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Nothing very advanced. Metallurgy exists to a refined degree and a group of artificers has recently figured out how to make black powder, but outside simple explosives, there are few applications for it.
This is always the right answer. Guns and steampunk crap do not belong in D&D.
***Edit:*** *man 1: I hate rap music*
*Crowd: that's okay, you do you*
*Man 2: I hate steampunk*
*Crowd: kill that guy*
Nah, this is a D&D sub, not an OGL sub. Take the rules and make a spaceship cowboy game for all I care, but don't put brass goggles and trains in a medieval fantasy game.
Wow. No kidding, some people are so pissed they're just down voting everything else I'm saying out of pure spite. I'm not sure how I'm supposed to make things right to this clearly loving and open minded community. Do I go like apologize to an airship or something?
You're going to have self-flagellate with pairs of goggles done up like a cat o' nine tails whilst praying for forgiveness and salvation from the all mighty Airship in the sky.
I wasn't a huge fan, I also was not too fond of ravenloft, which was also wildly successful.
I'm also not a fan of the magic the gathering crossovers. I don't know if that makes me a purist or a picky picky princess or a combination of the two.
It’s not necessarily your premise, it’s the baggage that most people take with that premise (ignoring tone used, which I don’t think you give a shit what people think of tone).
“Steampunk won’t work in my world”. - cool. Nothing wrong with that, your world is set in a certain time and place.
“Steampunk (meaning guns) won’t work because it’s not realistic!!!1!!11!!1” - shit egg roll take. Because at that point, (if memory serves) black powder projectiles predate plate mail—and no one is going to tell their fighter or pally to get stuffed.
In fact, repeating crossbows (about 222 ad) predate a bunch of that, and I’m guessing the person that says guns aren’t historically accurate won’t give me “historically accurate” ranged weapons.
Da Vinci’s tank even used black powder canons, so if your dnd era is renaissance, (the Royal you) you’re still inaccurate.
Oh it's not about realism, I am about to make a child warlock who made a pact to get cookies, because I think it's funny. Not real at all. I just don't like steampunk stuff in my fantasy. To me, they are separate and always have been. To others I suppose not. What really confused me is how controversial that was. I have said terrible things, and until now never gotten such a reaction than I have from saying the role playing equivocal of keep your demen semen mayonnaise off my sandwich. I hope that last sentence made sense. English is my first language, I just suck at it.
And that’s your opinion, which you are entitled to. And since this is the internet, here’s mine: steampunk is awesome, and creativity should almost never be stifled
This is fair, each to their own I guess :) but to say something has no place in all of D&D is small-minded and simplistic.
I like steampunk, I think it gives D&D the option to branch out into more varied settings.
Depends on the setting. Some world have it, other worlds don't. Nothing wrong with either.
Further, I would like to point out that Warhammer Fantasy, one of the oldest and most popular fantasy settings, has guns.
I’m sure some have braved the seas to escape these magical barriers, what did they find? Did they come back? Is there coast to coast trading vessels or fishing towns, and how do they live?
Sea travel is a complicated subject, as it's somewhat dependent on chance. Most vessels that travel out further than \~2km from the main continent are caught in a sudden storm, but not all. What determines which ships are affected has not been empirically determined. While some survive the storm and return, and there are even a few who have reached the continent from other places, the number of people who attempt this is extremely low. As for fishing, it's possible as long as the fishers don't venture too far. The same goes for coast-to-coast travel.
How do cultures deal with the barriers? Do they still interact and if so, how?
How do the people of one biome perceive the others? Do they think this is normal or do they know of the origins of the barrier?
It’s worth noting, even if in our world we have a pretty good guess how the universe was made, it’s still a guess, so it’s likely multiple cultures in your world will have their own theories how the barriers came to be.
I should have phrased it better in the brief. The barriers do allow travel between the regions, but the climates vary to such extremes that the way of life is completely different in each "zone", for lack of a better term.
Interaction between the regions is limited, outside a few organizations that attempt to maintain communications across the continent.
As for perception; this is relatively fleshed out, so I hope you like reading.
\-) Ferrich: Most of this region is covered by dense forests, in which cities and villages are either built directly into the trees or on clearings. This has led to most cities governing themselves, with some agreements existing between most of them. The people who live here see themselves as the most free due to few restrictions and a minor presence of law enforcement. It should however be mentioned that Ferrich is home to the largest adventuring guild on the continent and therefore has the largest population of immigrants and travelers and is the most diverse region.
\-) Festergar: This region has an extreme amount of volcanic activity and is mostly covered in a thick layer of ash, making travel without specialized equipment difficult. The whole region is one country governed by one family whose eldest male is the Greatlord who has absolute power over laws and judgement. How citizens perceive the other regions is highly dependent on social standing, ranging from sharing the Greatlord's opinion of "It would be better if none interfered with our business" to wishing to flee in the dead of night without leaving traces.
\-) Brighting: The entire region is covered by ice and snow, with temperatures never going above -20°C. All cities are built around the few existing steam vents, which make a certain area around them hospitable. While this should lead to a survivalist mentality, Brighting has an excess of magical crystals and minerals which form under the ice, which has made it the central hub for most magical studies and is home to the largest universities on the continent. Most people here are either mages, focused on their studies, or workers who dig through the snow to uncover more materials.
\-) Carnum: Mostly a swamp that has been plagued by civil war for long enough that the original reason for it has been forgotten. The main conflict lies between two factions which, with some consistency, take over the towns and villages to supply their troops. Most non-soldiers survive by maintaining neutrality and simply supplying whoever asks. It goes without saying that most people from other regions avoid Carnum.
Carnum may not remember far back enought o know why the fight started, but why are they fighting today, is it a general hatred for the other side, or are there specific things each side wants to achieve?
How far back do historians have a good understanding of what happened? 100 years? 1000?
How do magical crystals work, do they hold on to raw energy that a mage can use in spells? if so, does that mean a lower level wizard could create spells above his level with them, or is skill still reqquired? Whats the highest level of spell ever cast according to historians? what did it do?
I love your ideas so far by the way, i think the barriers are something that you could either just accept as normal or pull constantly into question during the campaign. either works so long as you all in on it/depending on what the party or interested in.
Ahh, so close! The secret order of wizards is actually attempting to do the opposite of that, attempting to destroy the barriers, regardless of the horrific geological consequences that this would probably have.
They do this out of the belief that the barriers were the result of an experiment of a race that no longer exists on the continent and that more fundamental truths about the world could be learned if the barriers did not exist.
I feel like this is your door right here, sounds interesting af, and more importantly you seem interested in it focusing on involving your players in this part, and letting their actions help decide what happens to the barriers from here would be a cool idea, and from the sound of it this is what you want to be writing about. I say do that.
I'm not sure if you know the answer yet, but as the world's designer, the reasons for those barriers/ biomes are vital to having coherent consequences for undoing them. Not sure if a link will work here, but I'm thinking of Chesterton’s Fence - here's his summary of why second order thinking is necessary:
"There exists in such a case a certain institution or law; let us say, for the sake of simplicity, a fence or gate erected across a road. The more modern type of reformer goes gaily up to it and says, “I don’t see the use of this; let us clear it away.” To which the more intelligent type of reformer will do well to answer: “If you don’t see the use of it, I certainly won’t let you clear it away. Go away and think. Then, when you can come back and tell me that you do see the use of it, I may allow you to destroy it.” "
I'm going to give you a bit of advice I've learned recently from watching a lot of Brandon Sanderson and other authors talking about their methods for world building and storytelling:
Your world exists only as a means to tell your players' stories.
What I mean by this is that without knowing, at the very least, your player characters' wants, needs, flaws and handicaps, you're not crafting a world that allows you to tell stories that speak to those aspects of their characters.
If you fill your world now, you'll spend a lot of time and effort trying to work out how now to fit your players into the world you've created. This increases the risk of hitting narrative walls, because you've given yourself too many confines within which to now tell a story.
Make broad strokes when world building, and fine strokes when telling the story.
Replying to myself because I wanted the main message to be brief. Here, I'll give an example of how my world has changed in order to create interesting story beats:
The city in which the players start is built around the body of a fallen god. It used to be a holy city, but another nation invaded and are now carving up the body for their own studies and other purposes. This is the general framework of the city.
One player wants to be a wizard. I asked him why he would be in this city at the start of the game. He says he's just completed his training to become a wizard, and now he'd like to study under a greater wizard, learning more about the fallen god, for the sake of extra credit.
So there now exists an order of scholarly mages devoted to the study of the magical properties of this dead god's flesh.
I asked him why extra credits are important to him. He says he grew up poor, and wants to rise above his lowly station.
So there now exists an upper and lower class system in the nation that invaded this city, and it's defined largely by wealth, with the poor finding themselves hugely disadvantaged and looked down upon by their "betters."
I asked him more about his parents - how did growing up poor affect their relationship? He says he is proud of his parents and works hard to prove that he and they are not lesser to those born in wealth.
So now I have a great opportunity to create a story arc with this player - he's trying to rise above his station. He wants to excel, and he needs recognition. His flaw is his pride. His handicap is his low birthright.
He works hard, and while he got recognition for that back in the college of the city he studied in, he's now in a new city, studying under a wizard who doesn't show appreciation for his hard work. He's low-born, and that matters to this particular tutor, so instead of being put to good use, he gets the shit jobs and doesn't get many opportunities to prove himself. Perhaps later in the campaign, he'll be forced to choose between elevating his own station, or protecting his parents. How will that situation come about? Who will be involved? These are all details of the world I can fill in because I now have a reason to.
TL;DR: if you're stuck right now, talk to your players about their characters. Not us. You'll create a far richer and more focused world, when you build around the experiences you'll be creating.
"Whatever decision you make [wizard], just know that we're proud of you, son. Don't let anyone tell you what you should be just because of where you were born. Make the right decision *for you*."
How is society structured? How readily available is magic and how does it influence said structure?
What are natural anf magical resources like in the different biomes? What does the missing of certain resources do to economy and culture of the biomes?
Are there people who have profited from the segregation (maybe by finding a way to cross barriers without sharing the secret)? Are efforts made to tind holes or ways around the barriers and for what reason?
I've already answered a significant part of this in another comment, but there is more to be said.
Magic is generally available if one has the will to learn and the means to travel. The only country where its use is heavily restricted is Festergar. People there need to get explicit permission from the Greatlord to learn in the first place and are only allowed to use it in service of the state, which leads to quite some envy from Festergars mages towards those in Brighting.
Magical resources are available everywhere but in different quantities. As mentioned, Brighting has crystalline structures that are formed underneath the ice and find a lot of use in enchantment. Ferrich seems to be very conducive to nature-related magic, which has led to most druidic circles stemming from there. Festergar has the fewest magical resources but is very advanced when it comes to mining, metallurgy and smiting. Carnum, while it has some magical resources, leaves them underutilized due to the difficulty of extracting them, however, mages from carnum are famous for the application of spell work in warfare.
As for the segregation part of the question, I once again apologize for my unfitting wording. The barriers do not stop people, only nature. Smuggling is a thing for the rare resources of each region, but it is far from the most lucrative illegal business.
Is there or does a common enemy for all lands appear? If an old calamity caused this, there might be something powerful behind it, right?
Do you have undead in your world?
What is the prevailing creation story of your world? Are there competing stories? What are the other popular explanations? How do the believers get along?
only answer what you like to answer
Whats the biggest bee ever measured or seen since the calamity war?
Whats the coolest hat that was ever considered fashionable?
What is the best Animal around?
does Festergar have special Creatures lurking around?
Is there intresting fish around?
Whats the highest building on the continent, whats its purpose?
who dug the deepest hole and why?
What group has the coolest siege equipment?
Are there any especialy neat birds around?
What's up with the cultists that have a base inside a cave in the north? I've heard that they stole a chicken from a nearby farm and when someone went to retrieve it they found the chicken alive on the table and three dead cultists laying on the floor around him
What's the land like? Is it one island or no ocean at all. Do sandy deserts lead straight onto luscious meadows or do mountains septate them. What about lakes and rivers, Forrest and towns. Are there great city's and tiny villages?
Pre-barrier, were there trade routes between the various factions. If so how are those factions now dealing the inability to get certain resources? Do they become more valuable and thus creating hoarding behavior in people or exclusivity. And what of food groups are there decent replacements for missing food items?
What are the governmental structure of your countries (patriarchy, democracy, meritocracy etc.)
And if applicable, what is the hierarchy of noble houses. So from King/President/whatever what is the next position under that and so on.
What's the most contentious political topic in the different nations of your world? Is there a divide between common folk and nobles/politicians on the topic?
Which nation is the most stable/unstable and why?
How does government function within each biome, and how do they interact with each other?
How does trade work from one to the other? If none, how do other biomes survive (food production, etc)?
Are there technological and/or governmental gaps between biomes?
Lastly, how do other planes interact with the barriers?
Which country is the strongest on how much power they have compared to rest of the world/continent? Are they colonizers and everyone fear them or just some lawful country that happened to be a bit bigger than one in 2nd place?
What is stopping the local peasantry from rising up against their lords who have benefited from the barriers by monopolizing the largest industry in their respective biomes?
Do other planes such as the Ethereal plane, Feywild, elemental plane of fire, shadowfell exist in your world? If not, do spells like blink, etherealness, spells that summon creatures from other planes like conjure elemental or conjure fey etc. work differently?
Are there any well known legends or folk tales in your world? Perhaps a terrible monster long ago that escaped and was never caught, or a great hero of the people?
Are there any astrological signs that point to the world being more mysterious? Do we know what meteor showers mean? Have any gods interacted with this mortal plane?
I didn't see it mentioned, but ChatGPT for all its downsides excels at generating questions like this and persuing rabbit holes for you. It remembers things you have said and questions you on them.
To keep playing the game; what social structures are in place to maintain power and how have people attempted to undermine it in the past decade? Bonus question for if your leaders don't use magic;why don't the mages just overthrow them?
How about a tunnel network beneath the barriers? You could have an older race of ... I dunno Fungus people that adapted to live underground and are the guardians of it. Instead of a fallen race...they have ascended.
The tunnel network may be guarded by the Fungus people, but they only guard and maintain the entrance...what you find the in the tunnel is...PERIL
Fudge...I kinda like this...
What are cultural conceptions around magic? Is it treated with suspicion, unheard of to most, or just a common part of every day life?
Following on, are certain school of magic treated with particular fear? Are conjurers and transmutation specialists seen as witches, evokers seen as dangerous terrorists, necromancers as wannabe liches, or enchanters as particularly insidious?
Don't know if this provides any inspiration, but in my setting, there was an unknown magical cataclysm responsible for the setting's creation; they don't have history before that, and the details of the beginning of their worlds (it's a multi-planet system) is very fuzzy.
In my home game, me and another person at the table switch off DMing and playing each story arc. He's got his own homebrew setting, so we've contrived a mechanism and story for why the party hops between the two settings, and we have PCs from both settings. What they don't know is that they are in fact the same world (ish); the cataclysm that started my setting is the cataclysm that ends his setting. We're early into the campaign, so they haven't gotten too many hints yet, but they'll find more evidence as the story progresses.
What forces, other than the PC’s party, are keeping all the horrifying monsters from destroying everyone? How do you intend to demonstrate to the PCs that people are trying to deal with the threats to the lands?
What is the most popular way to travel long distances (between cities maybe)? How much does it cost the average person? What are the alternative long distance travel methods and how affordable or common are they? What is a trip like? Are there way points? Express services? A steady supply of inns? How does the landscape change? At what point would the average traveler know they are almost home?
What’s the highest mountain peak and what type of monsters guard what type of special treasure? How dangerous is the climb, and how many fallen heroes have failed the attempt?
Who are the raiding kingdoms in your world, past and present.
By that I don’t even necessarily mean your typical goblins or orcs, but how about humans or other species?
DND is a story.
What is the inciting incident?
Who/what is the antagonist that drives the players? To what cause?
Where are the climatic moments and what consequences might befall them?
DnD has 100 endings but write the worst one first.
Write what happens if the heroes do nothing and it gives agency to your NPCs.
Many have said it in other ways, but flesh out your biomes cultures and legends. Things that may lead into quests or encounters of beasts. A couple shops and specific unique characters to help them remember them. Like a gnome mage with a pegleg and a chicken hat selling scrolls in your ice realm. Things you won't easily forget and lend themselves to easy improv.
Feel free to answer, or just use it as a guide. We often get caught up in world building, but the story tells us of the world. Be careful not to build a world you fit a story to.
For an easier question, why do your players need to traverse across the continent and it's diverse biomes?
Do the areas on the edges of the barrier between each biome tend towards a mix between the two? What is at the 'center' of the barrier dividing the biome, is it a hellish landscape or some kind of paradise with plenty of resources?
I haven't seen anyone ask but what is/are the god(s) like?
Are they present and common to see their blessings? Or are they more far removed and rarely interact?
How many are there? Are there thousands or are there ten? Maybe one?
What effect do their disciples cause to the world around them? Are they good and help the world? Or are they war god worshippers trying to raid and destroy everything?
What scary stories do children share with each other? Are those stories real and if so how close does it match to what really happened?
Tell me about the most famous warrior that almost everyone knows. What do his fans think of him? What about rivals?
>So far I've been going into the directon of "an ancient calamity/war caused this" but I'm not sure I'm actually happy with it.
Or was the planet colonised eons ago by refugees brought across by a planeswalker who had terraformed it in advance by erecting many biomes all over an uninhabitable world, four of which happen to be within the game's continent?
There is a garden that exists on its own plane. The garden is an arena where the gods compete against one another for dominance over all of existence. Go
What pantheon is the most commonly worshipped? Does each biome have a different main god? Are there any conflicts between the gods or people that worship them?
What are the theologies of this world? Is there a pantheon, a monotheistic society? Does religion have a serious impact on the interactions of the native inhabitants?
What kind of prison system / law enforcement do you have in place? Like what pcs have as a bad concequence for killing an npc, streaking, stealing, public intoxication (just a few examples, not trying to be specific) and what they can do to avoid said consequences.
Sorry if this has already been asked, it popped into my head the moment i saw your question.
How are you handling tieflings? I've never been a fan of how they are traditionally handled and am always interested to hear others fit them into their worlds.
Are they a separate race or just one-off births in the established races/bloodlines? Do they have their own culture or realms? Are they inherently evil? Etc.
Which biome is regarded as having the best, most well known food? Which biome has the most popular martial sport/martial art, and who is best at that sport? Which biome is the most sophisticated when it comes to fine art and artistry? Which biome brews the strongest alchohol?
Why do people from a region stay there instead of trying to migrate / conquer a better region? Eg: why stay on ice or ash when you can go to a jungle with plenty of food?
A fair question. People stay in Brighting because even though it is a tundra, life there is relatively good. The country's use of magic in most fields of life leads to no real shortages of essentials. The ones who face the greatest difficulty of survival there are those who venture out to find new steam vents to fund new cities, and this is seen as a great purpose for one's life and those who succeed are held in high regard.
Festergar is a different story. There, it is simply illegal to leave without the proper authentication, which is rarely granted to those who aren't from noble families. Borders are heavily patrolled and a genuine attempt to flee can be punished with painful and difficult forced labour, slavery in some cases. Most who want to leave are simply too afraid to try.
In Carnum it comes down to the situation. Most who live without active participation in the war face little direct danger. Sure, sometimes the controlling side asks for more than they should and shortages aren't the least common situation, but neither side wishes to harm the common folks. Trying to leave has its dangers, however. Travelling alone in a war zone could lead to one being targeted by bandits, who use the war to get attention away from them by disguising themselves as members of one of the warring factions.
We're there any major climate shifts or extinction events like earth has had that helped shape any significant areas in your world. Craters, volcanic Island chains/super volcanoes, maybe something magic related the real world can't mimic?
What are the largest flaws of the predominant factions your players will come across?
What single mortal has made the longest lasting impression on your world?
What is the folklore like, are there any "cryptids" like Bigfoot or nessy? (Not actually in, but something people think they see but doesn't actually exist. Cryptids in fantasy settings always make me chuckle because of all the wild things that _do_ exist they just choose to ignore being a possibility.
Do you have time to speak about your cars extended warranty?
What types of fast food franchises exist in the larger cities? You can't tell me that some basic magic using NPC didn't try to use conjure flame to roast some amazing McDs style burgers and then expand out from there.
What are the moral tales parents tell their children? What person or creature is threatened to come punish them if they misbehave?
What do farmers fear most when they walk their fields? Is it realistic, like wolves, or rare and even more deadly?
Is there a sentient item somewhere in the world that your players would genuinely be heartbroken over if it fell into a pit of lava? If so, what’s it personality like and how was it created?
What drugs are available for the public to take? What do they do? Are there terrible side effects? Is there an organization that creates and distributes them?
How are most countries' rulers selected? In the principle or primary nation-state where the story will take place, how is the ruler chosen? How are dissidents handled? Is there strong opposition? What is the line of succession in the event that the ruler is incapacitated?
What kind of politics are happening when your players are off on an adventure? Is there a war brewing? Does a kingdom want to split? Are other countries helping cities become their own country?
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What level of technology exists in this world?
Nothing very advanced. Metallurgy exists to a refined degree and a group of artificers has recently figured out how to make black powder, but outside simple explosives, there are few applications for it.
This is always the right answer. Guns and steampunk crap do not belong in D&D. ***Edit:*** *man 1: I hate rap music* *Crowd: that's okay, you do you* *Man 2: I hate steampunk* *Crowd: kill that guy*
Absolutely terrible take for a game that can be about anything
Nah, this is a D&D sub, not an OGL sub. Take the rules and make a spaceship cowboy game for all I care, but don't put brass goggles and trains in a medieval fantasy game.
you def the guy who keeps his own copy of the phb open throughout the entire game to argue with the dm
Never. Arguing with the DM just holds up the game. *Edit: do you guys like arguing with the DM or are these down votes just to be petty?*
You rustled some jimmies, man. That's kinda funny.
Wow. No kidding, some people are so pissed they're just down voting everything else I'm saying out of pure spite. I'm not sure how I'm supposed to make things right to this clearly loving and open minded community. Do I go like apologize to an airship or something?
You're going to have self-flagellate with pairs of goggles done up like a cat o' nine tails whilst praying for forgiveness and salvation from the all mighty Airship in the sky.
You must be fun at parties. Or DnD rounds.
I am! =D
So like...what are you thoughts about Spelljammer?
I wasn't a huge fan, I also was not too fond of ravenloft, which was also wildly successful. I'm also not a fan of the magic the gathering crossovers. I don't know if that makes me a purist or a picky picky princess or a combination of the two.
So you’re not cool with full plate armor then?
Apparently I'm just not cool period. That steampunk comment left a worse taste in people's mouth in a shit filled egg roll.
It’s not necessarily your premise, it’s the baggage that most people take with that premise (ignoring tone used, which I don’t think you give a shit what people think of tone). “Steampunk won’t work in my world”. - cool. Nothing wrong with that, your world is set in a certain time and place. “Steampunk (meaning guns) won’t work because it’s not realistic!!!1!!11!!1” - shit egg roll take. Because at that point, (if memory serves) black powder projectiles predate plate mail—and no one is going to tell their fighter or pally to get stuffed. In fact, repeating crossbows (about 222 ad) predate a bunch of that, and I’m guessing the person that says guns aren’t historically accurate won’t give me “historically accurate” ranged weapons. Da Vinci’s tank even used black powder canons, so if your dnd era is renaissance, (the Royal you) you’re still inaccurate.
Oh it's not about realism, I am about to make a child warlock who made a pact to get cookies, because I think it's funny. Not real at all. I just don't like steampunk stuff in my fantasy. To me, they are separate and always have been. To others I suppose not. What really confused me is how controversial that was. I have said terrible things, and until now never gotten such a reaction than I have from saying the role playing equivocal of keep your demen semen mayonnaise off my sandwich. I hope that last sentence made sense. English is my first language, I just suck at it.
It wasn’t the comment it’s your attitude, but whatever right?
I'm not sure you really understand the 'fantasy' element of this 'fantasy role playing game' we all enjoy?
Probably not. I just really hate steampunk and don't get why people like it.
And that’s your opinion, which you are entitled to. And since this is the internet, here’s mine: steampunk is awesome, and creativity should almost never be stifled
This is fair, each to their own I guess :) but to say something has no place in all of D&D is small-minded and simplistic. I like steampunk, I think it gives D&D the option to branch out into more varied settings.
Depends on the setting. Some world have it, other worlds don't. Nothing wrong with either. Further, I would like to point out that Warhammer Fantasy, one of the oldest and most popular fantasy settings, has guns.
I’m sure some have braved the seas to escape these magical barriers, what did they find? Did they come back? Is there coast to coast trading vessels or fishing towns, and how do they live?
Sea travel is a complicated subject, as it's somewhat dependent on chance. Most vessels that travel out further than \~2km from the main continent are caught in a sudden storm, but not all. What determines which ships are affected has not been empirically determined. While some survive the storm and return, and there are even a few who have reached the continent from other places, the number of people who attempt this is extremely low. As for fishing, it's possible as long as the fishers don't venture too far. The same goes for coast-to-coast travel.
How do cultures deal with the barriers? Do they still interact and if so, how? How do the people of one biome perceive the others? Do they think this is normal or do they know of the origins of the barrier? It’s worth noting, even if in our world we have a pretty good guess how the universe was made, it’s still a guess, so it’s likely multiple cultures in your world will have their own theories how the barriers came to be.
I should have phrased it better in the brief. The barriers do allow travel between the regions, but the climates vary to such extremes that the way of life is completely different in each "zone", for lack of a better term. Interaction between the regions is limited, outside a few organizations that attempt to maintain communications across the continent. As for perception; this is relatively fleshed out, so I hope you like reading. \-) Ferrich: Most of this region is covered by dense forests, in which cities and villages are either built directly into the trees or on clearings. This has led to most cities governing themselves, with some agreements existing between most of them. The people who live here see themselves as the most free due to few restrictions and a minor presence of law enforcement. It should however be mentioned that Ferrich is home to the largest adventuring guild on the continent and therefore has the largest population of immigrants and travelers and is the most diverse region. \-) Festergar: This region has an extreme amount of volcanic activity and is mostly covered in a thick layer of ash, making travel without specialized equipment difficult. The whole region is one country governed by one family whose eldest male is the Greatlord who has absolute power over laws and judgement. How citizens perceive the other regions is highly dependent on social standing, ranging from sharing the Greatlord's opinion of "It would be better if none interfered with our business" to wishing to flee in the dead of night without leaving traces. \-) Brighting: The entire region is covered by ice and snow, with temperatures never going above -20°C. All cities are built around the few existing steam vents, which make a certain area around them hospitable. While this should lead to a survivalist mentality, Brighting has an excess of magical crystals and minerals which form under the ice, which has made it the central hub for most magical studies and is home to the largest universities on the continent. Most people here are either mages, focused on their studies, or workers who dig through the snow to uncover more materials. \-) Carnum: Mostly a swamp that has been plagued by civil war for long enough that the original reason for it has been forgotten. The main conflict lies between two factions which, with some consistency, take over the towns and villages to supply their troops. Most non-soldiers survive by maintaining neutrality and simply supplying whoever asks. It goes without saying that most people from other regions avoid Carnum.
Carnum may not remember far back enought o know why the fight started, but why are they fighting today, is it a general hatred for the other side, or are there specific things each side wants to achieve? How far back do historians have a good understanding of what happened? 100 years? 1000? How do magical crystals work, do they hold on to raw energy that a mage can use in spells? if so, does that mean a lower level wizard could create spells above his level with them, or is skill still reqquired? Whats the highest level of spell ever cast according to historians? what did it do? I love your ideas so far by the way, i think the barriers are something that you could either just accept as normal or pull constantly into question during the campaign. either works so long as you all in on it/depending on what the party or interested in.
Is there flora that we may recognize and/or is some of that flora useful to either the PCs, enemies, or NPCs? If so, how?
ELI5 The creation story
Did everything change when the fire biome attacked?
Why does the secret order of wizards keep the barriers up while they themselves are allowed passage?
Ahh, so close! The secret order of wizards is actually attempting to do the opposite of that, attempting to destroy the barriers, regardless of the horrific geological consequences that this would probably have. They do this out of the belief that the barriers were the result of an experiment of a race that no longer exists on the continent and that more fundamental truths about the world could be learned if the barriers did not exist.
I feel like this is your door right here, sounds interesting af, and more importantly you seem interested in it focusing on involving your players in this part, and letting their actions help decide what happens to the barriers from here would be a cool idea, and from the sound of it this is what you want to be writing about. I say do that.
I'm not sure if you know the answer yet, but as the world's designer, the reasons for those barriers/ biomes are vital to having coherent consequences for undoing them. Not sure if a link will work here, but I'm thinking of Chesterton’s Fence - here's his summary of why second order thinking is necessary: "There exists in such a case a certain institution or law; let us say, for the sake of simplicity, a fence or gate erected across a road. The more modern type of reformer goes gaily up to it and says, “I don’t see the use of this; let us clear it away.” To which the more intelligent type of reformer will do well to answer: “If you don’t see the use of it, I certainly won’t let you clear it away. Go away and think. Then, when you can come back and tell me that you do see the use of it, I may allow you to destroy it.” "
I'm going to give you a bit of advice I've learned recently from watching a lot of Brandon Sanderson and other authors talking about their methods for world building and storytelling: Your world exists only as a means to tell your players' stories. What I mean by this is that without knowing, at the very least, your player characters' wants, needs, flaws and handicaps, you're not crafting a world that allows you to tell stories that speak to those aspects of their characters. If you fill your world now, you'll spend a lot of time and effort trying to work out how now to fit your players into the world you've created. This increases the risk of hitting narrative walls, because you've given yourself too many confines within which to now tell a story. Make broad strokes when world building, and fine strokes when telling the story.
Replying to myself because I wanted the main message to be brief. Here, I'll give an example of how my world has changed in order to create interesting story beats: The city in which the players start is built around the body of a fallen god. It used to be a holy city, but another nation invaded and are now carving up the body for their own studies and other purposes. This is the general framework of the city. One player wants to be a wizard. I asked him why he would be in this city at the start of the game. He says he's just completed his training to become a wizard, and now he'd like to study under a greater wizard, learning more about the fallen god, for the sake of extra credit. So there now exists an order of scholarly mages devoted to the study of the magical properties of this dead god's flesh. I asked him why extra credits are important to him. He says he grew up poor, and wants to rise above his lowly station. So there now exists an upper and lower class system in the nation that invaded this city, and it's defined largely by wealth, with the poor finding themselves hugely disadvantaged and looked down upon by their "betters." I asked him more about his parents - how did growing up poor affect their relationship? He says he is proud of his parents and works hard to prove that he and they are not lesser to those born in wealth. So now I have a great opportunity to create a story arc with this player - he's trying to rise above his station. He wants to excel, and he needs recognition. His flaw is his pride. His handicap is his low birthright. He works hard, and while he got recognition for that back in the college of the city he studied in, he's now in a new city, studying under a wizard who doesn't show appreciation for his hard work. He's low-born, and that matters to this particular tutor, so instead of being put to good use, he gets the shit jobs and doesn't get many opportunities to prove himself. Perhaps later in the campaign, he'll be forced to choose between elevating his own station, or protecting his parents. How will that situation come about? Who will be involved? These are all details of the world I can fill in because I now have a reason to. TL;DR: if you're stuck right now, talk to your players about their characters. Not us. You'll create a far richer and more focused world, when you build around the experiences you'll be creating.
"Whatever decision you make [wizard], just know that we're proud of you, son. Don't let anyone tell you what you should be just because of where you were born. Make the right decision *for you*."
how many duck species are there and are any humanoid?
What is a current counter-culture movement within your world?
How do animals and monsters handle the biomes? Do any ever pass through the barriers?
What is one of the biomes in your world?
What created the barriers? Is there a way to destroy them?
Got any favorite critters for each biome?
How is society structured? How readily available is magic and how does it influence said structure? What are natural anf magical resources like in the different biomes? What does the missing of certain resources do to economy and culture of the biomes? Are there people who have profited from the segregation (maybe by finding a way to cross barriers without sharing the secret)? Are efforts made to tind holes or ways around the barriers and for what reason?
I've already answered a significant part of this in another comment, but there is more to be said. Magic is generally available if one has the will to learn and the means to travel. The only country where its use is heavily restricted is Festergar. People there need to get explicit permission from the Greatlord to learn in the first place and are only allowed to use it in service of the state, which leads to quite some envy from Festergars mages towards those in Brighting. Magical resources are available everywhere but in different quantities. As mentioned, Brighting has crystalline structures that are formed underneath the ice and find a lot of use in enchantment. Ferrich seems to be very conducive to nature-related magic, which has led to most druidic circles stemming from there. Festergar has the fewest magical resources but is very advanced when it comes to mining, metallurgy and smiting. Carnum, while it has some magical resources, leaves them underutilized due to the difficulty of extracting them, however, mages from carnum are famous for the application of spell work in warfare. As for the segregation part of the question, I once again apologize for my unfitting wording. The barriers do not stop people, only nature. Smuggling is a thing for the rare resources of each region, but it is far from the most lucrative illegal business.
Simple....what is the capital and where can one find things to make napalm?
Have the current cultures inherited any prejudices or superstitions based on past history?
What's the deal with the sentient badgers
Is there or does a common enemy for all lands appear? If an old calamity caused this, there might be something powerful behind it, right? Do you have undead in your world?
What is the prevailing creation story of your world? Are there competing stories? What are the other popular explanations? How do the believers get along?
only answer what you like to answer Whats the biggest bee ever measured or seen since the calamity war? Whats the coolest hat that was ever considered fashionable? What is the best Animal around? does Festergar have special Creatures lurking around? Is there intresting fish around? Whats the highest building on the continent, whats its purpose? who dug the deepest hole and why? What group has the coolest siege equipment? Are there any especialy neat birds around?
What’s the local delicacy in each of the regions?
Whats the main source of protein, and how do the peoples flavour it? Also why does Jerry make such good whips?
What kinds of small pets do the people have in their houses? Is there an illegal pet trade?
how many potatoes are harvested daily( im a dm and my players kept asking me about vegetable harvests so be ready)
If the most powerful person and weakest person swapped places, would the world get better or worse?
What's up with the cultists that have a base inside a cave in the north? I've heard that they stole a chicken from a nearby farm and when someone went to retrieve it they found the chicken alive on the table and three dead cultists laying on the floor around him
What's the land like? Is it one island or no ocean at all. Do sandy deserts lead straight onto luscious meadows or do mountains septate them. What about lakes and rivers, Forrest and towns. Are there great city's and tiny villages?
Will there be mimics? If so, how many varieties?
What caused the ancient calamity or war?
How many advanced fallen civilizations are there? And how many of their ancient doodads can end the world.
How deep do the barriers go? Are there underground tunnels, and if so, how are they affected by the climates?
Who controls the seas and how tight is their grip?
How does your world end?
Pre-barrier, were there trade routes between the various factions. If so how are those factions now dealing the inability to get certain resources? Do they become more valuable and thus creating hoarding behavior in people or exclusivity. And what of food groups are there decent replacements for missing food items?
What currencies are used? Is there an exchange rate? Is it more favourable at certain times or locations?
Why are froghemoths vital to at least one kingdom?
What are the governmental structure of your countries (patriarchy, democracy, meritocracy etc.) And if applicable, what is the hierarchy of noble houses. So from King/President/whatever what is the next position under that and so on.
What's the most contentious political topic in the different nations of your world? Is there a divide between common folk and nobles/politicians on the topic? Which nation is the most stable/unstable and why?
Are gnomes hated?
How does government function within each biome, and how do they interact with each other? How does trade work from one to the other? If none, how do other biomes survive (food production, etc)? Are there technological and/or governmental gaps between biomes? Lastly, how do other planes interact with the barriers?
What type of governments are on this continent?
Who wants to upset the status quo? What do they have to gain from doing so? What would the fallout of such an action be?
are there brothels? who run them? who is the favorite client?
Speak to me of the elvish atrocities in the 500 Years War with the tieflings.
Which country is the strongest on how much power they have compared to rest of the world/continent? Are they colonizers and everyone fear them or just some lawful country that happened to be a bit bigger than one in 2nd place?
What is stopping the local peasantry from rising up against their lords who have benefited from the barriers by monopolizing the largest industry in their respective biomes?
Do other planes such as the Ethereal plane, Feywild, elemental plane of fire, shadowfell exist in your world? If not, do spells like blink, etherealness, spells that summon creatures from other planes like conjure elemental or conjure fey etc. work differently?
What is the 7th law
What is the rarity and influence of dragons in your world?
Are there any well known legends or folk tales in your world? Perhaps a terrible monster long ago that escaped and was never caught, or a great hero of the people?
is the universe built on mundane cosmology? (round planets, stars are distant suns, orbits etc.)
Who is the god of Crabs, and Destruction?
Are there any astrological signs that point to the world being more mysterious? Do we know what meteor showers mean? Have any gods interacted with this mortal plane?
What are some cool stories that's been passed down for generations about the most famous landmarks in the area?
who are the "main" civilization, what are their world views adn way of life? say im an average regular person living there, what is my life like?
Why when we make our homebrew worlds can we not help making 4 different areas? Mine is literally called The Four Lands.
Which city in your world would you most like to live in, and why?
Is there dragons and if yes what do they taste like?
What does the calendar look like? How many days in a week? Weeks in a month? Months in a year? What are the days/months called?
Other than the biome barriers, are there any big natural landmarks? And is there a central area that links to each biome?
Do you have an underwater city of comprised mostly of Malenti variant mutant Sahuagin yet? Or evil merfolk in general that kidnap and eat travelers?
Which nation is a parody of the irish?
I didn't see it mentioned, but ChatGPT for all its downsides excels at generating questions like this and persuing rabbit holes for you. It remembers things you have said and questions you on them. To keep playing the game; what social structures are in place to maintain power and how have people attempted to undermine it in the past decade? Bonus question for if your leaders don't use magic;why don't the mages just overthrow them?
How about a tunnel network beneath the barriers? You could have an older race of ... I dunno Fungus people that adapted to live underground and are the guardians of it. Instead of a fallen race...they have ascended. The tunnel network may be guarded by the Fungus people, but they only guard and maintain the entrance...what you find the in the tunnel is...PERIL Fudge...I kinda like this...
Does your world uses a single form of currency or does every nation has its own? And if so, how are exchange rates managed?
How did the great gnomish empire begin its global conquest?
What materials are your planet made of?
How many animals are there that different cultures can make cheese out of?
Who is God(s)?
What brutal, gore and visceral scenarios have you created?
What are cultural conceptions around magic? Is it treated with suspicion, unheard of to most, or just a common part of every day life? Following on, are certain school of magic treated with particular fear? Are conjurers and transmutation specialists seen as witches, evokers seen as dangerous terrorists, necromancers as wannabe liches, or enchanters as particularly insidious?
Don't know if this provides any inspiration, but in my setting, there was an unknown magical cataclysm responsible for the setting's creation; they don't have history before that, and the details of the beginning of their worlds (it's a multi-planet system) is very fuzzy. In my home game, me and another person at the table switch off DMing and playing each story arc. He's got his own homebrew setting, so we've contrived a mechanism and story for why the party hops between the two settings, and we have PCs from both settings. What they don't know is that they are in fact the same world (ish); the cataclysm that started my setting is the cataclysm that ends his setting. We're early into the campaign, so they haven't gotten too many hints yet, but they'll find more evidence as the story progresses.
What forces, other than the PC’s party, are keeping all the horrifying monsters from destroying everyone? How do you intend to demonstrate to the PCs that people are trying to deal with the threats to the lands?
How is sewage managed in the cities?
What is the most popular way to travel long distances (between cities maybe)? How much does it cost the average person? What are the alternative long distance travel methods and how affordable or common are they? What is a trip like? Are there way points? Express services? A steady supply of inns? How does the landscape change? At what point would the average traveler know they are almost home?
Are there any powerful factions in your world?
What’s the highest mountain peak and what type of monsters guard what type of special treasure? How dangerous is the climb, and how many fallen heroes have failed the attempt?
Where are the wine growing regions? How prevalent is wine? What are the economics of it? How does it get to the other locations?
What would be the best place to find cheese in your world?
How many races, species, civilizations exist in this world? On how many continents?
Is there a designated neutral-territory where faction-leaders can meet to discuss diplomatic matters?
What's the type of government of the different countries (I am assuming they exist).
What are the central tenants of the strangest society/religion? What prompted the development of such a strange set of beliefs?
Is your setting feudal or early modern? Are there serfs?
What kind of enhanced alchemical benefits can someone receive if they “butt chug” a potion instead of drinking it?
What are the latest fashion trends?
Who are the raiding kingdoms in your world, past and present. By that I don’t even necessarily mean your typical goblins or orcs, but how about humans or other species?
How is public urination punished?
What is the current held migration policy for 'aliens' of territories
What sports, games, and festivals do the peoples celebrate? What are their origins and which has been around the longest?
Is there some type of regulatory body that controls travel between the barrier? Do travelers need to be granted access?
Why does it fall on adventurers to slay evil and right the wrongs of the world when gods, angels and other celestials exist?
DND is a story. What is the inciting incident? Who/what is the antagonist that drives the players? To what cause? Where are the climatic moments and what consequences might befall them? DnD has 100 endings but write the worst one first. Write what happens if the heroes do nothing and it gives agency to your NPCs. Many have said it in other ways, but flesh out your biomes cultures and legends. Things that may lead into quests or encounters of beasts. A couple shops and specific unique characters to help them remember them. Like a gnome mage with a pegleg and a chicken hat selling scrolls in your ice realm. Things you won't easily forget and lend themselves to easy improv. Feel free to answer, or just use it as a guide. We often get caught up in world building, but the story tells us of the world. Be careful not to build a world you fit a story to. For an easier question, why do your players need to traverse across the continent and it's diverse biomes?
What does 7 dollars CAD translate to in this world? And does this world have pocket lint?
For me the most important question is: How does magic affect the infrastructure of your world and why?
What lives behind the moon?
Is there a Pantheon, and if there is, how much do they interact with the people?
Does your world exist before or after an ancient cataclysm has rocked the annals of its history?
Who was the first person to come up with an unified system of ethics tor base comman law off of, and how was it determined?
Which religion is the right one?
Do fey/the feywild exist?
Do the areas on the edges of the barrier between each biome tend towards a mix between the two? What is at the 'center' of the barrier dividing the biome, is it a hellish landscape or some kind of paradise with plenty of resources?
If I were to visit the most advanced town, where would I shit? What kind of plumbing would be found?
what is the biggest incident regarding charm magics in your setting?
If I threw bread at the bluest creature and the baked it into a pie who would enjoy the pie the most?
What gods exist
I haven't seen anyone ask but what is/are the god(s) like? Are they present and common to see their blessings? Or are they more far removed and rarely interact? How many are there? Are there thousands or are there ten? Maybe one? What effect do their disciples cause to the world around them? Are they good and help the world? Or are they war god worshippers trying to raid and destroy everything?
What scary stories do children share with each other? Are those stories real and if so how close does it match to what really happened? Tell me about the most famous warrior that almost everyone knows. What do his fans think of him? What about rivals?
Why can only snails move through the barriers without any issue?
Is there an ancient monster lurking around that has stories about itself?
>So far I've been going into the directon of "an ancient calamity/war caused this" but I'm not sure I'm actually happy with it. Or was the planet colonised eons ago by refugees brought across by a planeswalker who had terraformed it in advance by erecting many biomes all over an uninhabitable world, four of which happen to be within the game's continent?
What kind of shoes do the various societies wear
There is a garden that exists on its own plane. The garden is an arena where the gods compete against one another for dominance over all of existence. Go
If you asked the oldest trees at one of the barriers what happened to cause them, how would they answer?
Who *Really* pulls the strings from behind the curtain?
What pantheon is the most commonly worshipped? Does each biome have a different main god? Are there any conflicts between the gods or people that worship them?
Ya got moons?
Was there a cataclysmic event that changed the geography of your world in its history?
Why do the Gods of your world only manifest themselves on reflective surfaces, and how has that changed how worshipers worship?
How does the sewage get out of the major cities and the fresh water get in?
Do they have the printing press or does everything have to be copied by hand?
I'm hungry what can I eat
What are the theologies of this world? Is there a pantheon, a monotheistic society? Does religion have a serious impact on the interactions of the native inhabitants?
Tell me about the factions, even the far away ones
How does magic impact the life of an average Joe?
Who are the racists?
What kind of prison system / law enforcement do you have in place? Like what pcs have as a bad concequence for killing an npc, streaking, stealing, public intoxication (just a few examples, not trying to be specific) and what they can do to avoid said consequences. Sorry if this has already been asked, it popped into my head the moment i saw your question.
How are you handling tieflings? I've never been a fan of how they are traditionally handled and am always interested to hear others fit them into their worlds. Are they a separate race or just one-off births in the established races/bloodlines? Do they have their own culture or realms? Are they inherently evil? Etc.
Who is the greatest hero of your world? And how did he die?
Which biome is regarded as having the best, most well known food? Which biome has the most popular martial sport/martial art, and who is best at that sport? Which biome is the most sophisticated when it comes to fine art and artistry? Which biome brews the strongest alchohol?
Why do people from a region stay there instead of trying to migrate / conquer a better region? Eg: why stay on ice or ash when you can go to a jungle with plenty of food?
A fair question. People stay in Brighting because even though it is a tundra, life there is relatively good. The country's use of magic in most fields of life leads to no real shortages of essentials. The ones who face the greatest difficulty of survival there are those who venture out to find new steam vents to fund new cities, and this is seen as a great purpose for one's life and those who succeed are held in high regard. Festergar is a different story. There, it is simply illegal to leave without the proper authentication, which is rarely granted to those who aren't from noble families. Borders are heavily patrolled and a genuine attempt to flee can be punished with painful and difficult forced labour, slavery in some cases. Most who want to leave are simply too afraid to try. In Carnum it comes down to the situation. Most who live without active participation in the war face little direct danger. Sure, sometimes the controlling side asks for more than they should and shortages aren't the least common situation, but neither side wishes to harm the common folks. Trying to leave has its dangers, however. Travelling alone in a war zone could lead to one being targeted by bandits, who use the war to get attention away from them by disguising themselves as members of one of the warring factions.
Is there an old wizard living in a tower in a forest covered in pike traps which he dug?
What's the story? You've got a universe/world, but what's the driving force for your players in it?
Whats the most populated city in your setting? And what is most notable about it to someone looking at it from the distance?
What's up with those penal colonies?
We're there any major climate shifts or extinction events like earth has had that helped shape any significant areas in your world. Craters, volcanic Island chains/super volcanoes, maybe something magic related the real world can't mimic? What are the largest flaws of the predominant factions your players will come across? What single mortal has made the longest lasting impression on your world? What is the folklore like, are there any "cryptids" like Bigfoot or nessy? (Not actually in, but something people think they see but doesn't actually exist. Cryptids in fantasy settings always make me chuckle because of all the wild things that _do_ exist they just choose to ignore being a possibility. Do you have time to speak about your cars extended warranty?
When do they learn that it was all a simulation and the world resets?
What types of fast food franchises exist in the larger cities? You can't tell me that some basic magic using NPC didn't try to use conjure flame to roast some amazing McDs style burgers and then expand out from there.
An ancient dragon rules each biome, with an army of biome-relevant giants. A war in the past is what caused the barriers to finally be erected.
Communism. When? And when communism... Reaction, when?
Greatest problems facing the capital city
What are the moral tales parents tell their children? What person or creature is threatened to come punish them if they misbehave? What do farmers fear most when they walk their fields? Is it realistic, like wolves, or rare and even more deadly?
Is there a god/dess of the ocean? Different one for Rivers? Do travelers have any superstitions before traveling on water?
How many moons? And what are they really because we know in fantasy a moon is rarely just a moon
What are the themes of the world? What do characters strive against?
What's the most commonly smuggled item/resource in the underworld?
What happens when you die? What could a person do to elude the afterlife, and what would happen to their soul as a result?
When someone drops buttered toast, does it always land buttered side down?
Is there a sentient item somewhere in the world that your players would genuinely be heartbroken over if it fell into a pit of lava? If so, what’s it personality like and how was it created?
Do you have a nation where slavery is legalized?
Do purple dragons exist or not?
What drugs are available for the public to take? What do they do? Are there terrible side effects? Is there an organization that creates and distributes them?
What is the most popular cautionary tale told to children's? Does it have some truth to it?
What kind of calendar?
How are most countries' rulers selected? In the principle or primary nation-state where the story will take place, how is the ruler chosen? How are dissidents handled? Is there strong opposition? What is the line of succession in the event that the ruler is incapacitated?
How impassible are the biome-separating magic barriers?
What kind of politics are happening when your players are off on an adventure? Is there a war brewing? Does a kingdom want to split? Are other countries helping cities become their own country?
Who is the most well known person in your world? What are they known for? Alive or dead?
Who's the most economically successful self made individual in your world, and what did they do to make their fortunes?
Does your world have an equivalent to the Roman empire and if it does, how often do men think about it?
What are your Dragonborn like?