BBeast

Dungeon Keepers

I have no problem with you being both a Keeper and a nation. Just please put them in different places, to avoid conflicts of interest.

Dungeon Keepers

If you decide to take to witches, you can't have your Keeper in the same area. That would be a conflict of interest. Same for everyone. It would be much more preferable, for when you fight the NPCs (at least the major ones), if the NPCs are played by a different person. This makes the battle fair, interesting, and not entirely pre-scripted in your head.

Dungeon Keepers

Who's being the ice witches?

Also, in terms of plot for what the players shall be facing, should we make a plot with magic Totems and Titans and whatnot, or should we just stick with people conquering people and Keepers?

Dungeon Keepers

I've thrown together a quick work-in-progress map in a few minutes of spare time of how I envision the world (or at least our corner of it) at the moment. I made this before considering the ice witches (although I think that is also a cool idea).



I'd put the ice witches next to the volcanoes along the top half of the mountain range.

The yellow is desert, worthless wasteland. The blue lines are rivers I've slapped in there, because you need rivers, as they provide key passages of transportation. The connection between Monolith and the capital is not coincidental. If they are major trade partners, they need a connecting river.

We'd be best to leave the East ocean (assuming up is North) clear (assuming we don't completely reshuffle it), because the central empire will want seaports.

I've noted a few things about how politics might be affected by the geography. The central nation (that still needs some name, as do they all save for Monolith which already has one) would be undertaking logging activities in the jungle, encroaching on the territory of the lizard riders and meaning semi-frequent clashes. The ice witches and volcano shamans would be feuding with each other, because of proximity if nothing else, unless we choose a different spot for the ice witches or volcanoes. And Monolith is distant from hostile tribes, so it has little concern other than desert nomads/barbarians, which pose no real threat. It would rest on its alliance with the central nation for protection from any powerful forces.

In the complete map, when we are ready for it, it shall include roads and all villages and towns (possible since it is only the size of a European country), because if humans are an important resource then we need to be clear as to where to find them and how there is a finite amount of them.

Dungeon Keepers

(Are we still calling it Elysium? I don't think the name fits any more)

And in order to capture Workers you'd have to go to Monolith itself, so while you're there you may as well grab Providence. As a key point of interest, it is good. As an entire nation, it lacks in that it is limited to a single city in a single location. But then again, it isn't as if we have much room. In terms of politics, Monolith would likely be on good terms with the central nation, for who else is there to trade manufactured goods with? This also means you could deprive the central nation of many manufactured goods by cutting that supply line.

I'll play the central nation.

So, we have so far:
Immortal dream-control king in Central nation
Volcano shadow shamans and Caldor cult
Loner jungle lizard riders
Golem-run manufacturing city

Geographically, so far we need jungle, volcanoes, and desert, and probably kinder terrain to chuck the capital in. We'd probably have some mountains too. Considering size, it would be impractical to have a tundra, although if we need cold we can chuck them on top of the mountains. Volcanoes would probably go somewhere at one end of the mountain range.
Then again, we could probably get away without much desert, at least not within the borders. Monolith would be wedged somewhere in the mountains. Those mountains probably form one of the borders. On the other side could be desert.

Sanctuary

I'm in the middle of final preparations for those exams which decide my fate for the next few years.

Dungeon Keepers

That idea is disturbingly similar to Nineteen Eighty Four (of course, any similarity by anything to Nineteen Eighty Four is disturbing, regardless of the degree of similarity). It's brilliant.

For so long all our humans have been mostly nice people in Golden Ages of peace. Any unrest or evil was to do with minor groups and thus unimportant. For once the humans in Dungeon Keepers will rival the Keepers themselves in cunning and thirst for power, making them properly formidable opponents.

Dungeon Keepers

Very impressive, Cyclone.

So what is our central nation going to be?

Dungeon Keepers

What shall the theme of our major central nation be? I'm liking the ideas being thrown around here. We'll eventually need to choose 4 or 5 ideas (or groupings of ideas) to form the 4 or 5 surrounding nations. At first glance, especially considering the dystopian nature of some of these nations (unheard of in humans in prior DKs, but I'm liking it), our political set-up at the moment would be one relatively powerful nation in the middle, surrounded by these tribes which do pose a threat to it. There is battling, there is pushing and shoving of the borders, there is the demanding of tribute from the weaker tribes. While this central nation's defence is clearly pretty solid (otherwise it would have crumbled by now), either by some magical means or simply superiority of their civilisation, there is opportunity for a Keeper to conquer if they can organise the inhabitants of one of these tribes to organise and arm themselves (either by slavery/force or by persuasion/alliances) and drive a wedge into the central nation. Unless, for some reason, you all feel like ditching the one central nation idea, although I think that is preferable to only a collection of fragmented tribes.

Regarding the Titans/Totems, perhaps the plot would have something to do with tapping the full power of those Totems and unleashing the Titans. Maybe the tribes doing so (perhaps with the help of a Keeper) to tear apart the bigger nation, or the Keepers, or other tribes. Maybe the bigger nation doing so to wipe out the Keepers and the tribes.

I'm happy to GM this, by the way. Just so long as you understand that I can not dedicate large amounts of my time for another month (because of those exams which decide your fate for the next few years). After that, I'm completely free.

Dungeon Keepers

This is why I opened the ideas up to everyone. From experience, I don't fully trust myself to make a plot/setting with sufficient depth on my own. It's much better to take ideas from many people.

I like the idea of one major central empire with minor nations/tribes surrounding it. That does better fill our purposes. It definitely sets a good focus for conquest.

I am aware that the four elements I suggested are clichéd. I am very open to alternative suggestions. In my opinion, nomadic shaman/nature tribe is a good idea, and Storms too (maybe they worship the weather). Although I think Metal is too specific, and Heat just sounds like it will end up being a different name for Fire.

Humans need to be live. They substitute imps, which are necessary for the operation and construction of any Dungeon. This means they can be easily captured/traded from other Keepers, or sabotaged, or liberated by other humans. And it adds a deeper layer of strategy than simply murdering them and absorbing their souls. If you like, an alternative to keeping them content (or oppressed enough so they can't rebel) would be to brainwash them, although that could have the unfortunate side effect of reducing their ability to perform independent tasks. Of course, they still have to be fed.