215>And that's a bad thing?Yeah. RP elements matter to tie everything together, but crunchy mechanics are where it's at for me.I'm not a kid anymore, I can't really justify having pretend time unless there are nice mechanics under the hood.
>>31543803>>31544144>mechanical harpy>dateableThat would be the least of my concerns.
>>31543592Spires and Dust
Tabletop games are just a set of formalized rules and a setting for what is the most traditional game of all: Group storytelling.Sitting around a campfire telling fantasy stories that didn't actually happen, but are more vivid and interesting than real-world concerns, might be the oldest form of human creativity known to man. It is THE original, traditional game.What is wrong with "pretend time"? What's wrong with using one's imagination? Why is this something only children are allowed to do? Is a roleplaying game - where you PLAY a ROLE, inherently "pretend" - more childish than a video game, or a book, or a movie? Is there any objective reason why this should only be associated with children?
>>31543592Sandrunner
>>31544845It's the game part of rpg, you see, people get confused and focus on the wrong thing.
>>31542412So what about the mothership on its long way home part some anons talked about? I like that very much.
>>31544946I get the feel that it's an alternate view of the setting.It's up to the individual to decide on that part.
>>31543524>>31543287Perhaps dramchips are a low level currency, while water crystals are a higher value tender. (dramchips being the equivalent of silver pieces, water crystals being the equivalent of platinum coins.)
>>31545353*dramchits
>>31545353Maybe there is a variety of different types of currency like in Talislanta.
>>31545353Dramchits only have value in a city where you can trade them in for the water- whereas water crystals would have value anywhere.So dramchits are a currency, while water crystals are a universally recognized commodity with a standard value.Go to a spire and you can use dramchits for pretty much anything, and water crystals have an equivalent in dramchits. Go out with the nomads and they give zero fucks about dramchits, but will gladly trade for water crystals 'cause its still water.
>>31538624>>31538666>>31538714>>31538725What if those spires are actually towers. Towers built by aliens. That hold treasure and discovery in them. But the entrance into them are at the bottom. Everyone knows this, but who's foolhardy enough to dig sand in the middle of the desert?
This was a good thread. We should do this sort of thing more often.
My friends.Thank you for reminding me why I love this board so much.
So, what's this setting called, then?
>>31538564i'd tell you the fluff behind it buthttp://dic.pixiv.net/a/pixiv%E3%83%95%E3%82%A1%E3%83%B3%E3%82%BF%E3%82%B8%E3%82%A2%E2%85%A1it's all in moonrunes!
>>31540342>/tg/>ever getting shit done
>>31546496At least there's a cool setting to use in other games now.
>31538422>What's the point of roleplaying in tabletop?a tank in battlefield 1942 cant fly, because the tank doenst have jets and stuffthis is a rule of the game, something you cant do because the game said so.one of the rules of rpg is to not do what the character wouldnt do, so, you are suposed to try to win, limited by this (and others) rules.Not roleplaying is the equivalent of using using some hack program, if you dm doenst discover, if he discover and doenst care, its the equivalent of using a cheat code or playing a mod
>>31547579This thing strikes me as perfect for Numenara.
>>31540240Good thing we have archives
>>31543524The crystals are quite dense."Blue" spires have a room near the bottom where water crystals materialise at a steady pace. Local rulers tend to set up their palaces (for lack of a better word) in and around them.Most spires traditionally melt them down in a daily ceremony, to be given away or sold to the populace. Details vary from spire to spire.Some spires have auxiliary currencies, but usually they're no good outside of that spire.>>31546117The Fires Died, obviously.
Spires are tall. Hundreds of metres from the ground, usually. Their width varies from something you can put your arms around to wide enough for a sprawling market to occupy a single "level". The depth and height are not consistent enough to draw any conclusions about their total size.Spires are usually round, but deviations to various kinds of oval are not uncommon. The shape always remains unchanged along all of the spire's visible height. More complex shapes are rare, but there is a settlement in an 8-point-star-shaped one.They seem to have a level where they're the softest, and get denser and denser the further up or down from it you go; becoming too tall to carve ten men's height away from that level.There are spires that barely show above the ground. These don't have a crystal on top or harpies.No-one has ever been high enough to see the top of a crystal-bearing spire up close.
>>31538564Basically a bunch of pixiv drawfags have a contest on art.There's multiple factions in a fantasy war and artists draw battles on stuff for each side.Supposedly the plot is driven by how well the artists do with their works, so there are winners and losers of the wars.There's like 8 different plots like this on Pixiv.Some of it would make awesome campaigns.
Rolled 76>>31539067Are you a bad enough dude to save the rest of the obsidian pylon cities?
>>31538759
There was once a city so prosperous and so enlightened they could build the most wondrous devices out of sand's blood.They made staves that shot fire like a scorpion's tail.They made transparent shields that weighed nothing.They made doors that opened by themselves.They made lenses you could look into and see the grains of sand that make the tiniest grains of sand.They made carts that moved by themselves, and so fast that dran they passed by fell asleep on the hottest of days.They had no wars, because they chased off everyone who tried to claim what's theirs.They did not need anything they did not already have.They wanted to touch their spire's crystal.They made tools and started cutting.They cut their spire for days.They cut their spire for months.They cut their spire for a year.They moved all their homes outside.They finished cutting just as the moons changed.
The spires are unnaturally strong. To even cause a crack in the spire requires a tremendous amount of force. Chips of a spire are considered the marks of someone truly powerful.
>>31541407This fluid is highly prized and often imbued in rituals in the spires.It is considered very rare because very few people are foolish enough to venture into the Glass Wastes let alone kill a custodian.
>>31552746Their spire started falling.Its crystal was carried away by harpies.Their songs went on for days.The storm that came was made of glass.It raged on until none were left alive.It chased those that tried to flee.Dunes reclaimed the spire.Iamen died, and nothing remains.
Welcome to every D&D caster discussion ever.
>>31552938Every D&D caster discussion turns to worldbuilding? Well, they ARE casters after all.
The tribes also have their own version of Goda big fat super Monolith Golem[think in the antro version of the Monolith] and the pillars are basically his scattered bodyparts after the fuck huge disaster that turned the planet in a desertAnd also,there are golem tribes called Sentinels of the world,nobody fights them and they dont fight unless they must interfer to stop a big fight that would awake either the Big daddy monolith or unleash another disaster. Most of the time they are either wandering around the world seeking a tribe or something to protect since they are kaboom on the head and dont remember their duty or they are statues that wont move until see above[This will sound like magical relam but the Harpies are basically like birds that stay on a statues just to "mark their territory" and make their nests in some golems in case they are exilied harpies or homeless harpies whose crystal stopped shinning]
>>31552448no>>>/a/
>>31539157it's half of bothHarpies foresee future threats that could destroy the beacons and cause a sandstorm but at the same time,advert that a sandstorm is coming with that song, the sandstorm will bury that threatNow,when it's about a natural sandstorm,they will sing the normal song
>>31544427A nomad once saw a harpy, and then said, "Bugger me, I'm gonna ride me one of them!"Since that time, many have tried to entreat and entice harpies to their desires.It is said (though little evidence shown) that some have succeeded.
>>31554399CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG
>>31552746>>31552933This. Is. Glorious.From "The Histories of Plou'tu Ark"We need more stuff like this.
>>31553092We already established that the closest thing the tribes had to gods were the Ynar, which were considered powerful entities which meddled in mortal affairs but not gods. You don't worship the Ynar, you simply acknowledge their existence the same way you acknowledge that sandstorms and sinkholes exist.
There is a martial art called Vari'ya which aims to recreate the lethality of the sandstorm.Those who practice that art, arm themselves with scale shaped metal piece, worn on the backside of the hands.Vari'ya is only an imitation though. Imitation of the skill used by the mysterious beaked men, who are said to sing harpy songs as they roam the night desert
There was once a tribe who sworn to kill all sandworms. They just vanished after this futile attempt. Some say they was carried away by harpies.When sandworms asked about this tribe, they just leave, saying nothing.
>>31557322"The Histories of Plou'tuArk"chapter. [unreadable]"Plou'tu Ark"Viewer of the night-skyOrator of the starsTouched by the knowledgeImmortalSacredEnlightenedA man looking for the meaning of love.An old, foretold journey, waiting for the travelerHarpies showed Him the wayWorms told Him the truthAnd HeNever found the loveIt's the love that found HimThey gave Him everythingThey gave Him too muchAnd nowThe fires died but the heat remainsIs this cryptic and vague enough? I tried to connect It to this >>31539124
Really did not come into this thread expecting to save it... Love you /tg/.
Currently putting together a document detailing this settling. I'm cherry-picking a little, but fuck you if you want to write your own write your own.
>>31558194Forgot the link 'cause I'm a feckless faggot.https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rYV9AJ-Zxlxnc91dP_ZDm7TJA21pfenUuvrmH2Fh2k0/edit
>>31557982I love this. 'the fires died but the heat remains' is a saying that everyone knows. It came from the dune-worms originally, but is applied as a universal aphorism.
There is, in a remote part of the desert, a space with no spires for miles. In the center stand 3 spires near to each other with bridges joining them at levels high above the sands. The insides are carved into great cities, but all are abandoned. Those few who have entered are unable to go above or below the first few levels, and describe great humming crystal walls which block the corridors. The crystals are translucent and vague shapes can be seen moving beyond them. Most avoid the place, called Uk'Ulesi, for it is said that long ago the dwellers there were a great tribe, but they angered the Ynar and were cursed to an eternal doom. When asked about Uk'Ulesi the dune-worms reply, "Thought is as water, but memory is sand."
>>31538422do you play wow by chance?
This started off decent but went to pretty downhill.Oh well.
>The fires died but the heat remains.This cryptic message said by sandworms, sometimes interpreted with not sadness and loss, but with hope. Its two-side coin, life and death.On one side, it means hope. Its part of many shamans healing spells, said on ancient tongue. Some use this as equivalent of "goodbye", hoping to meet again.>We has been defeated, yet still alive. We can get through everything.On other side it means despair. It also . Many spiredwellers and some nomads use it on funerals. This also saying about "burned-out" man, who lost will to life.>We has been defeated, yet still alive. We now linger our death...
>>31558277>Worldbuilding>DownhillYou are no fa/tg/uy. Begone.
In the leeward valleys of some dunes lives a creature called an Oluum. It is a feared predator, yet highly valued by the tribes none the less. It burrows just beneath the sands, with only a small tendril poking out above. This tendril secretes a viscous fluid which is sweeter than wine, and a single mouthful can quench a mans thirst for days. A clever and stealthy man can milk an Oluum without drawing it's wrath; but step too quickly or too hard and the beast surges from its hiding, trapping you in its great jaws and pulling you down to mummify beneath the sands, as it drains all moisture from your body.No one has ever found a young Oluum, or captured one alive. Those that are killed quickly crumble to shards like broken clay, their milk evaporating in minutes of their death.
>>31538422Tabletop RPGs are more of an 'experience' than a game, because it uses the most powerful processor known to man..the human mind.
>>31558210Need permission to access.
>>31558627Fixed.
>>31558722Cheers.
>>31549671Is Numenera any good? It strikes me as really simple, but I'm still not entirely sold on it just yet.
>>31553035When you're that overpowered, what else is there left to do?
How large is this desert?What lies beyond its ends?
>>31559059>How large is this desert?no one knows.>What lies beyond its ends?We've established a gray wasteland of poisoning doom beyond one edge. >>31538941Feel free to establish other edges. So long as they fit the feel of the setting (no lizardman jungles or dwarf fortresses or such) you'll get little argument from us.
>>31559166And I'm not sure if it's been accepted as canon, but >>31539094 seems pretty awesome to me, and may give some ideas.
>>31559206Canon for one isn't canon for another. My Googledoc will leave out stuff other people like. To each their own, in this kind of thing.
>>31559206There doesn't have to be one absolute cannon."Actually a spaceship" can be a possibility for the true nature, but doesn't have to be the only one - so long as nothing is written to rule out one setting or another.
>>31559206I like that as a sort of a starting point and tool for the worldbuilding. Individual threads can connect back to it and make sense with it, but it's not to be revealed to players, or possibly not even mentioned at all once we're done.Let's talk about the general technology and materials available in the world.What do people use for weapons and armour?How rare is wood? How do people keep warm at night?Where does their cloth come from? What do they wear?What about metals?
>>31560147I imagine that people could probably make weaponry of bronze or crystal.
>>31560662The mysterious sand's blood crystal, that is.
>>31560147Metal is scarce, but it can be mined from the tainted, gravelly areas of the planet. Doing so is prohibitively dangerous because of the myriad threats that inhabit the rocky wastes. Furthermore, the metal mined there retains some of the land's taint.Wood is similarly scarce, the main source being mangrove-like trees whose roots reach deep below the surface into underground aquifers. The trees grow around desert oases, and appear in larger numbers in scorched, dusty scrublands.Because of the general scarcity of these materials, it is just as likely for humanoid constructs to be made from animal bone and hide as it is for them to be made from metal or wood. Their scarcity and usefulness makes them a useful commodity for trade and barter.
Oh wow, this thread is still up?Good job /tg/. You are the best board.There are strange areas in the desert that when you enter, it feels like a labyrinth.Whatever enters these areas seems to disappear from the physical world.Very few people have ever exited these zones. When the do, they are imparted with either great wisdom or great madness. They also speak of some great power or item in the center, but have never been able to describe it.
>>31559206>>31559259>>31559266That's the best thing about collective worldbuilding. You can create multiple canons and choose one to your liking.
>>31560910A peculiar dull green ore can be found in these "cursed" rocky areas. When refined, the mineral becomes a silvery pale-green metal with strange qualities. Objects containing the metal are incredibly magnetic, and remain cool to the touch even in the blazing heat of the sun. Certain people become violently ill or disoriented when around this material, and the dune worms decline to speak with anyone carrying even a shard of this metal and refuse to say anything when questioned about it.The more fanatical sects and tribes renounce this metal as wholly evil and zealously persecute those people and tribes who make use of it.
>>31561832When the sandworms are asked why they don't speak to anyone who has touched the metal, they respond,Nigga i ain't playin around wit no whack ass Fukushima chrome.
>>31538422You are not even trying.
>>31561971Doesn't sound cryptic enough.How about this.The woes of life lie in the green-moon's hidden glow.
>>31562308>Doesn't sound cryptic enough
>>31562308"The sandrat nests in the eaves of the dune, and mourns the mate it gorged on."
>>31562377I totally read mourns as mounts, and was wondering what kind of fucked up worm said that. Then I realized that I was the fucked up worm. Anyway bumping for life till I get home.
A somewhat common form of travel is by crudely made hot air balloons made from thick cloth that can float from one spire to another, without having to climb down and travel across sand. Some wealthier denizens have rarely ever traversed the sand. These balloons do not have the structural capacity to go for far distances though.
Wow, this thread is still alive, I'm impressed. Bumping it because I'm really interested in what else you can come up with.
>>31539251The sources of fresh water are few and jealously guarded.The spires, with their bases unimaginable deep under the sands, are said to bring up trickle of fresh water from the depths.A handful of oasis dot the deserts, their location is worth more than a king's ransom.To the distant south lies a great sea of deadly brine. Monk-like alchemists extracts salts, both consumable and deadly which they trade with northerners. Travelers tell that conical mounds of skull-like stones which weep drinkable water at dawn dot the dunes and towns near the brine sea.
>>31553101lol
>This thread
>>31571814God damn I love /tg/
>>31571837Bump in the night."the light of the fires may only be seen at night "
"Dear KatI can't remember the way home. I look at the towers, I look at the stars and I look at the map but I just can't remember a thing. I'm scared, Kat. With each step I have more and more trouble with recalling anything about my past. I write to you, alone in the night and weep that I will never see your beauty and kindness again.I'm sorry, Kat. It seems that right now, I forgot even about you. But even If you're just a name on the top of the page, I warn you. They are not looking for a messiah. He is no leader. I have seen the nightsky and I have touched the infinite knowledge. But I refuse to speak for Them. All they want is a Navigator, a compass If you will. My skin gets harder. It's difficult to write.I WILL NO TBOW"Where and how was this note found? Who was that man? Go nuts, I guess
The concept of river is almost entirely foreign. It's not that no-one can envisage water flowing from one place to another, endlessly. It's that it is seen as impossible, a fairy tale about the lands beyond The Waste of Three Sins. One that no grown man or woman would honestly believe.Storing water - pure water, not in crystal form - is taboo. You can keep some, enough to keep you alive, but having too much water, or even letting it evaporate or go bad in any way is enough to get one beaten, heavily fined, or in harsher laws exiled or executed.
Let's do a little clean-up! I spot two issues we have to sort out.>>31538941 and >>31561832 seem redundant. Are they related? Do we have two radioactive entities?Some posts treat spires as having constructions inside, not carved out by people. Others treat them as monolithic, with everything or nearly everything carved out by the spire dwellers. Which is it?I'm guessing a compromise, with spires almost monolithic. Some have caverns or rooms, but they are enclosed and cannot be accessed, or even found, without mining to them.Also, go ahead and modify >>31552746 as you see fit. I'm especially not content with the whole "they had cool stuff" segment. Give Iamen some cool technological marvels that may or may not have ever existed.
>>31577987>Are they related? Do we have two radioactive entities?The desert from the first one contains a lot of the ore in the second post, the gems are the same mineral, but gemstone grade. There.
>>31578051This is kinda what I had just assumed. >>31577987I think you're right about the nature of the spires here. Certain types of spire have specific types of chambers (the blue crystal spires having water crystal caves for example) but all habitation in them has to have been carved out by people. Though there are many in the desert with abandoned settlements inside.
Bamp
>>31577987The second post is expanding or tweaking the first one to explain where people find metal in this world. They are referring to the same area for sure, but the metal seems to have actual practical uses that the gemstones don't. They may be the same material depending on the worldbuilder's choice.In the end, cleaning up doesn't matter because as others have mentioned, there is no real "cannon" here, it's more of a brainstorming session.
