102 lines
4.5 KiB
Markdown
102 lines
4.5 KiB
Markdown
---
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type: world
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name: Eldar
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tone: wonder, melancholy, discovery
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magic: common but localized, tied to place and nature
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---
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# Eldar
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> [!info] At a Glance
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> **Tone:** Every place holds a secret. Sometimes dangerous, sometimes delightful, always surprising.
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> **Magic:** Tied to places, nature, and ancient pacts. Not academic — alive, wild, and often strange.
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> **Themes:** Discovery, belonging, found family, the weight of old things.
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## The World
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Eldar is old in the way that old things get *older*. Hills remember when they were mountains. Rivers remember when they were seas. Nothing here is just what it appears to be.
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Every region, village, forest, and crossroads has something beneath, behind, or within it — a secret, a spirit, a story waiting to be found. The world doesn't hand this out freely. You have to look, listen, or stumble into it.
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That's what makes it dangerous. And wonderful.
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## How Magic Works
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Magic in Eldar is **tied to place**. It's not a resource — it's a presence.
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- **Ley lines and old places** concentrate magical power. Crossroads, ancient trees, standing stones, ruins, and places of strong emotion become magical.
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- **Spirits and beings** are local. A forest has *its* guardian. A river has *its* spirit. They don't travel far, and they care about their domain.
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- **Pacts and bargains** matter more than spell slots. Magic is often negotiated, not just cast.
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- **Everything has a cost or a catch.** Nothing is free. But the cost isn't always mechanical — sometimes it's social, narrative, or moral.
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### Reconciling with D&D 5.5e
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| PHB Assumption | Eldar's Reality |
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| Spellcasters are common | They're rare and usually tied to a place, tradition, or pact |
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| Villages are mundane | Every village has *something* — a well that grants visions, a baker whose bread heals |
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| Magic items are trade goods | They're unique, often with a story or personality |
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| Adventurers are common | The party is extraordinary — most people never leave their home region |
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**The game still uses 5.5e rules.** Spell slots, combat, skills all work as written. The flavor is what changes.
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## The Core Principle
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**No location is generic.** Every place the party visits should have at least one of:
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| Element | Description |
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| **A surprise** | Something unexpected about the place (the bridge only appears in fog) |
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| **A secret** | Hidden lore, a buried truth, a sleeping thing (the church is built on a slumbering giant) |
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| **A spirit** | A being tied to this place, with its own goals and personality |
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| **A rule** | An oddity of nature or custom (don't whistle after dark, never step on the moss) |
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| **A story** | Something that happened here that still echoes (a promise broken centuries ago) |
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When designing a location, ask: *"What's the one thing a traveler wouldn't expect?"*
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## Regions
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> *Each region should feel distinct — different spirits, different rules, different kinds of surprises.*
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### Region Structure
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```
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geography/
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├── the-whispering-woods.md # A forest where the trees remember everything said in them
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├── bridge-of-the-drowned.md # A bridge that appears only when someone needs it
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├── the-hollow-hill.md # A hill with no top, where something sleeps
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└── ...
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```
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## Factions
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> *Groups that operate in Eldar. They should have agendas, secrets, and connections to places.*
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| Faction | Description |
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| *[Name]* | *What they want, what they know, what they hide* |
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## Notable Beings
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> *Ancient, powerful, or strange beings tied to places rather than people.*
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| Being | Location | Nature |
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|---|---|---|
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| *[Name/Title]* | *Where* | *What it is, what it wants* |
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## Tone & Themes
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- **Discovery over domination** — the world rewards curiosity, not conquest
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- **Melancholy and wonder** — beautiful things are often sad, sad things are often beautiful
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- **Old things matter** — the oldest being in a place is usually the most important
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- **Found family** — people and creatures who don't belong anywhere find each other
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- **Consequences** — actions ripple. Breaking a promise to a spirit matters decades later
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## Campaign Hooks
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- A player inherits a place (a cottage, a bridge, a boundary) and must learn what it means to tend it
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- Something old is waking up, and the party is the only one who noticed
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- A spirit offers a bargain — but the price is something they can't anticipate
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- Two places are bleeding into each other, and the party must find out why
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- A village asks for help with a problem that turns out to be much bigger than expected
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