RPM:0 Worldbuilding and History

Source: https://trello.com/b/Ic8j0wvm/royal-pride-of-musketeers

Palette

Yes

• Cosmopolitan setting
• Geographically similar to France
• Demiplanes
• System of guilds that operate below Sorcier
• Other sentient creatures are of differing scale
• Not a lot of culture shock
• Dragons for regions (not chromatic or metallic). Japan, European, etc. Rare.
• Undead are a natural phenom. If the body isn't properly funeralized. 🎲 DM We have decided in play to remove this aspect of the campaign world.
• Magic consumes the user based on violence but there is a rare way to move that to another
• Advanced construction (lots of bridges, etc. plumbing, glass windows, big buildings)
• Magic is safe, technology has an element of danger
• Guilds run things behind the scenes
• Regional forms of magic with practitioners having unique gifts. (Like the Airbender)
• Dragon radiation gives magic.

No

• No advanced firearms (mechanized state)
• NO Horses or cavalry. Very rare.
• No clockwork creatures.
• No active gods.
• No magic items, only temporary charms

Foci and Legacies

Remy

Focus—Impact of planes on the world.

Legacy—Demiplane brought magic into the world.

Eric

Focus—Trade federations and guilds

Legacy—Guilds and politics like gundpowder and matches.

Mallory

Focus—Gunpowder revolution

Legacy—Strong ideals and a poor execution makes things worse

Kevin

Focus—Tech before/after great closing

Legacy—Resurgence of ancient technology

Nate

Focus—Rise of the Undead

Legacy—Zombies were people too

Daryl

Focus—The Natural World

Legacy—The Tree represents peace in a tumultuous world

Before Recent History

There are many things that came before recent history. Most of this is lost to time.

The rise of mystical power to protect the realm (Light)

• Breaking of the Gates where many of the demi-planes burst into existence (Light)
• A famous explorer's guild troupe whose name is lost to time is hired to explore an open gate and they disappeared only to return again centuries later and they haven't aged a day. (Light)
• Clockwork technology stops working. (Dark)

Reign of the Dragon Lords (Light)

• The first Dragon Lords arrive from a dying plane. (Light)
  • The eldest of the Dragons, Elikarzadun wants to assure his kind that they have found a new and lush world that will support them, and gives them a rousing speech in what might have been their darkest hour. (Light)
  • Elikarzadun plants a tree to show peace between the dragons and the people of our world. This tree survives to this day. It is a site of pilgrimage. (Light).
• Dragon Lords change their form and commingled with cultures and ruled them democratically (Light)
• Strong demi-plane of Nature opens up in the country of Eben and it's wild magics influence the natural world, causing forests to grow and exaggerate and grow quickly and chaotically. They almost overrun civilization in the country. This outpouring causes the first Wildbloods to be born. (Light)
• The High Druid of Palimar begin the Zodiac War which leads to the demise of the modern gods in the war against civilization and the encroachment of the churches. (Dark)
• There is a great rise in the use of Magics over technology and societies and cultures rely heavily on magical prowess to do everyday tasks, construction, irrigation, travel, etc. (Light)
• Democracy slips. The dragon descendants (dragonkin) take power (Dark)
  • This Dragonkin, his name is Herbertus, found a way to allow the Senate decide that cultures from the demi-planes are permitted to vote. The way that this happened is that Herbertus was able to use some form of charm magic of the Senate to get this passes through. At the vote during the same day/scene, he pulled out a demi-plane (phrase) and got enough votes. Demiplane gerrymandering

Guilds consolidate into the Sea Alliance (Light)

• Sorcier is founded on the continent Hallbeirge in the country of Arkstone. (Light)
  • The Sorcier found the capital of Lisway (in Arkstone), this is their base of operations. This is a city into a mountain with a castle on top. Inside the mountain is their dragon. The castle is called Dorchem. (Light)
• The Library of Bignon is unburied and reintroduces Engineering knowledge to the world (Dark)

The Great Closing (Dark)

• Sorcier kill the Condrol (neighboring region)'s Figurehead Dragon in retaliation for speaking out against magic. (Dark)
• The ritual by the ocean that closed off the major demi-planes, stranded many cultures in our world. (Dark)
  • Sorcier contracted a lot of trade ships accruing favors, which eventually leads to the downfall of the Sorcier.
• Flooding washing away the demi-planes. (Light)
• One of the many Sorcier practitioners at the ritual by the ocean, who was pregnant during the ritual gives birth to twins, Kuthmaer, and Renoir (Dark)
• The Ragmen use the chaos of the Ritual By the Ocean and the uncertainty of the planes to create anarchy. (Light)

Reestablishment of Civilization (Dark)

• The Mystic Gate in which the Lost Adventurers traveled, reopens at the base of Mount Vili on the border of Condrol and Parlimain, and it remains open. (Dark)

Legitimization of technology (Light)

• Condrol advances in technology because they need alternate energy source and harness the power of the demi-planes in their area. The drawback is that there is no access to or from minor demi-planes because of this. (Light)
• There's a massive famine now that Condrol, whose dragon-magic produced food aplenty, is no longer "The Magical Breadbasket of Hallbeirge". Condrol is the first to recover, discovering non-magical agricultural techniques. (Light)
• With the world starting to shift away from magic, the Sorcier, starts to push the bounds of magic. Undead first appear as a result of the Sorcier pushing off their responsibility for violent magic. (Dark)
  • High Sorcier Alfred discovers within ancient texts from Bignon the secrets to powerful magics that push the body to its limits, almost beyond the point of undying. Liches be crazy. (Dark)

Collapse of Trade in the known realms (Dark)

• In a crisis of succession, Condrol becomes a vassal state of Erthil, bringing Condrol's technology to a wider audience. (Dark)
• In an unprecedented moment the Disjoiners guild, who focus on disproving false magic claims and applying technology where magic is not needed, is created. (Light)
  • Between first squad and after the Kuthmaer creates the guild, Florian the inventor creates small devices that use stones from the various regions that taps into the variety of magic for that region. These are the small charms but done in a tech way. (Dark)
  • Kuthmaer approaches the Sea Alliance and they are agreeable to it because of the taxes levied by the Sorcier against the guilds. The seeds for this were already sown as the Sea Alliance was already upset. Kuthmaer was the spark. (Dark)
  • Before the first squad is formed, Kuthmaer, a noble from Condrol, convinces the head of the Sea Alliance of his plan to cement the guilds as a power in a post Dragon death world because his land's Dragon's death is the first known Dragon death. This was a misuse of power by the Sorcier. Kuthmaer's plan is to start the Disjoiner's Guild. (Light)
  • The first squad of Disjoiners is commissioned by the guild and called the Pride. They are investigators for the guild. (Light)
• The city of Mistara in Erthil, which is a major trading port, is overrun with the undead created by a small border skirmish. (Dark)
• The Disjoiner's guild discovers funerary practices that prevent the undead, which weakens the Sorcier. (Light)
  • In an endeavor to create more powerful undead, Renoir accidentally discovers the methodology to put the dead to true rest. He hides this information in the family vault, which is later discovered by Kuthmaer. (Dark)
• In response to the Disjoiners guild, the Soricer institute heavier taxes on all of the trade guilds. (Dark)
• The first sentient undead, whom renamed himself Arvad the Bloody, came to rise and rallied mindless undead around him to take revenge on the kingdom of Parlimain. Arvad the Bloody rose to power to take revenge on the kingdom of Parlimain. (Dark)

End: The rocky road towards Enlightenment (Dark)

• Armand leader of the lost explorer's guild troupe returns from the demi-plane with lost knowledge, including the knowledge of pistols, muskets, and blunderbuss. (Light)
• The Masters of the Guilds collude to secretly incite the Gunpowder Revolution (Dark)
  • The chemist guild pack full the mountain where the Sorcier's dragon lives with gunpowder and BOOM. (Dark)
  • The more scientifically aligned guilds gather without permission (Engineers, Gunsmiths, Alchemists, Researchers, Scribes, and Librarians) in a secret meeting to plot and plan within the span of a single night how they are going to overthrow the Sorcier. (Dark)
• The spirit of the Sorcier's patron dragon takes over the body of Kuthmaer. (Dark)
• Wildblood, those with animal qualities and in slavery, revolt and gain freedom. (Light)
  • The first wildblood with human (or better) level intelligence is born in Arkstone. (Light)
• The first of the nonviolent sentient undead becomes accepted into society. (Light)
• Scribe guild kills the Queen and lays the blame on the Disjoiner's Guild (Dark)
  • An unnamed Wildblood known only as "Fox Guy" is seen fleeing the scene of the Queen's murder. He carries a brace of pistols.
• The dragons of the world found the Draconic Cults, servants who work to protect the dragons' interests against a chaotic human world. (Dark)

Post History Discussion

• Royal Pride has factions.
• Explorers and Scientists.
• There is a state police that aren't the RPM
• Really like to see the Pride's coat of arms.
• Dragonkin are a tragic culture. Everyone feels sorry for them.
• Sorcier are the only ones (generally) willing to use magic for violence.
• Magical devices that the Disjoiners make. Turning magic into science.
• Magic requires a license? And has a cost.