With the rise of Electronic Entertainment, Pen & Paper RPGs started to get pushed to the side. They're still going strong, but they're mostly forgotten about by Gamers...despite D&D being one of THE biggest influences behind modern RPGs (even JRPGs), it is mostly ignored by gamers and seen as an overly geeky thing to be into.
You gaming heritage stems from this game, and many others, and should not be forgotten about.
Developers force you to live in their worlds, whilst Pen & Paper games let you design a new world if you don't like what they've offered to you.
The following is an example of a world I have designed for the use of others.
Dungeons & Dragons
Oh, I'm sure you've heard of this little Pen & Paper RPG...lots of people play it, and it makes Wizards of the Coast a lot of money on a yearly basis.
I started playing many years ago, but it wasn't until 4th Edition (by far the easiest edition to understand, and thus the best for actually running a coherent game) that I really got into it.
Over the past few months I've been thinking up my own scenario to run for a small group myself and Lindsey have set up in our local area. Our first session will be on Friday 16th April, where I will introduce a daring young group of adventurers to Torva, an ancient land swallowed by nature.
The following is a detailed account of the history of Torva, a history that will soon become filled with many stories...stories that will become legends.
Welcome to Torva
New name: Torva
Historic name: Provectus
[IMG]http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f245/thezombiemessia/Dungeons and Dragons Torva Campaign/FullLand.jpg[/IMG]
Ruling bodies:
• Viceroy Hornan Shieldheart (Human, Noble, Male)
• High Constable Fhasaadi Taletreader (Elf, Soldier, Noble, Female)
• Field Marshal Graward Hawklight (Half-Orc, Soldier, Noble, Male)
History
Origins – Provectus was home to an ancient and advanced culture. Over thousands of years, this culture thrived and expanded within the mountainous basin. Human, Eladrin, Elf, and Goliath worked together peacefully and created one of the most advanced civilisations known to the common races.
As their civilisation grew, space became a rarity. Combining Goliath Masonry with the Fey powers of the Eladrin, buildings started to reach the skies.
Soon, the powers that held Provectus together became arrogant. Power plays were developing within the nation, with once friendly races competing for the most power.
Goliaths rebelled as other races attempted to enslave them, Humans started to breed Half-Orc armies to combat the Fey powers of the Eladrin and Elf races.
Provectus cut themselves off from the outside world. Goliath tribes now held the mountains, cutting off trade with the surrounding Dwarven cities, and the Eladrin had blocked escape using a giant fog-like barrier over the entire country.
Provectus collapsed.
Loss – The surrounding Dwarven cities closed off all trade routes with Provectus, and with the giant fey-power dome of fog covering the entire country, nobody could get in or out.
The powerful races of Provectus soon collapsed and died out. The Eladrin left for the Feywild, humans went feral, and Half-Orc tribes began to support themselves.
Once great cities, and towering structures, fell to the decay and power of nature.
The entire basin became a giant forest.
Surrounding nations forgot about Provectus, and as empires rose and fell, they were forgotten by history and only remembered in Myth & Legend.
Re-Discovery – 50 Years after the re-discovery of the New Continent by the common races, the powers that held Hala heard rumours of new trade coming from the Dwarven Cities on their borders.
The ruling Tiefling tribe sent out explorers for information.
Word soon returned that the Dwarves had re-opened trade with Provectus, though it had now become a mere shadow of its former glory. Renamed Torva by the native Tribe and Goliath populations, they had managed to re-discover the power of Agriculture, Trade, and Diplomacy.
Hala and the local Dwarven Empire made trade agreements, and soon began to settle Torva.
Today – 20 years have passed since trade was re-opened to Torva, and much of the land has yet to be fully mapped and explored.
The fog-like barrier covering the country has started to disappear, but still hinders full aerial mapping, with many balloon teams having been lost to the chaotic fey-powers.
Viceroy Hornan Shieldheart rules the little bit of Torva carved out in the name of the Tiefling rulers of Hala, with common race settlements appearing at a steady pace.
The unexplored wild offers great adventure to new heroes and adventurers, though few return to spread their name.
The conquered area of Torva still offers a lot of danger to the new locals, with Shifters and Orcs making regular raids on small farming communities, and merchants having to travel in large groups to avoid being caught unawares by Thieves or unknown monsters.
Archaeologists and Scholars are still unearthing ancient structures to explore, with possible rewards hidden deep inside ancient vaults.
High Constable Fhasaadi Taletreader is always on the lookout for adventurers and explorers to hire for any and all of these jobs, as the armies under her command are constantly at battle with the surrounding wildlife of Torva.
Description
[IMG]http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f245/thezombiemessia/Dungeons and Dragons Torva Campaign/ExploredLand.jpg[/IMG]
The nation of Torva is surrounded by a ring of impassable mountains. From inside the ring, the mountains slope up to un-imaginable heights, whilst from the outside (i.e., from Hala) any travellers are faced with cliff faces that reach up for miles.
The few entrances to this nation are via grand Dwarven Cities, still populated, but built in a time long before Provectus became a nation.
Since the collapse of the Provectan Empire, nature has taken over, and the vast cities of Provectus have become overgrown.
Unearthed ruins litter the landscape of Torva, though many of them have been torn apart to use as building materials for the new Halan Empire.
Many more ancient and stable structures can be found amongst the mountains, including fortifications built at the top of the cliff faces seen from the outside. Goliath tribes occupy many of these places, rebuilding them as necessary, though many still remain abandoned and unexplored.
The conquered area of Torva is mostly used for agriculture, though large towns have built up over the years as need arose for expert Blacksmiths, Carpenters, Leatherworkers, and other labourers.
The few new cities built up in Torva have attracted vagabonds and derelicts from surrounding nations, along with Shifters that have left the wild to scrounge the streets for new prey.
Torva has not escaped the underworld, with evil forces once again rising up in the form of small cults and gangs forming, using abandoned structures as their hiding places.
Denha Deri
[IMG]http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f245/thezombiemessia/Dungeons and Dragons Torva Campaign/Ighe.jpg[/IMG]
The Dwarven City of Glanrak (Forgotten Bastion) is, so far, the only one to have re-opened the trade routes of old. Denha Deri was the first new town built within Torva, and is known as the “second step” to settling in to the new nation (with Glanrak being the first step).
Despite being the main hub for all trade routes in and out of Torva, Denha Deri has never grown beyond the small town it has become. It is seen more as a stopping place for news, and has seen a boom in the Inn and Barkeep business.
The general population is less than 6,000. There is a constant Military Presence of at least 2,000.
Atfaeg
Atfaeg was the first city to be built within Torva, and was the home to the first Viceroy. It is heavily defended, and has many ancient buildings rebuilt and used by the Aristocracy of Torva.
It has a Trade District, Noble District, Temple District, and Poor District. The garrison built on the outskirts can house up to 20,000 soldiers, though is rarely at full capacity due to ongoing skirmishes in the surrounding areas.
The general population is around 30,000. Though a census has not been attempted within the Poor District since the first and second teams went missing. There is a constant military presence of at least 10,000.
Oglvaerho
Oglvaerho is the second and largest city within Torva. It is now the central hub for all politics and governance of Torva. Viceroy Hornan Shieldheart lives within the Political District, and High Constable Fhasaadi Taletreader commands the armies from the local Garrison in the Military District.
Oglvaerho has a Trade District, Noble District, Temple District, Political District, Military District and a Poor District.
The local Garrison can hold up to 100,000 soldiers, though only has a constant military presence of 20,000.
The general population is around 40,000. Many of the people living here are officials, noble-people, or traders, though the Poor District is crowded and suffers heavily from over-population and various outbreaks of strange diseases.
The large lake next to Oglvaerho offers a supply of fresh water, and fresh fish, though many Archaeologists and Scholars are also interested in small ruins that are littered amongst the shallower sections.
Bavanhver
[IMG]http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f245/thezombiemessia/Dungeons and Dragons Torva Campaign/LepjaWoplyko.jpg[/IMG]
Bavanhver is lightly described as the third “city” of Torva. Though large, it is considered a frontier settlement, constantly under attack from Orc tribes, and various other creatures of the wild forests of Torva.
It has a Military District, a Trade District, and a Poor District. There is a Temple presence, though these have mostly been set up around the Trade District.
There is a constant Military presence of 10,000 with the garrison at full capacity at all times.
The general population fluctuates between 8,000 and 15,000 dependent upon survival rates of the last raid.
Ighe & Fasfrider
[IMG]http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f245/thezombiemessia/Dungeons and Dragons Torva Campaign/Town.jpg[/IMG]
Both Ighe & Fasfrider are larger in size than Denha Deri, but serve much the same purpose. There is a booming Trade, Inn, and Barkeep market within the towns, though both are considered to be in such key locations as to warrant a larger Military presence of between 5,000 and 8,000.
Districts are starting to form, though nothing has officially been noted on any government records.
Populations vary from 7,000 to 9,000 dependent on raids, and trade.
The wilderness
The explored and conquered areas of Torva are described by locals as “The Wilderness” and are sparsely populated by farmers and traders trying to eke out a living in this new world.
Some areas are still forested, and offer up hidden ruins and towns from when Provectus thrived. Gangs and Cults are constantly forming and collapsing within the wilderness.
The Frontier
The unexplored regions of Torva are dangerous places, many have tried to set out to explore and map them, few have returned. Large tribes of Orcs are at constant war with Shifters, and tribes of Half-Orcs, though even these small battles are nothing compared to the ongoing struggle between the unnatural creations of the few-powers, and nature.
Tools
The history, all of the writing, is of my own creation. If you wish to use it, then feel free, though it would be nice to get the credit for the creation of the basic history, etc.
I did use free tools online to create the maps, though it was imagination that expanded these things into what you are reading about. A picture is nothing without context.
But, here are links to the tools I have used, and will continue to use, throughout the campagin:
[url=http://www.nbos.com/products/mapper/mapper.htm]Fractal Mapper[/url] Trial Version was used to create the map of the Overworld.
[url=http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?t=430195]RPG Citymap Generator[/url] was hard to get a hold of (scroll down until you see the MegaUpload link), but was used to generate the maps of the towns I have shown you.
Extra tools that are useful are:
[url=http://donjon.bin.sh/d20/dungeon/]Random Dungeon Generator[/url]
[url=http://www.rdinn.com/town_generator.php]Town Generator[/url]
[url=http://grey-starr.ca/Tools/random-male-dwarf-name.htm]Dwarven Name Generator[/url]
[url=http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/dnd/20010208b]Character Name Generator[/url]
[url=http://www.tavernmaker.de/eng/men-eng-inf.htm]Tavern Maker[/url]
[url=http://www.translation-guide.com/free_online_translators.php?from=English&to=Latin]Latin Translator[/url]
Thanks
I hope you enjoyed reading about my creation. Please comment below, and let me know what you think.