APERTA MUNDI
What is this?
This is my silly idea for a D&D campaign, in which there is no campaign. My plan is to create a world in which the players can explore freely. There will still be stories, and quests, and the like, but none will be "the" story of the campaign. Kind of like Morrowind's early game, but with fewer dark elves.
This thread is for any kind of OOC discussion, banter, or questions. I will put up the IC thread once characters are completed.
The IC thread is here (http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=143968).
Non-specific Setting Introduction
There are going to be a few changes from a traditional D&D game.
The first is the technology level, which is about a thousand years less developed than most games.
Metal casting doesn't exist. Most forms of steel do not exist, either. This makes it very hard to create a solid sheet of strong metal without magic.
This means that for the overwhelming majority of people, plate armour doesn't exist. A very skilled blacksmith might be able to put together a breastplate, but those will be expensive, few, and far between.
Swords, too, are affected. It's very difficult to forge a sword much longer than a metre without proper equipment, and this means that greatswords, bastard swords, and any other kind of weird foreign sword is pretty much unheard of. Longswords are usually reserved for nobility. Spears, shortswords, and axes are the most commonly found weapons.
Arcane magic is very rare, but generally looked upon with indifference. Magic itself isn't uncommon - clergy in the Church of Pelor are fond of making elaborate displays and sometimes even doing something. Only a very small portion of the population possess any kind of innate magical ability (think sorcerers), and those with the dedication to teach themselves magic usually join the Church and become some kind of cleric or priest.
Druids are uncommon, and good luck surviving in the wilds long enough to find one.
Psionics are usually associated with elves, and elves are usually only found on the other side of the world.
To the players
All of the player-slots are full, so recruitment is now closed.
The campaign will start at level one in a human-populated area. Gnomes and halflings are not uncommon, but usually stick to edges of society. Dwarves rarely leave their mountains, elves look upon other races with contempt. Orcs (especially half-orcs), goblins, and similar races are the butt of many racist jokes, and generally reviled by society.
Your choice of race and class is completely up to you. Stats are to be assigned using the 28-point-buy system. I will collect your sheets (or rather, links to the sheets) here for reference.
Character Sheets
- Wyrne Carver (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=33256), human rogue (greatorder)
- Lanius the Red (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=29264), orc dragon shaman (Nerjin)
- Razed, Paladin of the Forgotten Gods (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=33168), human paladin (Arcvasti)
- Mic Jak's-Con Ehal (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=1016508), forest gnome pop star (My Name is Immaterial)
- Veneficus Jenlus (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=22978), grey elf wizard (Tawarochir)
- Malkor (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=952248), lesser aasimar cleric (tryrar)
For a while now, I've had this idea of a D&D campaign where there is no one story for the players to follow. Instead, there is a large (but finite) world for the players to explore. There would be stories taking place within that world, but only a few of them are part of "the campaign". As to which those are is completely up to the players.
Granted, this is going to take a lot of work on my part, and a lot of that work is never going to be seen in-game. I am, however, willing to put in the time (seeing as I have a lot of it spare) to see if this will work.
I do have quite a few kilobytes of notes that I wrote a while back in hopes of doing something like this, so it's not as though I'm starting from scratch. The notes were written with 3.5e in mind - and I am much more familiar with the 3.5e rules - but depending on the preferences of the players I am very willing to run the campaign on the 5e ruleset.
As far as recruiting players is concerned, I'm looking for 3-5 people who can both post regularly and RP with a degree of seriousness. If this sounds like you, post! I need you!
I now have four or five players. I forget. Anyway, that's enough, so recruiting is closed.
If there are any questions you'd like to ask, please post them below. But not above. Don't you dare post them above.
Prerequisite
INT 13,
Benefit
You can use any skill as if you had 1/2 rank in that skill. This benefit allows you to attempt checks with skills that normally don't allow untrained skill checks (such as Decipher Script and Knowledge). If a skill doesn't allow skill checks (such as Speak Language), this feat has no effect.
Normal
Without this feat, you can't attempt some skill checks (Decipher Script, Disable Device, Handle Animal, Knowledge, Open Lock, Profession, Sleight of Hand, Speak Language, Spellcraft, Tumble, and Use Magic Device) unless you have ranks in the skill.
Level: 1st
Replaces: If you select this class feature, you do not gain bardic knowledge.
Benefit: When making any skill check, you can use 1/2 your bard level (Rounded up) in place of the number of ranks you have in the skill (even if that number is 0).
You can't take 10 on checks when you use bardic knack (to take 10 you have to use your actual ranks). If the skill doesn't allow untrained checks, you must have at least 1 actual rank to attempt the check.
(http://data.archive.moe/board/a/image/1383/63/1383631688643.jpg)