Frost Islands -> My homebrew "inverted" Lacrymas setting for 2e.

[Cryomancer]

So, I was reading Lacrymas thread https://rpgcodex.net/forums/threads...sy-setting-where-paladins-are-eunuchs.137544/

And after thinking a little, decided to invert his ideas to create a setting.

"Desert setting. Resource scarcity. Theocracy. Forced resettlements" Let me invert Lacrymas setting.

• Tundras instead of deserts. With a lot of dangerous carnivorous animals.
• Resource abundance. There are plenty of food, mines, fresh water and etc thanks to the implementation of magic in agriculture and resources gathering
• Magocracy + Tribal societies. There are city states governed by a magocracy which doesn't exert any strict control over their subjects and act like a Marid on D&D, arrogant but don't care about imposing their will on another people. They have no religion, some respect and admire Mystra but they don't worship anyone but themselves. The bulk of their military forces are death knights and golems.
• Barbarians has supernatural powers, but their are nothing like arcane casters. Their believes are more about ancestral worshiping and they have some supernatural bodies, more strong than polar bears and they don't need any clothing to survive in the coldest freezing winter. They have natural regeneration, can move at superhuman speeds and a lot of vigor. Hence they can enjoy week long orgies(much better than chastity + castration). They also don't pray to their Gods. Like Crom, they see praying as a symbol of weakness.
• Instead of forced resettlements, people value their soil a lot. And defend their soil with everything from hordes of Jotuns, Trolls and Angels which tries to convert then into a sissy egalitarian moral shamming religion. Soil is sacred for barbarians, since their ancestors are buried there and for mages, results of generations and generations of magical research and infrastructure which they depend upon are there. Both prefer to die than to leave their "settlements"
• The world alignment is "chaotic neutral" and a central point in a cosmic conflict between law X chaos.
• Mages are mostly chaotic neutral like Marids(water geniekind) in other worlds, individualistic and Barbarians more "primal" chaotic neutral. Some places there are conflicts, some truces and very few cooperation among this two groups.
• Barbarians has superhuman strength not only in lore, but in mechanic rolling 3d6 + 6 on character creation. Or gaining 2 points of STR per point invested in point buy. They gain regeneration of half of his level on level 8, immunity to fatigue, immunity to cold and double of his level as magical resistance
• At level 3, they can cleave and hit multiple enemies
• At level 8 they gain regeneration
• At level 15, they gain frightful presence.
• Mages are focused into a school of magic and can only learn spells from the guild which they belong. The guilds are : Water school, which dominates the water trade an naval trade during the summer and help with agriculture, the fire school which creates steampunk magical artifacts and engines, the earth school all about construction and agriculture and the wind school, which can help a bit in every aspect. Teh brotherhood of darkness, all about necromancy and conjuration. The illusionists, greed merchant gnomes.
• The ships depends. Barbarians has Viking like ships. Mages, has "steampunky" ships with magical steam engines.
• Naval combat is a great part, mainly during the summer.

 

[SoupNazi]

We will watch this thread with great interest

 

[Bara]

Kind wish we made a more neutral second thread for everyones hombrew ideas to be mocked and improved upon instead of another one just dedicated to one user.

On topic what exactly is the situation with the mages and barbarians? Totally ignoring one another as the mages dont bother them or vice versa? Or be the mages in conflict with the barbarians?

If they do have conflicts might be able to steal stuff from Jakandor

Though thay was a setting where the barbarian tribes are at war with the mages both living on the same island. A very bloody war.

 

[Cryomancer]

On topic what exactly is the situation with the mages and barbarians? Totally ignoring one another as the mages dont bother them or vice versa? Or be the mages in conflict with the barbarians?

That depends a LOT on the region. There are places where barbs and wizards hate each other and are in conflict cuz the brotherhood of darkness defied his sacred cemetery or other reason, others when they have a truce and others where they have a alliance against outsider(mostly close to outsider "portals")

Kind wish we made a more neutral second thread for everyones hombrew ideas to be mocked and improved upon instead of another one just dedicated to one user

Well, If the moderation agrees with you, please. Merge this thread with other ones.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

Kind wish we made a more neutral second thread for everyones hombrew ideas to be mocked and improved upon instead of another one just dedicated to one user.

Just throw your ideas in anyways.


The nation of Keldornia has an army made up of male-only paladins trained to slaughter mages. The class itself should be based loosely on the 2E paladin inquisitor archetype. Any and all mages found within the borders of Keldornia are rounded up and kept in a monastery, the population of said monasteries remains small to prevent the mages from easily rebelling. Everything the mages do must be for the benefit of all Keldornians. All arcane magic is strictly regulated, the punishment for breaking the law is death. If said paladins deem it necessary, they may purge the monasteries of all mages.

Said paladins are encouraged to have wives and many children. Being unfaithful to your spouse is is illegal, and the punishment means stripping the offender of all titles and honors, they must forfeit any and all possessions or land they own, and are banished from Keldornia for life.

 

[Bara]

they have a alliance against outsider(mostly close to outsider "portals")

So is it a tundra/ice age world of only barbarians and mages or specifically just focusing on one region of the world and expand out from there?

Because I'm curious if theres only those barbarian tribes and mage lords that either simply just acknowledge the existance of the gods with maybe a little respect but no prayers what interest in this world would Outsiders have in this world to want draw converts over to them rather than comsidering it a lost world.

What resources of this world would draw their interest to even manifest in it as gettimg converts are hard and these two cultures even have alliances at times just to force them out of their plane of existence?

Or for this setting is it the only world where these gods can exist and in this ice age/ iced world they are dying things trying to force belief in those that turned their back on the Gods for some reason?

 

[Storyfag]

Kind wish we made a more neutral second thread for everyones hombrew ideas to be mocked and improved upon instead of another one just dedicated to one user

Well, If the moderation agrees with you, please. Merge this thread with other ones.

No, far better to keep each thread focused on its own setting. Will allow for better communication.

Anyway, S0rcererV1ct0r, I like your setting. The contrast between cities with mages and tribal societies reminds me of Conan.

 

[Mortmal]

For a reverse setting you are not pushing it nearly enough, many ressources indeed so think of coastal city states with large acces to food supplies, think of greek like city states. The rulers ? Sorcerers kings, witch queens of absurd power, homebrew more spells , think of netheril ,add an extra level of overpowered spells to those.
Those sorcerers range from hedonistic bored immortals enjoying orgies the like they would put ancient rome orgies to shame to philosophers-architect spending time studying math and magic , building clockwork bronze cities.

Of course the hedonistic amoral ones are using magic to twist and model their slaves for their pleasure, no taboo anything goes, the underground dungeons are full of their inbred monstruosities and failed experiments. Inbreeding of course as not a single taboo for them , none , they have power they have magic, they are bored aristocrats. To keep the magic bloodline pure they keep it in the family with every consequences expected.

No clergy , think of darksun the templar are receving their magic from the sorcerer kings, keep a few pagan and shamanistic beliefs for barbarians .

Castration ? No! Enhancements here , bloodsworn guards are enhanced by their sorcerer or witch owners . No homosexuality ? its extremely taboo in lacrymas setting ? Here no one would bat an eyelid especially after seeing what the sorcerers are doing every days . Homosexuality is MANDATORY for a sub class of fighter ! Think of Rhodes mercenary , 200 elite warriors better than spartan , each of them fighting side by side with his lover. You can add feats to reflect that giving bonus reactions , flanking bonus , shield expertise and so on to give them a clear edge in combat.

 

[Calthaer]

The most important thing about Lacrymas' setting is that paladins are the only healers and they must be castrated. How is this the opposite of that? Do paladins not heal, but all can...dual wield?

 

[Mortmal]

The most important thing about Lacrymas' setting is that paladins are the only healers and they must be castrated. How is this the opposite of that? Do paladins not heal, but all can...dual wield?

No the whole setting is one big castration enforced on players.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

The most important thing about Lacrymas' setting is that paladins are the only healers and they must be castrated. How is this the opposite of that? Do paladins not heal, but all can...dual wield?

Keldornia's inquisitors are the exact opposite.
Inquisitors relinquish their ability to cast spells & lay on hands in exchange for the powers their archetype grants them. Refer to the 2E Complete Paladin's Handbook.

 

[Gangrelrumbler]

The most important thing about Lacrymas' setting is that paladins are the only healers and they must be castrated. How is this the opposite of that? Do paladins not heal, but all can...dual wield?

Paladins should all be nature-themed and required to have as much sex and children as possible. After all you can't use lifeforce to heal if you're not a part of circle of life.

 

[Cryomancer]

So is it a tundra/ice age world of only barbarians and mages or specifically just focusing on one region of the world and expand out from there?

Because I'm curious if theres only those barbarian tribes and mage lords that either simply just acknowledge the existance of the gods with maybe a little respect but no prayers what interest in this world would Outsiders have in this world to want draw converts over to them rather than comsidering it a lost world.

The world is in a "ice age" to reflect the inverse of Lacrymas world. As for the relationship between the tribal barbarians and mages, that depends a lot on the place. In general, Barbarians don't like mages, but they also don't invade a heavily fortified city with a army of golems and death knights with no reason. Unless they have som reason. On naval battle, you can ask how a viking ship can fight a steampunk ship? Simple. Barbarians just throw large boulders and a critical hit on a steampunk ship can make the engine malfuncion and put the ship in flames. They are superhuman in physical strength.

As for the resourcefulness, is simple. The life in that world is adapted to live in cold. Evergreen trees are common and the agriculture can survive the coldest winter with no problem. Part of a natural adaptation and part due magical experiments. The world is very rich in metal, but a lot of mines can only be mined on the summer hence the necessity to develop "magical steam ships". Instead of coal, they use fire spells in conjunction with permanency spell to make the engine work. Magic can also produce foods and goods.

Those sorcerers range from hedonistic bored immortals enjoying orgies the like they would put ancient rome orgies to shame to philosophers-architect spending time studying math and magic , building clockwork bronze cities.

Of course the hedonistic amoral ones are using magic to twist and model their slaves for their pleasure, no taboo anything goes, the underground dungeons are full of their inbred monstruosities and failed experiments. Inbreeding of course as not a single taboo for them , none , they have power they have magic, they are bored aristocrats. To keep the magic bloodline pure they keep it in the family with every consequences expected.

Amazing suggestions. The most powerful mages on the magocracy are now hedonistic, despite being individualistic and never doing anything against the will of their partners, they have no problems summoning succubus, which resulted in Alu Fiends and Cambions being relatively common in some city states. I believe that 9 major city states is a great number.

What resources of this world would draw their interest to even manifest in it as gettimg converts are hard and these two cultures even have alliances at times just to force them out of their plane of existence?

Nobody in that setting knows. Maybe they are just a piece in a eternal LAW vs CHAOS conflict. Maybe a powerful greater lawful good deity wanna to take this region to launch a attack on abyss...

PS : Alliances of mages and barbs are rare. If there are 9 big city states, there are only one in alliance and is not a lasting alliance.

 

[Mortmal]

So is it a tundra/ice age world of only barbarians and mages or specifically just focusing on one region of the world and expand out from there?

Because I'm curious if theres only those barbarian tribes and mage lords that either simply just acknowledge the existance of the gods with maybe a little respect but no prayers what interest in this world would Outsiders have in this world to want draw converts over to them rather than comsidering it a lost world.

The world is in a "ice age" to reflect the inverse of Lacrymas world. As for the relationship between the tribal barbarians and mages, that depends a lot on the place. In general, Barbarians don't like mages, but they also don't invade a heavily fortified city with a army of golems and death knights with no reason. Unless they have som reason. On naval battle, you can ask how a viking ship can fight a steampunk ship? Simple. Barbarians just throw large boulders and a critical hit on a steampunk ship can make the engine malfuncion and put the ship in flames. They are superhuman in physical strength.

As for the resourcefulness, is simple. The life in that world is adapted to live in cold. Evergreen trees are common and the agriculture can survive the coldest winter with no problem. Part of a natural adaptation and part due magical experiments. The world is very rich in metal, but a lot of mines can only be mined on the summer hence the necessity to develop "magical steam ships". Instead of coal, they use fire spells in conjunction with permanency spell to make the engine work. Magic can also produce foods and goods.

Those sorcerers range from hedonistic bored immortals enjoying orgies the like they would put ancient rome orgies to shame to philosophers-architect spending time studying math and magic , building clockwork bronze cities.

Of course the hedonistic amoral ones are using magic to twist and model their slaves for their pleasure, no taboo anything goes, the underground dungeons are full of their inbred monstruosities and failed experiments. Inbreeding of course as not a single taboo for them , none , they have power they have magic, they are bored aristocrats. To keep the magic bloodline pure they keep it in the family with every consequences expected.

Amazing suggestions. The most powerful mages on the magocracy are now hedonistic, despite being individualistic and never doing anything against the will of their partners, they have no problems summoning succubus, which resulted in Alu Fiends and Cambions being relatively common in some city states. I believe that 9 major city states is a great number.

What resources of this world would draw their interest to even manifest in it as gettimg converts are hard and these two cultures even have alliances at times just to force them out of their plane of existence?

Nobody in that setting knows. Maybe they are just a piece in a eternal LAW vs CHAOS conflict. Maybe a powerful greater lawful good deity wanna to take this region to launch a attack on abyss...

PS : Alliances of mages and barbs are rare. If there are 9 big city states, there are only one in alliance and is not a lasting alliance.

Barbarians and natives are probably used as front troops and auxiliaries for external wars or to counter hordes of monsters, remember in dark sun giants were assaulting the sea city and that was that deviant of sorcerer king that was keeping all the citizens alive , building defenses . The city states can pay them with gold, food or even salt extracted from the mines.
Mages probably are paranoid keeping their secret with jealousy, again emphasis on a large diversity of spells .Primeval thule had snake themed ones for exemple, wildermount added chronomancy and gravitomancy . They most likely never leave their stronghold anymore have a large court of courtesans apprrentice and yes cambiens, succubi and such must be very common .
Everyone in a cold war state, a stalemate, as the other mages could ruin the first one who move. The distance between them the attrition for common troops might make it a very difficult task too.There's a reason some ancient empires like the aztec did not expand that much, as much grain a man can carry.

Why would barbarians attack such stronghold ? One mage could get complacent, too decadent . One of them did not pay them then they detected a weakness in their stronghold, a good old fall of constantinople scenario sacked by the crusaders . Or someone from the inside could led them into, past the maze of reefs, that's how melnibone fall in elric the necromancer.

 

[aleph]

... and for mages, results of generations and generations of magical research and infrastructure which they depend upon are there.

Is this infrastructure only there for the mages or is it accessible to everyone (maybe for a price)? The latter would sharpen the conflict between magical "civilization" and barbarians.

 

[Cryomancer]

Mages probably are paranoid keeping their secret with jealousy, again emphasis on a large diversity of spells .Primeval thule had snake themed ones for exemple, wildermount added chronomancy and gravitomancy . They most likely never leave their stronghold anymore have a large court of courtesans apprrentice and yes cambiens, succubi and such must be very common .

What would be cool is cryptography on magical scrolls. They doesn't take XP to inscribe. An mage can sell a one time use scroll for another guild that can be used but never learned unless the mage manages to break the cipher code, and only the epic level archmage of each "tradition" knows it. Since each magical school researched a spell "theme", if you wanna permanency spell, the water mages are the unique that can give that ciphered scroll. If you wanna create undead, deal with brotherwood of darkness. Fire magic is dominated by the magicians of fire obviously and so on. Trade routes are very important in this world.

The currency is each for each city and everyone has ways to deal with illusion magic used to "falsify" currency. There are rumors that the Earth's guild has a method of transforming iron into gold, but nobody knows if thisi s truth and the impact that this would happen in the world if is truth... This scrolls are inscribed mostly by apprentices who wanna join into the magocracy. Some talented apprencies are promoted and send to scout ships in trade routes, others due the jealously of their masters, are send into suicide expeditions, but most apprentices are working on cities doing all intellectual work. The work on mines, ship building, maintance of the constructions and so on, are made by constructs(made by each elemental guild) and undeads(made by the brotherhood of darkness). Those with low intelligence who could't learn magic are "segregated" into the "guetos" or outer walls and there are rumors that magicians take this people to do experiments or even "sexual slave labor", no need for manual forced labor since constructs/undeads do everything. They don't rebel cuz they have no chance, nor try to escape cuz they don't have supernatural body and can't survive outside of the civilization. There are no prisons in any city. Mages sees it as a waste of resources and execute criminals on the spot who are damaging their propriety. Those with high status can get a trial which involves detect magic, detect secrets, compulsion and other forms to make sure that he is not lying.

Everything is a private propriety. Nothing is public. Remember, wizards are very individualistic. The "police"? The libraries? Everything private. The difference between a apprentice and a real wizard is simple. "If a mere wand can cast the same magic that you can cast, you are not a true wizard" and wands can cast up to tier 4 magic, so almost everyone is apprentice and only about less than 5% of the population are real wizards, capable of casting tier 5+ magic. The association of then is by mutual benefit. The higher mages gain money from the work of lower ones and lower ones gain knowledge which would be expensive to obtain otherwise. War among magical cities are near almost in-existent due the logistic nightmare of transporting troops and laying a siege in such chaotic world. What is common is infiltration, espionage, counter espionage and so on.

Is this infrastructure only there for the mages or is it accessible to everyone (maybe for a price)? The latter would sharpen the conflict between magical "civilization" and barbarians.

Barbarians doesn't need civilization to survive. Quite the contrary. Some look down upon civilized people as weaklings and other hate civilization.

 

[Bara]

What would be cool is cryptography on magical scrolls. They doesn't take XP to inscribe. An mage can sell a one time use scroll for another guild that can be used but never learned unless the mage manages to break the cipher code,

...DRM magic scrolls. I actually like that.

 

[Cael]

Everything is a private propriety. Nothing is public. Remember, wizards are very individualistic. The "police"? The libraries? Everything private. The difference between a apprentice and a real wizard is simple. "If a mere wand can cast the same magic that you can cast, you are not a true wizard" and wands can cast up to tier 4 magic, so almost everyone is apprentice and only about less than 5% of the population are real wizards, capable of casting tier 5+ magic. The association of then is by mutual benefit. The higher mages gain money from the work of lower ones and lower ones gain knowledge which would be expensive to obtain otherwise. War among magical cities are near almost in-existent due the logistic nightmare of transporting troops and laying a siege in such chaotic world. What is common is infiltration, espionage, counter espionage and so on.

Oh my. This alone makes it superior to the castrator's setting.

 

[luj1]

So, I was reading Lacrymas thread https://rpgcodex.net/forums/threads...sy-setting-where-paladins-are-eunuchs.137544/

And after thinking a little, decided to invert his ideas to create a setting.

"Desert setting. Resource scarcity. Theocracy. Forced resettlements" Let me invert Lacrymas setting.

• Tundras instead of deserts. With a lot of dangerous carnivorous animals.
• Resource abundance. There are plenty of food, mines, fresh water and etc thanks to the implementation of magic in agriculture and resources gathering
• Magocracy + Tribal societies. There are city states governed by a magocracy which doesn't exert any strict control over their subjects and act like a Marid on D&D, arrogant but don't care about imposing their will on another people. They have no religion, some respect and admire Mystra but they don't worship anyone but themselves. The bulk of their military forces are death knights and golems.
• Barbarians has supernatural powers, but their are nothing like arcane casters. Their believes are more about ancestral worshiping and they have some supernatural bodies, more strong than polar bears and they don't need any clothing to survive in the coldest freezing winter. They have natural regeneration, can move at superhuman speeds and a lot of vigor. Hence they can enjoy week long orgies(much better than chastity + castration). They also don't pray to their Gods. Like Crom, they see praying as a symbol of weakness.
• Instead of forced resettlements, people value their soil a lot. And defend their soil with everything from hordes of Jotuns, Trolls and Angels which tries to convert then into a sissy egalitarian moral shamming religion. Soil is sacred for barbarians, since their ancestors are buried there and for mages, results of generations and generations of magical research and infrastructure which they depend upon are there. Both prefer to die than to leave their "settlements"
• The world alignment is "chaotic neutral" and a central point in a cosmic conflict between law X chaos.
• Mages are mostly chaotic neutral like Marids(water geniekind) in other worlds, individualistic and Barbarians more "primal" chaotic neutral. Some places there are conflicts, some truces and very few cooperation among this two groups.
• Barbarians has superhuman strength not only in lore, but in mechanic rolling 3d6 + 6 on character creation. Or gaining 2 points of STR per point invested in point buy. They gain regeneration of half of his level on level 8, immunity to fatigue, immunity to cold and double of his level as magical resistance
• At level 3, they can cleave and hit multiple enemies
• At level 8 they gain regeneration
• At level 15, they gain frightful presence.
• Mages are focused into a school of magic and can only learn spells from the guild which they belong. The guilds are : Water school, which dominates the water trade an naval trade during the summer and help with agriculture, the fire school which creates steampunk magical artifacts and engines, the earth school all about construction and agriculture and the wind school, which can help a bit in every aspect. Teh brotherhood of darkness, all about necromancy and conjuration. The illusionists, greed merchant gnomes.
• The ships depends. Barbarians has Viking like ships. Mages, has "steampunky" ships with magical steam engines.
• Naval combat is a great part, mainly during the summer.

You may have an unhealthy obsession with second-rate jank such as Gothic, but that was a superb read, nice imagination. Very sensibly presented as well.

 

[laclongquan]

Barbarians doesn't need civilization to survive. Quite the contrary. Some look down upon civilized people as weaklings and other hate civilization.

Wrrrrrrong! IF they attach to their lands, it's the beginning and middle stage of their civilization. Your setting say they attach, so they are no longer barbarians, even if others call them so.

IT's the wandering nomads that "look down" on civilized people, in a fox "this grape is pure sour" kind of way.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Barbarians doesn't need civilization to survive. Quite the contrary. Some look down upon civilized people as weaklings and other hate civilization.

Wrrrrrrong! IF they attach to their lands, it's the beginning and middle stage of their civilization. Your setting say they attach, so they are no longer barbarians, even if others call them so.

IT's the wandering nomads that "look down" on civilized people, in a fox "this grape is pure sour" kind of way.

Barbaric people can take to settling on homesteads and still retain their savagery. I think civilization really starts only when you trust in laws and their enforcement rather than protecting your rights by your own strength.

 

[aleph]

Is this infrastructure only there for the mages or is it accessible to everyone (maybe for a price)? The latter would sharpen the conflict between magical "civilization" and barbarians.

Barbarians doesn't need civilization to survive. Quite the contrary. Some look down upon civilized people as weaklings and other hate civilization.

That's exactly what I am getting at. Barbarians who hate civilization against an expanding magical civilization that threatens the barbarians' way of life.