After the Flood

Genre

Fantasy

Theme

Three hundred years ago, a catachlysmic war among the wizard guilds of man caused the oceans to rise and the lands to sink into the water. Without the magic possessed by the other races, the world would have died out. Small civilizations have begun to rise from the surviving generation and adapted to living on the seas. Life was difficult in the early years, but those still surviving have managed to adjust. Those that have not adjusted live on the edges to take what they can from those who have.

Background

Before the current age, humans dominated the world through their military might manifested in both magic and arms. It was magic that would be their downfall though as war among the strongest wizard's guilds broke out. The war was initialy contained to conflict directly between small cabals of wizards, but it quickly grew as the wizards began to bring all their resources into the conflict. As the war escalated, it eventually reached a point where the Higyra Guild with a mountain-top fortress at the Top of the World sought to flood the lands of the Triune College with its base of operations next to a sea that was fed by snowmelt from the mountains. While the Higyra Guild was focusing its efforts against the College, the Elementalists were completing a massive mining operation beneat the mountains that would cause massive earthquakes throughout the region. The magical forces combined unpredictably and altered the landscape forever.

While this was coming to be, the other races had been preparing magics to shield and hide themselves against the effects of the war. Humans were aware of the existence of elves, dwarves, gnomes, and others, but they did not have regular relations with them. This lack of regular relations kept the demihuman races from being drawn into the war. Their relative isolation made it possible for them to develop magics that more closely linked them to nature.

The first several decades were very rough on all the races, especially the humans. Even with their preparations, the demihuman races struggled and lost significant portions of their populations. For the humans though, most of their magical research and resources had been dedicated to the war. While the cataclysm was not instantaneous, it was fast enough that only the nations with significant naval and seafaring capabilities were able to survive the flood in any significant numbers. As groups of survivors found each other, they came together in small communities of perhaps a few hundred souls. While contact between human and demihuman communities typically resulted in a sharing of knowledge and resources, contact between human communities were still bloody.

For the last century, the more violent parts of humanity have died off and disappeared. Communications have improved, and conflict between the major communities are very rare. Something has begun to change though as a floating community of elves protected by a druid of significant power had all of its inhabitants turned into Undead. Rumors and signs have begun to spread that small cabals of wizards from the old guilds still survive and that their war is not yet over.

Antagonists & Conflict

There are three main sources of conflict for PCs to experience.

Other Communities and Pirates
There are some very small communities that use piracy and raiding to survive as opposed to attempting to survive independently. While the larger communities have access to magic, the scarcity of natural resources typically means that pirates with ships or other means of rapid movement are difficult to capture. There is occasionally conflict between communities when friendly commercial trade breaks down.

The Environment
Weather and sea creatures are constant concerns for communities of any size. When your entire community is less than one hundred feet above sea level, even a storm with significant swells can present a major threat to the community's survival. Just as pirates are able to attack and quickly flee, hungry or territorial sea monsters will attack communities on occasion.

Hidden Cabals
While the guilds had their infrastructure destroyed in the cataclysm, there are members of the guilds hidden throughout the world within unknowing communities. Open conflict has been unheard of thus far, but there are fears that the recent strange events could be a sign of something ominous.

Special Features

For this section, I thought it might be easier to list bullet points of the setting concept.

Magic

Among human, magic is rarely displayed as it tends to draw bad attention. What little magic is displayed among humans is focused on nature in order to make survival in this world easier.
Demihumans practice a significant amount of nature magic. Some have even managed to build floating islands on which they are able to grow traditional crops.

Monsters

There are typical fantasy sea monsters and other water-based creatures.
Undead have been making recent appearances, but they are typically zombies and other mindless creatures. The source of them is unknown.

Gods

The demihuman races have nature-based gods that they worship, and their gods often bless their most faithful with power to watch over, protect, and assist their communities.
Human communities that are religious focus on gods and goddesses of weather and the seas. Their worship is done more out of fear as opposed to one of veneration. "Please keep the storms from our flotilla, Lord."

Technology

The technology in this setting is what one would expect in a typical fantasy setting - Middle Ages with magic.

PC Role

The antagonists and conflict of the setting give obvious roles for PCs to play as heroes working to protect and grow their communities.

Besides addressing conflict, PCs could be descendants of the guilds attempting to regain their power. They could also be part of a group of outcasts from a community attempting to survive independently. There is also potential for them to be raiders and pirates. Finally, there is the potential for underwater exploration in a search for lost knowledge and power.

Comments

Re: Robosnake's review

Submitted by mikeb on Sun, 10/25/2009 - 01:31.

I definitely agree about the Waterworld concern. It's one I had nagging me in the back of my head as I wrote.

Kevin Carsner

Submitted by Zack Faust on Mon, 10/26/2009 - 20:55.

We shall not hire Kevin Carsner. It's a shame that he and that movie managed to damage the concept of a 'water world' so much. Still, I have to say, that I like the prospect of some of the innovation this setting presents, even if we have to make sure people don't think of 'Waterworld' when they first see it.

The big frustration with

Submitted by chado on Mon, 10/26/2009 - 21:01.

The big frustration with 'waterworld' was that there was all this possibility for survival. When the focus gets lost on 'finding land' it really becomes a bore. It seems clear the focus here has been on people surviving. Visuals (art) might be a really effective way to make the distinction. Keep the focus on the tools of survival. A large sailing vessel with all kind of atypical equipment included. The question then becomes, what's with the extra stuff? What are they doing with the boat?

Underwater combat & exploration

Submitted by chado on Wed, 10/14/2009 - 11:48.

As sort of a side note to naval combat, when I first read the setting description one of the first things that came to mind was all the sunken treasure. I'm imagining something like lost weapons, machines, and cultures. Of course to get to all this stuff you'd have to make it through the environmental and living obstacles under water.

Does the magic that sunk so much of the land still impact areas under water?

What animals, plants, and peoples survive on the new underwater continents?

Underwater affairs

Submitted by mikeb on Thu, 10/15/2009 - 20:42.

The underwater situation is definitely something that would be up for adventure as well. I need to add some of the ideas for that aspect to the concept as well.

The magic would probably not be an ongoing issue, but there is definitely the possibility for instability in cave-ins and the like. I am considered whether the dwarves or another of the traditionally underground fantasy races would have survived and adapted in weird ways. Aquatic elves aren't a new idea, and I don't like elves so there won't be any of them in this setting. ;) However, I do think aquatic dwarves might be interesting. Maybe they managed to craft an area that did not flood and used dwarven stone engineering and metalworking to create a system that circulated air and kept areas free from flooding.

There will likely be a need to create additional mechanics for underwater survival, movement, and combat which offers those who are inclined to work on mechanics an opportunity to contribute. We won't be started from scratch with mechanics, but most fantasy systems only have a small portion of their mechanics dedicated to underwater environments.

Celebrity Teeth Whitening

Submitted by janiarisee (not verified) on Fri, 02/19/2010 - 00:34.

It also enables society to meet the needs and desires of people with unpopular lifestyles much better.
Celebrity Teeth Whitening

RE: aquatic dwarves

Submitted by chado on Mon, 10/26/2009 - 20:52.

However, I do think aquatic dwarves might be interesting. Maybe they managed to craft an area that did not flood and used dwarven stone engineering and metalworking to create a system that circulated air and kept areas free from flooding.

Disclaimer: I just finished reading Markus Heitz's "The Dwarves" (translated from German), so I couldn't help but to think about the aquatic dwarves idea.

I'm imagining semi self contained underground mountains. Traditional forge technology applied to boiling sea water (for power, drinking water, heat, etc.). Perhaps some of the old style tube diving gear.

Any thoughts on traditional underwater races? Merfolk and such?

Part of the reason I put the

Submitted by mikeb on Wed, 11/04/2009 - 00:02.

Part of the reason I put the setting at only 300 years after the flood was because it would reduce the likelihood of evolutionary developments. So like you said about the dwarves, they could use engineering to increase their chance of survival. There might be merfolk in a fantasy creature sense, but I don't see there being significantly civilizations of them.

Hey there, just chipping my

Submitted by Zack Faust on Thu, 10/15/2009 - 22:16.

Hey there, just chipping my two cents in. I think the idea of having some of the underground species surviving in weird ways would be a good way to mark this setting as very unique. Any ideas on how the dwarves and others may have changed? Did they become some sort of aquatic creatures, or did their tunnels somehow remain unflooded and have become even more terrestrial (like going from a gopher to a mole) and eek a living off of the ocean floor, or did something else happen? Also, would any of these 'underwater' species be playable by characters, do they have contact with the surface people and if so how do they interact, and what sorts of magics and technologies might they have? Also, I like the idea of aquatic dwarves, but would their be any other intelligent aquatic species (a lot of books I've read tend to have dwarves competing with another terrestrial sentient species such as the drow and dragons)?

I'd also like to say I like this. It can be difficult to set a system apart in a field like fantasy with all the competitors out there (mostly DnD), but it has a much bigger fan base and people find it easier to transition from system to system in fantasy settings. The best way to succeed in the fantasy genre is to have something unique. I think if we develop some rather natural in fun mechanics for water based actions, be it above or below the water, that combined with the unique plot behind the story should set this setting apart from the rest. Guess what I'm saying is that I think it would be a good idea when the time comes to make sure we put a lot of emphasis on underwater and marital mechanics.

Navy

Submitted by Zack Faust on Tue, 10/13/2009 - 11:03.

Just a quick question for you. Is the setting you have created going to have much in the way for designing naval combat? Because I think that would be both cool and very unique!

Author

mikeb

History

Member for: 2 years 25 weeks

Setting Concept Score

3.22857

Read review by cptbeefalo

Posted 1 year 49 weeks ago

by cptbeefalo

Inspiring:

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While I don't find the concept of warring magic guilds all that original, I do find where this setting ends up to be so. Who knew warring cabals of magic-users could lead us to pirates and global warming? It is a somewhat unique finish.

That said, I have concerns about the "Sake the Dykes!" campaign. I can't imagine building/repairing levees to save the town in the face of a major storm to be fun for the avg player, though the Bioshock aspect could be oodles of fun. Something about this lacks however. I can think of several things that could be fun about this, but few that make me think this could have huge replay value.

Written well, but lacking in some hooks. A few BG/plot holes would need filling.

Read review by Satyr

Posted 1 year 51 weeks ago

by Satyr

Inspiring:

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A fantasy setting is probably the best idea for a publication, because let's face it, every other settings are miniscule niches which are usually dominated by the local matadors.

That said, I am a bit ambivalent about this one. For my taste, it sounds a bit like "D&D under the sea", which is okay, but not really that innovative. I know, there is nothing new under the sun, but nonetheless, this is the major drawback of this concept.

Read review by Fenris

Posted 2 years 4 days ago

by Fenris

Inspiring:

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This look like a standard fantasy setting under water. I really like fantasy settings of all kinds, so that one is to my tastes as well, but it seems that the water theme is it's prime distinguishment of other settings with similar fantasy elements.

This isn't necessarily bad, but the setting would greaty benefit from a few more unique ideas. But that's what the collective writing is for, right?

Read review by chado

Posted 2 years 9 weeks ago

by chado

Inspiring:

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I think this particular setting concept is quite strong. The use of traditional fantasy races is a risk, but I see them being used in an interesting way. The theme is really what grabs me most. I have seen other RPGs try and add water based elements before, but I think the focus specifically on 'the flood' might be able to avoid the tacked on feel.

There are clearly some other issues with originality that other reviewers have posted on. However, I personally find the theme / setting inspiring. Using the familiar races is one part of the inspiration. The other, is of course the twist on the familiar. With thoughtful back story, I think this setting could work well. It is also clear that the author has more in mind (or has at least thought further) about aspects of the concept.

This thoughtfulness extends into the detail and organization of the setting description. The overall writing quality is fine, especially at this stage of concept formation.

Read review by robosnake

Posted 2 years 14 weeks ago

by robosnake

Inspiring:

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Since ratings are required to post, I'm including them.

My first reaction to this setting is "fantasy heartbreaker on the high seas", which has its strengths and weaknesses. You have 'standard' high fantasy races and professions in a post-cataclysmic setting, changing the focus to life in a drenched world. The setting will immediately be familiar to anyone who has read a book in the Fantasy section of the bookstore, which to me is both a strength and a weakness. I'm not sure what makes this setting truly stand out.

I can't divorce my images of this setting from two things - the terrible film Waterworld and the excellent book The Scar. I'd want to lean in the direction of The Scar myself for obvious reasons, and I'd like to look at things like monsters integrated into humanoid society. Anyway, just a thought that came to me.

Be sure to go through and check the spelling when you go to edit, and I'd like to see more highlighted about how this setting will stand out from the pack.

Read review by matt.banach

Posted 2 years 15 weeks ago

by matt.banach

Inspiring:

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A nice idea. Good chance to focus on sea-faring tactics and survival without necessarily being a pirate game. Sea-based druids are excellent, after all. The difficulty of the terrain and added complications of simple travel and living could make adventuring interesting. The game mechanics would have to be pretty involved with naval combat and sailing stuff. All in all, pretty novel.

Read review by Zack Faust

Posted 2 years 16 weeks ago

by Zack Faust

Inspiring:

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What I really like about this setting is how familiar it is while being so very unique. Most people who play role-playing games play in some sort of fantasy setting (this is mostly do to DnD, but that is neither here nor there), and can have problems addapting to new game styles. This setting would be familiar to them in that the level of technology, the races, and the use of magic, while different, are familiar. In addition to this, this setting marks itself as different from other settings in that magic is classified by race and guild rather than by a 'class' and more importantly in that it is an aquatic setting. While players and GM's might not have been concerned with how the adventurers were traveling before, it is going to become more of an issue now. Also, I could imagine a creative GM using this setting to have giant naval battles, or even just simple naval combat, something that has never been seen before, or not often, in any RPG I'm familiar with. I really like this setting, and if we do go with it, I'd encourage us all to focus on the many unique ideas mikeb has come up with (such as guild structures and naval operations) and really go all out in expanding those areas! All in all, I think this would be a fun setting to use! :)