I have an old-school D&D campaign planned out. 1st-level, rural town. Like a reverse scooby-doo - small trivial problems like lost livestock resolve to hint at deeper mystical evil. As they level up they’ll find dark cults and demonic influences. The peaceful rustic countryside is far from what it seems.
But the players never get it together enough to set up a good date. The last campaign was fun, and they all said they wanted more. So I just keep writing more NPCs and extending the setting.
That seems to be the way it goes DMing. Spend many hours planning things and then everyone cancels repeatedly because they just…made other plans on the day we usually play. Plan a sequence around a character and then the relevant player doesn’t turn up that session. We’ve been in the first act of our campaign for 7 months. Played 10 sessions.
An archaeologist discovers a talisman and gives it as a gift to his disabled son, who discovers it has the power to magically swap someone’s medical condition for a corresponding superpower if it’s touched in a certain spot, temporarily but infinitely renewably. For example, touching it might cause an asthmatic to gain the power of flight, someone with epilepsy the power to talk to animals, etc. He brings it to his special ed class at school and they all become super heroes and the talisman is the centerpiece of a saga filled with heroes imbued with acceptance while also being wishful in its story and addressing things other hero sagas don’t.
Politicians start listening to scientists about climate change. They implement policies to reduce emissions. Humanity saves itself from itself.
Earth of the semi-near future.
Humans have invented the matter-energy converter powered by a small fusion reactor, but it is solely controlled by the rich.
A global uprising ensues.
Brings about a true golden age of man where poverty, hunger, and want cease to exist.
Nice try, Hollywood
Dystopian sci-fi set in the near future. Every major political decision is made with the assistance of AI because most people believe that its the best way to make difficult decisions. Each country has developed its own AI.
The AI gives 3 possible solutions to whatever question its asked/problem its trying to solve but the final decision is left up to that country’s leader.
The AI is not sentient. Its not evil in the traditional sense. It has no goals. No agenda. It doesn’t hate humans or anything like that. It just gives three possible solutions to difficult questions.
However, one of the three solutions always involves some kind of death or morally questionable implementation. Maybe a genocide will solve immigration. Or maybe mass suicide is the ethical choice when faced with climate disaster.
Whatever the scenario, it just so happens that the AI phrases its most horrific solution in a way that convinces the worlds leaders to pick it, 9 times out of ten.
It’ll be subtle. The average reader won’t be aware that the world is run by killer robots but that’s essentially what happens because that’s what AI does. It doesn’t give you an answer to your question, it gives you what it thinks an answer should sound like. Its just really good at convincing us that its answer is correct.
I think there’s a lot of interesting things to explore in this universe but who the fuck got the time for all that?? Not me.
I’ve been really enjoying worldbuilding for my Pathfinder 2e game. I am not a fan of the default setting, so I’ve crafted my own which is based on North America in the 1800s. Very steampunk-y and fantasy. My players have been loving it so far.
Dear lord I have a wiki for info and even that has only a fragment of a fragment
Right now, I’m looking at overhauling an entire important system in it and garfucklenuts I have been working on this for 20+ years
The dishonored universe is constantly residing in my head. One story I think would be interesting is where Corvo uses the cut power (Void House) that allows him to take a respite from battle. It could be set in a canon level or a random encounter that leaves him pretty shaken up, so he needs to recover. If you want to see what I’m talking about, here’s a link.
The setting: Traditional fantasy world broken by the introduction of industrially applied magic and mass-produced AR-15 staffs with energy clips in just a decade. The crown of the dead and corrupt empire is fought over by a death cult and pushed off elites of the monarchist past.
The story: We follow a character who uncovers such technological wonders from the remains of the extinct race, only to help said elites in whose camp he happened to being born into, them then coming into power. Then, they showed themselves not better than the cult, causing MC to leave them and then use his exceeding knowledge to terror them into their own vision of being okay by nuclear bombing cities into oblivion from a bird-like plane, to correct their mistake and build the future they want to see.
The main story: The people who grew way before or in the time of such turmoil who just wanted to be and didn’t subcribe to being annihilated.
I’ve been working for 3ish years on a very large setting called Thelemia, which is entirely inspired by the 78 card tarot deck. The major arcana are the inspiration for the gods, the minor arcana inspires four very different nations (it has a bit of an Avatar feel because of that). The center of the map is an ancient fog full of unknown horrors.
You mean, self created or from an existing story/IP?
My world, Radia, which centers around aura manipulation and those skilled enough to turn said aura into magical weapons and spells!
I don’t think I understand the question. Language barrier, probably.
