SUGGESTIONS NEEDED
I’m writing up the Session 1 procedures for Freebooters and I want to have a step where everyone talks about what big-picture fantasy elements they’d like to see in the campaign. Ideally—because it is my wont—I will also have a table people can roll on to get ideas, which needs to be populated with some evocative entries.
Let’s call the table CAMPAIGN ELEMENTS and use these as examples:
> A golden age of chivalry is in full swing
> The aristocracy is comprised at least partly of vampires
> A demigod rules one of the more populous cities
> Geysers or fountains of arcane origin erupt occasionally in unexpected places
So, things that could impact the overall setting in some way, be it cultural, supernatural, magical, or something else.
If you have any ideas along these lines, post them here! 12-15 words maximum per entry.
Dragons run rampant once more, preying on the people of the land.
A great rift has opened up, spewing forth monsters from the underworld.
A war between the sorcerer-kings has ensued, sending the world into darkness and chaos.
The practice of magic without a license is a major criminal offence.
A demon-prince has wrested control of the realm sowing chaos and discord across the land.
All the springs run with water that taste of tears, and no child has been born for 7 years.
Massive earth-motes float silently through the sky
An advanced civilization of giants once dominated these lands
there are no demons, angels, or even gods—just the spirits of departed ancestors
A comet has appeared in the sky. The soothsayers say it heralds the return of the Orc-King; already the clans gather in the south.
There are no continents, only vast chains of smaller and larger islands
A vast territory has been won from the Fey, rich in hidden wealth. The faerie mists have parted to reveal ruined places.
The old, untamed places are home to giant God-animals
A great Deluge has appeared in the sky, pouring forth water and monsters. Within a generation, the seas will rise to cover the highest peaks.
Song has been banished from the land for 40 summers.
The dead will always rise unless the appropriate precautions are taken (and maintained)
It is time for the witches’ great conclave, held once a century. This time, they will select a queen to lead them.
A terrible plague sweeps the land, the result of a curse laid by ancient powers.
The dead stopped to go wherever they are supposed to go, their ghosts roam the land at night.
The gods have waged their end-time war; only a few have survived or newly ascended, still weak
The last king is dead without an heir. His five bastard brothers gather as much support from lesser lords as they can, though the Church has forbade outright war.
There is one great University, where all wizards learn their art; it’s library lays claim to all grimoires
A great band of heroes is coming out of retirement for One Last Job.
The empress of the land is also the greatest sorceress in memory. Now she plans to ascend to godhood–and Heaven is voicing their displeasure.
A new, messianic figure has appeared in the North, promising immortality for all
There is a vast metropolis at the heart of the known world
The Ice Rail has finally extended its tracks to the very North Pole, promising a luxurious ride into the Arctic.
The glaciers have just started to melt, opening passage to lands long inaccessible
When you write someone’s name on a scrap of papyrus and leave it in the shrine of Anubis, the god of the dead will send assassins to judge them. But if you name an innocent person, they come for you instead.
A world-ending demon of fire and hate lies imprissoned in a glacier of black ice
An ancient order of warriors and sages protect the world from forces of Chaos
The Shadow Thief has announced that he will steal the princess’ legendary diamond pendant–and the heart of the princess too.
Everyone in civilized society wears masks in public; naked faces are obscene
A new mineral has been discovered, when processed with alchemy, it grants restored youth.
The tunnels of the Underworld are another dimension, spanning time, space, and possibility
Walking the Old Road in the forest sends you where you are needed most, not where you want to go.
Alien space ships landed here aeons ago, and have sat lifeless for time out of memory
Angels walk among people in search of a legendary hero, but they all want the child for their own ends, not all of which are completely altruistic.
Beneath the pyramid lies the body of a titan, the lower floors are passages into its skull; you can walk right inside of it.
Airborne raiders from the North regularly pillage frontier towns
Everyone must only wear colors appropriate to their station.
The new fashion trend is to wear a cage containing a specific small, colorful bird. Wealthy courtiers will pay a fortune for just one of them.
Everyone knows about the highly-regulated network of portals connecting the major cities of the world. But only a few know about the one that is portable.
Engineers have invented a device that allows people to breathe underwater. A new resource rush is beginning on the bottom of the sea.
Tensions between the humans, dwarves, and Lizardfolk living in the Blue Marsh are reaching a boiling point.
The Queen of Crows demands a sacrifice of a child once every seven years in each town.
This morning you woke up in Pasadena, but after walking into that walk-in cooler, you seem to have arrived in a land covered in snow, with 2 suns and many fantastical creatures.
This isn’t the first age; and it’s certainly not the greatest age; but it is most definitely an age that needs heroes.
The war between magic and psionics seems to have ended, with most of the powers in ruins. Out of the devastation, a new society emerges.
You emerge from your shattered worldship, a small band of survivors. The locals have strange customs – can they be trusted?
The First Folk left the world in ages past — passing behind the west, between the stones, or into the moon. Now they‘re coming back.
Edit: oops max 15 words.
The First Folk left the world long ago, passing behind the West. Now they’re back.
The seasons are at war. The knights of the Autumn Queen have been broken, and the fire-and-gold legion of the Prince of Summer processes her domains.
Edit: waaah max 15 words.
The seasons have quartered the world and gone to war. Spring was first to fall.
The night is waking. The days shorten, a minute at a time, and the Court of Midnight — with its chained nightmares and dark miracles — enters the world for the first time.
Edit: down to 15 words
The night has woken. The days shorten, minute by minute. The Court of Midnight stirs.
The moon broke, and fell to earth. Kings war over its celestial treasures.
Condottieres roam free in search of a suitabe country to wage war in his name.
Singing cristals grow at the base of waterfall and their song inhabits rivers and lakes.
The rise of merchant cities.
Flying cities float ominously across the land, occasionally launching raids.
Dungeons are transdimensional spaces, you can only see the entrance in your peripheral vision.
Since the Nereid Uprising, freshwater has become more precious than gold.
A total civil war. Nobody still knows why they fight but for vengeance.
The Fae are replacing people and creatures with changelings. Eventually, they’ll replace the land itself.
The Serpent Sorcerer Kings of old aren’t dead. They only slumber in their tombs.
Everyone in the land lost their memories overnight. This isn’t a new land; it’s home.
The Elvish Dominion doesn’t want you to kill monsters. It wants them for a zoo.
This land was bucolic, but an alien land recently phase shifted into the same space.
The Graven Prophet’s apocalyptic visions are coming true. The church declares a crusade on seers.
It took seven sorcerers to open Hell’s brass door. They did it for love.
Six primordial mystery-cults wage war for the Throne of the World using enslaved gods.
The Ender of Days burns in the sky. This age is coming to an end.
A spasm of the earth has opened the iron gates to the world below.
Ancient robots emerge from their tombs beneath the earth
The magicks that maintain the environmental stability of the world are beginning to break down.
The continents are shifting a noticeable amount every day.
Songs tell of the reappearance of a legendary weapon that can cut through anything: time, space, truth, and death.
Regions of wild or even dead magic
Thanks for these! Keep ‘em coming! Chris Gardiner, those are some killer edits.
The sun is a mere flickering ember, teetering on the precipice of life and death.
A comet is making its slow passage across the sky, sparking civil unrest in its wake.
The known world is completely surrounded by a vast dead city.
Since the fey left, the ley lines upon which the world is built are shifting.
Magic is disappearing and sorcerer-kings blame it on the mundane folk.
Mysterious underwater ruins become accessible during the Great Tide, happening once per century.
The Lighthouses on our shores keep sea monsters away. Their eternal fires are dying.
Mortals created the Gods to guide and protect them. Some Gods now refuse to serve.
The only shelters from extreme weather events are bone circles found at seemingly random locations.
Mountain ranges form the words of a spell to transform the world.
Giants work for cheap to build anyone a castle, creating a sprawling, balkanized cityscape.
Through miles of tunnel, another world lies below this one, air suffused with light.
The Gods are too much bored. For their entertainmant, they rise undead titans from the corpses of their former foes.
Just want to say: I love this little exercise and will totally steal everyone’s ideas to add them to my idea pile. We should do this more often!
Everyone had the dream; what it meant is debated endlessly.
Civilization rises and falls cyclically over three generations, but wizards, monarchs, and heroes live forever.
Something is rotten at the core of the world. It is spreading.
The world is cracked like dry mud. Kingdoms fight to control bridges across the chasms.
Where have the gods gone?
Every year a strange new region grows at the edge of the world.
The prophets all say the newborn scion is a Godling. The crusades begin again.
This last age exactly followed the Book Of The Fourth Cycle. Where is the Fifth?
We have found the towering war-suits of the ancient empire. Their power is ours!
The sun set, and for a moon did not rise. Dawn breaks on a ruined world.
The world is a story the gods write; monarchs would give anything for their stylus.
Those semi-precious gems that were the “must-have” gift last Candlemas? Turns out they’re dragon eggs.
The Allfire spreads from region to region, leaving only ash, stone, and what lies beneath.
The Briar grows with every spell cast; a dozen nations have been overgrown.
Meteors of purple crystal fell from the skies, two generations back, spreading madness and mutations.
An evil demigod ruled the north for 200 years, and has just now been defeated.
The desert swallowed the Shining Empire in a storm that lasted 40 years.
The Life-Seeders have returned. Their Experiment (all life) has not gone as they planned.
The Fae resent the encroachment of humanity, but lose more territory every year.
The world is mostly frozen, the ancient wonders buried in snow and ice.
The Elders once ruled a vast empire, but their hubris shattered the One God.
Settlers were looking for a promised land. Instead, they literally landed in hell.
The empire is doing great! Saying otherwise could get you locked up.
The year is 724. It has been 724 for almost a century now.
A lot of these will be moved over into the Lost Civilizations table, for which I am grateful.
Regions are Sydhe-wrought microcosmic terrariums commissioned by nobles; you’re hired to reveal their secrets.
This was a really good warm-up exercise for writing.
The seas have recently retreated several miles, revealing new lands and ancient ruins!
Magic is powered by raw emeraldine. Crystaline veins of it are mined and warred over.
The August Immortal Minister of Heaven rules a sprawling cosmic bureaucracy.
Orcs once dominated, but were overthrown by their slaves. Surviving Orc sorcerers still scheme, secretly.
Fire, water, and other elements have voices and speak with any who learn their language.
The world is flat. The deepest caverns open to the Hanging World and the great Void.
All the races have finally united against the common foe. But learning to put aside past wrongs will not come easy to some.
Edit: brevity:
The races have finally united, but forgiveness does not come easy to all.
The relentlessness of the undead is ruthlessly exploited for economic gain.
Law does not exist. Justice comes from the biggest stick. There’s always a bigger stick.
Everyone knows that forest yeti hibernate in the summer.
This winter has lasted two years so far and crops can no longer grow.
Feudalism is over! The people are revolting!
All weapons are illegal except for agents of The Church. Tools are fine of course.
All High Elves have vanished. Unfortunately only they knew how the world wide bank worked.
It’s Big Game season and the celebrity hunters are in town!
You know what makes this extra-fun? Putting them all on a table, then rolling to put 2-3 of them together.
Thanks for this, Jason Lutes. These are perfect prompts for my FoF2e game of Stargate: Fantasy. I’m looking forward to seeing your finished product with these.
The countryside bristles with sprawling violent games of football as village takes on neighbouring village.
en.wikipedia.org – Medieval football
Thanks, everybody! I’ve edited suggestions down into a 50-entry table, and updated the basic rules to include it. If I used your suggestion, you will receive credit in the final book.
dropbox.com – Playtesting
Jason Lutes Looks brilliant. Now with added pantheon generation too!
Typos!
53-54 “There great arcane” >> “The great arcane”
61-62 is a duplicate of 37-38
Otherwise… this is great!
Jason Lutes where are you moving the clown car to when G+ shuts down?
Chris Bennett, I’ll be clowning it up on the L&B blog periodically. After looking at alternatives, I didn’t feel like there was anywhere to migrate the community within my bandwidth and budget. I’ll be monitoring the The Burning Wheel Dungeon World forums, the Gauntlet forums, and reddit for any discussion of Stonetop or Freebooters that crops up. You can sign up on the mailing list here:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeckdohVx_8jsA2mrAc5oSDQzIAf9Totnkc0wfVovLg6xwJIA/viewform?usp=sf_link
so that if there ever is another dedicated L&B community you’ll hear about it!
lampblack-and-brimstone.com – Lampblack & Brimstone
https://forums.burningwheel.com/c/dungeon-world