New Fantasy Setting Seeds.

[David Johnston2]

End of the Golden Age: You live in a time when magic has been industrialized. The affluent are ageless, while even the poorest command one valuable asset, in the form of their own body which can be mortgaged so that in return for subsistence they will join the zombies, skeletons, mummies, golems and Awakened objects who labour for the realm's prosperity. (Well...life kind of sucks for the Soulless minority cursed with Magic Resistance or worse Magic Static who are well known to be unemployable criminals and beggars and can't even sell their afterlife. So far as anyone knows they don't have one.)

Houses are warmed in winter and chilled in summer by water that flows through underground pipes using fire and water elementals. Beast masters magically hybridize and enhance the creatures they steer to turn them into better military weapons. Yes, they made dragons among other monsters. Teleportals allow nigh instant travel between cities. The weather bureau aims the weather with precision to local requirements. Farmers and greenhouses have crop yields that a technological civilization can only dream of. Any suggestions are welcome

Except it's all starting to go wrong as the overstressed mana field begins to warp. Some of those monsters are getting a little too smart. The portals and the weather patterns are getting unstable. The Demon Suppression Squads are getting busier and busier. And the mummies and skeletons oh the mummies and skeletons are turning into a real problem. And there are as many of them as there are of the living.

[Astromancer]

The Return

What did you say your big plan was?

To bring it back. Magic has been fading in this realm since seven sacred treasures were taken from this realm.

You mean to bring back seven pieces of bric-a-brac to save the world.

You see Excalibur before you. And I healed your wounds with the Golden Fleece. Five more relics and we've broken the curse. Already, magic is easier in Britain. Charms that haven't worked for generations are potent again.

Which relics?

The Curse was cast in the West. And cast against the power of the Western Wells.

The Western Wells?

Tubber Tine, the burning well of Irish myth, and Mimisbrunnr, that well which Odin traded his eye for a single drink of, the Fountain of Youth, the Well of the Water of Life, the Fountain of Lions, the Hippocrene, and the Dear Green Place.

Do we need to find the wells to find the relics?

Each must be found together. I found the Golden Fleece in the Hippocrene and Excalibur in the Dear Green Place. The wells and the relics must be separated to save the world.


Basically, someone working in the West sought to cut Europe off from any and all spiritual power. Instead they cut the whole world off from magic. The PCs are questing to break the curse.

The world until about 1947 was about 90% no Mana and 10% Low Mana (there were a few places of higher Mana, but to few to be statistically significant). Now the British Isles and Greece are both 90% Low Mana and 9% Normal Mana, and 1% High Mana always around springs and wells.

The PCs are questing in late 1940s Europe for ancient mystic relics and places of power. Certain far less honorable seekers are after the same relics. Nazis, Stalinists, and other monsters seek the same power for different ends.

Meanwhile, the return of magic isn't always all technicolor sparkles and Disney songs. Magic has many faces. Is the world ready for the return of wonder?

[SilvercatMoonpaw]

A civilization that had a magical-industrial renaissance, but only because of the extensive use of self-enhancement alchemy (essentially magical steroids, but more than just strength). But something disrupted the supply, causing the civilization to collapse.

The PCs now roam the ruins, searching for enough traces of alchemy to kickstart a new rise. And constantly questioning if a society should be so dependent on one source of power.....

[Astromancer]

The New Borders

When I was young, it was many miles to London. You had to travel through a forest to get there. Most of that forest is gone except for the park where the gentry drive in their fine carriages.

What they don't know is the other Gentry never left. Some of those highway men would be more easily warded off with cold iron than hot lead.

Basically, a once rural area near London (or whichever European city you like) is being built up. Contrary to popular beliefs, fairies can live in cities just fine. They charge and adapt, which can be dangerous if you don't know how they've changed.

This is a mystery/horror campaign set in the outskirts of 18th century London. There are still areas of wilderness within a few miles of the city. Farms, villages, woods, and built up areas are in a fairly random pattern.

The faeries in this setting are just as powerful as in actual English folk belief. Interesting twist. It's a mark of ignorance to believe in the faeries. There is plenty of evidence that most people in this period, even the educated, did believe in faeries. Good luck getting them to admit the same.

[jason taylor]

Originally Posted by Astromancer

The New Borders

When I was young, it was many miles to London. You had to travel through a forest to get there. Most of that forest is gone except for the park where the gentry drive in their fine carriages.

What they don't know is the other Gentry never left. Some of those highway men would be more easily warded off with cold iron than hot lead.

Basically, a once rural area near London (or whichever European city you like) is being built up. Contrary to popular beliefs, fairies can live in cities just fine. They charge and adapt, which can be dangerous if you don't know how they've changed.

This is a mystery/horror campaign set in the outskirts of 18th century London. There are still areas of wilderness within a few miles of the city. Farms, villages, woods, and built up areas are in a fairly random pattern.

The faeries in this setting are just as powerful as in actual English folk belief. Interesting twist. It's a mark of ignorance to believe in the faeries. There is plenty of evidence that most people in this period, even the educated, did believe in faeries. Good luck getting them to admit the same.

Of course. It HAS to be London. But there are some other interesting places. For instance the distributaries of the Thames were swampy and sickness-ridden and few lived a natural life. Maybe King Harold's ghost really is haunting the place where William the Geneologically-challenged buried him under a pile of rocks. And any place along the Thames where something uncanny happens like an eddy or a joining of rivers or whatever. But that is a very good idea on it's own.

[Prince Charon]

Originally Posted by jason taylor

Of course. It HAS to be London. But there are some other interesting places. For instance the distributaries of the Thames were swampy and sickness-ridden and few lived a natural life. Maybe King Harold's ghost really is haunting the place where William the Geneologically-challenged buried him under a pile of rocks. And any place along the Thames where something uncanny happens like an eddy or a joining of rivers or whatever. But that is a very good idea on it's own.

Some British (Celtic?) medieval beliefs about the fae had it that they were ghosts themselves who learned various tricks to interact with mortals, so that overlaps pretty well.

[Astromancer]

The Golden Mountain

I had no hope back home. I was not just a younger child, I was the younger child of a concubine. I heard of the land beyond the sea, the land they called the "Beautiful Country" or the "Golden Mountain." I knew I had to try my luck.

This setting takes the story of Asian immigration to the United States of America in the 19th century and looks at the Yokai of Japan and China's Yaoguai. Of course just as the humans of East Asia met the Americans already living there, the Yokai and the Yaoguai have to deal with the local supernatural folks. Mainly European descendant Faeries, but some Native American supernaturals too.

Basically, you're playing a Yokai or a Yaoguai dealing with Faeries, Nunnehine, Ghosts of the locals, plus witches, HooDoos, Conjure Folk, and others. So, go out and meet the new neighbors.

[ajardoor]

The Certamen Circuit

(Got inspired for this one by reading up on Pokemon and that one Pyramid article Codex Duello.)

Modern day alt-history Earth(?), magic exists and it's public and plenty of people use it. Something like Technomancer, maybe?

The PCs are professional wizard duelists out to compete in the sport of Certamen (the "technical" term for magic dueling) across the region. They travel up and down the country, dueling other wizards for prize money, fame and honors. It could just be a straight sports contender thing, or maybe they stumble into villains along the way to the Championship and foil their plans.

Play it like a mixture of the Pokemon games, The Olympics, the first part of that one Harry Potter book, Rocky, classic road trip, and stuff?

If you wanna make it darker, throw in inspiration from Death Race 2000, Thunderdome, Cyberpunk dystopias in general, Rollerball, Tonya Harding getting someone crippled, Roman gladiator games, underground fighting rings, the FIFA scandals, hardcore Kung Fu movies (especially Bloodsport and Game of Death), the Pyramid article Play Stupid Games, etc.

(Check this TVTropes page on Pokemon trainer classes for ideas on the colorful characters PCs could end up dueling.)

[PTTG]

Let's tune up the saturation and set it in a parallel '80s. Cold war tensions, the goal is to show up the Necronists in the World Championships, and for sure there's profiteering and politics going on behind the scenes.

It also makes me think of the Pro Bending circuit in Legend of Korra.

[ajardoor]

I'd imagine the wild world of sports and their fandoms would be great inspiration.

IIRC, The Dollop podcast had plenty of episodes about whacky sports and sports-stars (baseball in particular), I should check those out.