Meh, was bored today, and began work on a gameworld, probably ok for any system (though I'll only develop it intentionally for DnD, more specifically 3.5e, and even MORE specifically using the classes, races, etc as found on the hypertext SRD.)
I'm going to go through it stage by stage in my thoughts, and will eventually reduce it to a useable form. It's brainstorming material, purely and simply, for the moment.

Was rererereading Rich Burlew's articles on world-building and began mentally plagiarising: same religious system, same magic system, meaning duality of gods. Wisdom-Divine casters ask for magic, Intelligence-Arcane casters bind spirits to them (in the form of Familiars) and Charisma-Arcane are GIVEN power by the gods.

What if the followers of the two gods in question were at perpetual holy war?
What if, even better... there was a third god? A third religious faction, pseudo-neutral.
What if, even even betterer... it wasn't that simple? In the two opposing factions, there can be several "tendencies" leading to some seeing it as a war and some seeing it as a simple difference of opinion.

Nice.

But the religions won't define countries. We'll have two or three church states, make that two (one for neutral and one for one of the opponents), as sort of Vatican states, just with a little more influence. The rest can be defined by either politics or race, preferably politics.
Races, hm. The world is defined by politics more than occult, so we're going low-fantasy. Humans, definitely. Elves or Dwarves, but not both. Half-Orcs are staying, but they're now being called Trolls. Introducing a form of goblins... make life easier, gonna use Halflings for their stats, with a couple of modifications. Will need to come up with a couple of monsters to give a powerful "animal" enemy, because our Earth's animals aren't dangerous enough ^^

Oh, and I hate Alignment. Bye bye!
So that means half of the Paladin's abilities and some Divine spells become useless.
Solution: only a follower of either of the self-opposing religions can become Paladins (as they're basically crusaders), and whenever "Evil" comes up in a description of any skill, replace it with "*insert opposing religion name here*".

Ooooooooooooh, I'm liking this.

Of course, that means we're directly tossing Blackguard, as Good versus Evil becomes Morally Questionable versus Also Morally Questionable. Bye bye to you too!

Just occurred to me, skimming class descriptions, that limited races means that summoning spells need reworking. Elementals are fine, because they embody one of the four classic elements, and that's sort of ok. Maybe Planar Ally and consorts summon a servant of your deity, and Gate can only summon a servant of your enemy deity, which you bind to your service for some time? ^^
May need to jig this a bit... perhaps Arcane casters have access to only some summoning spells? As in, the worshipping casters cannot use Elemental summoning spells but can use Planar Ally type, and atheists, nature-worshippers and undecided cannot use Planar but can Elemental?
Will also have to limit domains based on Cleric religion, as the 3rd Religion people can't cast an anti-other-religion spell, so we need to give them some positive point to make it up to them... Such as for example giving less domains to War-Religion Clerics.
Oh, also, seeing as no alignment? Rebuke Undead is deleted. All Clerics turn undead.

The Druid, of course, fits into the latter group. They're quite clearly Nature people.

Back to Paladin... what do the Third Religion chaps get? The two warring religions get Paladins, the Nature-worshippers get Druids. Let's make the Monk 3R exclusive. They're very neutral-type characters, when it comes to conflict.

So quick résumé:
- Two religions, some followers at war, some not, and a third "neutral" religion. So a party cannot be composed of two war faring opposing worshippers, otherwise they'd KILL EACH OTHER.
- Nations defined some by religion, some by race, mainly by politics.
- Humans, Elves/Dwarves, Trolls (Half-Orcs), Goblins (Halflings). Animals from Earth, plus two or three animal-like monsters to provide random encounter fodder. Keeping undead though
- No alignment.
- Paladin becomes a warrior-priest for two warring religions, abilities affected, Monk exclusive to neutral religion, Druid to Gaia. Blackguard deleted, perhaps other class changes.
- Spells need rejiggling: spells based on alignment are changed to Anti-Other-Religion, etc.

I hope to make this readable soon, for now what matters is writing this down so I don't forget it overnight.

I like it
I sorta get a similar feel as the world I'm trying to create, with moral questionability. Some food for thought though (this is early in the morning (extra early) so I might add to it later):

"Oh, also, seeing as no alignment? Rebuke Undead is deleted. All Clerics turn undead."

What about giving all Clerics the option of doing both? Since morals is based on individual conception of the term, I feel there should be Clerics who attempt to command that which should be considered blasphemous (at least from the viewpoint of one religion), giving rise to the tragic character who uses blasphemous methods in an attempt to serve his religion.
(Like I said, this is written very early in the morning, so I take no responsibility for how much sense I make.)

Silly me for not thinking of that. Thanks! Brilliant idea, Skari. Hooray for Rebuking Undead!

Right, more thoughts.

Goblins and Trolls need their own stats, and not just steal from Halflings and Half-Orcs. For one, Half-Orcs get poor bonuses (a total -2 to stats) and I want to break away from the idea of Troll = stupid, in this vision. I'm thinking +1 STR, +2 INT, -3 CHA (because daaaaaaaaamn, they're ugly.)
Goblins I don't know yet. I'm thinking they're not stupid, just... Hm. perhaps a penalty to WIS and a bonus to DEX and CON.
Oh, and I've decided to stick with Elves and not Dwarves, albeit with a few tweaks to fit the backstory.

AND I need to work on half-races. For one, Half-Elves get the short straw on everything. I think I might just overhaul ALL of the races, from top to bottom. I may go for the simple rule that the offspring of a half-X/half-Y and a full X become classified as full X.
Offspring of a half-X/half-Y and a Z? Human. Makes life easier.

Extra info on classes: you know the stereotypical role of the Paladin, that of justice and law? That goes to the Monk, as now Paladins may as well be called Crusaders.

Oh, and I've come to a conclusion on religions: R1 and R2 are almost dogmatically identical, one worshipping "Forate" (with an é type e) and the other Irimus. Names are probably temporary.
So:

Foratists can be divided into three groups:
- the True Foratists, 40% or so, highly extremist. Death to Irimists, Trolls, Goblins and Wizards! However Elves are the epitome of awesome holiness.
- Majoritarians, 50% or so. Hostile to Irimists, Trolls and Goblins but not violently. Except Wizards, they hate them.
- Reformists, 10%, naturally, open-minded but still distrust wizards.

Irimists into two:
- The Chosen, 30% obviously extremist, death to Foratists, Goblins and Trolls!
- Practicing Irimists, 70%, hostile to Foratists but otherwise open-minded.

The third religion, the United Temple, who believe in both Forate and Irimus, and seek to keep a balance between the two misguided churches, and to limit the damage to innocents.

Gaia worshippers are basically classic druids (note the lack of capital), and mostly only Druids worship nature.

Right, a list of nations, all of which will have racial minorities but I only refer to racial majorities here:

- Temple of Forate, Human and Elf state, at war with all enemies of the Foratists.
- Temple of Unity, mixed-race state, to make sure the United Temple stays independant from any political influence.
- Elf Country... most of the Elves in it are of the pretentious SOB group, believing that only Elves deserve a place in the country. Racist snobs. They mainly think that the Elf nation is in decline with increased contact and trade with other races... (which isn't true, because the Elf state was never great, glorious or powerful to start with! )
- FOUR classic, predominantly human countries, probably kingdoms. Need work, but they'll be easy, as every fantasy world has at least one, if not most, nation(s) like these.
- Troll republic, as a refuge to Trolls being oppressed. The Elf nation is at permanent war with them, and has the upper hand.
- Two goblin countries, hostile to each other, but that don't actually ever fight, as they tend to have bigger problems.
- Human and Troll free republic. Harmony, and preparation for defence. Very new country, but they're preparing for survival in a world where many want their extinction.

SERIOUS POST N°1!

Note: no favoured classes. It's always highest-level class that is "favoured".

Oh, and languages? Also left alone. Everyone speaks "Common". Simple as that.

RACES: Human: 30ft speed.
1 extra feat at 1st level.
4 extra skill points at 1st level and 1 extra skill point at each additional level.
Note: no changes from core rules.
Elf: 30ft speed.
+2 DEX, -2 CON.
Immunity to magic sleep effects, and a +2 racial saving throw bonus against enchantment spells or effects.
Low-Light Vision.
Weapon Proficiency: Longbow, Shortbow, Rapier, Longsword.
+2 racial bonus on Listen, Search, and Spot checks. An elf who merely passes within 5 feet of a secret or concealed door is entitled to a Search check to notice it as if she were actively looking for it.

Troll: 30ft speed.
-1 DEX, +1 CON, +2 INT, -2 CHA.
Darkvision 60ft.
-10% Arcane Spell Failure chance.

Goblin: 30ft speed.
+1 DEX, +1 CON, -2 WIS.
+2 racial bonus on Climb, Jump, Listen, and Move Silently checks.
+1 size bonus to Armor Class
+1 size bonus on attack rolls
+4 size bonus on Hide checks
-3 size malus to hit with Two-Handed weapons, apart from Spears, Longspears and Quarterstaves.

Korrigan: 30ft speed.
-1 STR, -1 CON, +2 WIS.
+2 to saving throws vs illusions.
+1 size bonus to Armor Class
+1 size bonus on attack rolls
+4 size bonus on Hide checks
-3 size malus to hit with Two-Handed weapons.

HALF RACES: Combinations take the bonuses of both races as listed below. Combinations will always be Medium-sized with 30ft speed.
Half-Human: Extra 4 skill points at level 1 and 1 extra per level.
Half-Elf: +1 DEX, -1 CON. Immune to magic sleep, +2 to saving throws vs enchantment spells or effects.
Half-Troll: +1 INT, -1 CHA, Darkvision 60ft.
Half-Goblin: +1 CON, -1 WIS. +2 to Climb, Jump, Listen, and Move Silently checks.
Half-Korrigan: +1 WIS, -1 CON. +2 to saving throws vs illusions.

Cleric Domain modifications: (only the changes, not what stays the same.)

Chaos Domain: Domain removed, and spells become part of standard Foratist and Irimist Cleric spell lists, with any reference to word "Lawful" and "Unchaotic" replaced with "rival religion". United Clerics cannot cast the spells referring to rival religions, but others they can. Will be properly explained in section on spell lists.

Evil Domain: See Chaos.

Good Domain: See Chaos.

Law Domain: See Chaos.

Knowledge Domain: Reserved to United Clerics.

Luck Domain: Reserved to United Clerics

Protection Domain: Reserved to United Clerics.

"Troll:
Size: Medium, 30ft speed.
+1 STR, -1 WIS, +2 INT, -2 CHA.
Darkvision 60ft."

I have a thought. It really depends on your own ideas what you do with this thought, but I'm gonna share it with you.

In Icelandic folklore, trolls turn to stone in sunlight. Tolkien took this idea and applied it to trolls in LotR and Hobbit. One theory (printed but I'm not sure how I feel about it) is that trolls don't turn to stone per se, but rather fall to sleep (they sleep alot, and they close their eyes to avoid the bright light, thus falling to sleep). I'd look at penalties to Dex and bonus to Con.

Additionally, Trolls are often linked to the arcane arts, so the bonus to Int is well deserved.

I'd give them bonus to Con but lower their Dex. Everything else stays at plus/minus 0. For the arcane arts, you could give a bonus through racial Feats, but increasing Int at the cost of Cha is also a fair deal. I would not change Str or Wis though.

I like the ideas, but I had two thoughts behind these race iterations.
For one, that in their numeric bonuses it be possible to "half" the abilites for half-races.
And also, that we don't have a long list of plus and minus.

I'll think about it. Thanks a helluva lot for the input though.

EDIT: gave the -10% spell failure to the Troll, because it makes sense.
Didn't give any CON though, because otherwise it's the Wizard munchkin's dream.
I may add more races, mainly minorities though, for a little more "colour".

EDIT EDIT: Just understood you, finally. you meant swap STR and WIS for CON and DEX... Thanks

Base Classes. No alignment restrictions anymore. The Barbarian has been split into Brute and Wanderer.
More info in their relative entries.
Prestige Classes to come.

BARD: The Bard is a wayfaring adventurer, skilled in many pursuits. They seek knowledge, and crave tales and songs. These people are blessed by the gods with some magical ability, which is often what leads them to a life of adventuring. Magic abilities are granted by either one of the gods, and that must be decided at character creation. Bards can be atheist or believe in the "opposite" god.

BATTLEMAGE: The Battlemage is a blessed warrior, who seeks to perfect his mixing of magic and weapon. They gain their power from the external influence of a god, and use it in synergy with their skill in combat. Take the core Sorceror, remove Familiar. -3 spells/day/level (apply to regular spell/day table).
Have d10 hit die, and gain a Fighter bonus feat every 5 levels (1, 5, 10, 15, 20.)
See Bard for magic info.

BRUTE: The Brute is a wild warrior. They known how to channel their anger and rage into a frenzied assault, pushing their body to its limits and striking fear into their foes. Where Fighters are found at the frontlines of a battle, Brutes are found at the middle of the enemy ranks, tearing formations to shreds. Is the Core Barbarian.

CLERIC: The Cleric is a priest of a god. Contrary to most priests, Clerics tend to be quite skilled in combat, yet are renowned for their link with their deity, requesting magical abilities which they are granted so as to better serve their god. Domains are changed (see Domain section)
Any Cleric can turn or rebuke undead, as wished.
Clerics worshipping a god can only use Planar Ally spells and not the regular Summons. Clerics of Unity can summon either god's minions.

CRUSADER: The Crusader is a knight bound to service of a god. Their vows are similar to those of Paladins, yet they train more in combat and less in spirituality. Variant of Fighter. Gains ability to Smite Infidel, as Paladin, but at one use/day per four levels (from level 4. Max 6 uses at level 20.) Has same class Skills as Paladin. Can use Lay on Hands, but to deal damage.
Doesn't get bonus feat at first level, but does from then on.
Reserved to worshippers of Irimus or Forate, and must keep their faith to avoid "falling."

DRUID: The Druid is the Cleric of nature. Devotees of the Earth and the Forest, they will do all they can to protect nature from the destructive capabilities of sentient beings, drawing magical abilities from their devotion. Unchanged.

FIGHTER: The Fighter is skilled in combat, purely and simply. They are the people you see at the frontlines of any battle. For them, armed conflict isn't just a job, but also a life choice. Total rehaul of the fighter...
... just kidding.

MONK: The Monk seeks balance and perfection. Unity is their primary goal, followed by neutrality in the Holy War. They use martial abilities to defend themselves, and defend innocents from the fallout that the folly of war can bring. Reserved to Temple of Unity.

PALADIN The Paladin is a holy warrior, receiving divine powers with which to smite any heretic that would dare cross their path. They are skilled in combat, and their devotion to their god knows no bounds. Reserved to worshippers of Irimus or Forate, and must keep their faith to avoid "falling."
Where written "good" and "evil" in the Core books with reference to Paladin abilities, replace with "own deity" and "enemy deity" as appropriate.
Paladins can also rebuke undead if wished.
The Special Mount rules are ignored, categorically.

RANGER: The Ranger is a hunter. Hand in hand with nature, they devote themselves to tracking down a certain race of creatures, so as to better protect the Earth. They even draw some abilities from their worship, though at a lesser degree than the Druid. Rangers must worship nature.
Favoured Enemy list is changed to:
-Humans
-Elves
-Trolls
-Goblins
-Elementals
-Outsiders
-Undead
-Korrigans
-Animals
In the case of half-races, the higher Favoured Enemy bonus applies, but not both.

ROGUE: The term "Rogue" applies to all those that seek the shadow where others seek the light. They keep quiet and wait for an opportunity, where others might rush and hope for the best. Morals become quite blurry when they are involved, as stealing and picking pockets can become a force for good. One must always remember that not all that lies waiting in the dark is to be feared... but keep an eye on your purse nonetheless. Unchanged.

SORCERER: The Sorcerer is blessed at birth, by a god, with magical abilities. Whether they'd wanted them or not, they have them, so they have to make do. Their knowledge of magic is innate, and contrary to many, they just "get" how it works. Sorcerers have no familiar.
See Bard for spellcasting information.
The Sorceror has 1 Spell Known more than in the Core rules: in the Spell Known table, add 1 to each value.

WANDERER: The Wanderer is a wild, travelling person. They are the warriors of the wilderness, learning to live with nor restrictions, and little to no help from none other than nature itself. Take the Barbarian: lose Rage and all related skills, which are replaced by spellcasting: they use the Ranger spell-list, and the Bard spontaneous spell-per-day progression (with -1 to each value) and spells-known number. However, they use Wisdom for casting.
Wanderers don't need to worship nature: they just need to respect her. No, really, harm that flower and joo die, fool.

WIZARD: Where the Sorcerer is revered as a blessed person, the Wizard is feared and reviled. They draw magic from divine spirits, using rituals. However these spirits were created for this purpose, and so Wizards are just as respectful of the Gods as any other magic-user. Wizards have to choose a God, not necessarily to worship, but of whose spirits they draw their magical abilities.
They must have their Familiar summoned to perform magic.
(A Wizard who has lost their Familiar can still prepare one spell per spell-level, if they have access to level in question.)
Obtaining a Familiar requires a simple ritual that takes about an hour, requiring a small animal through which the spirit can act. When a Familiar dies, it simply is unsummoned, its host left dead, and a new ritual is needed to bring it back or acquire another.
These spirits are designed for this purpose, and so serve the Wizard willingly. See Core rules for stats of the Familiars' hosts.

If anyone has any good ideas for Races, or even some Classes, be they in the 3.5e rules somewhere or not, I'd like to hear 'em.

Edit: Korrigan added. They have no nation, and are wise goblin-like creatures, preferring to indirectly influence other creatures' nations rather than construct their own political system.

Prestige Classes. I'm looking for input on these, and more OF them! (of course) Particularly campaign-themed ones, as they can be twisted to this gameworld.
WIP

Ancestral Warrior Bearer of Ancestral Weapon
Arcane Archer: Arcane Knight: Arcane Trickster: Archmage: Assassin: Defender: Dwarven Defender
Duellist: Elemental Infiltrator: Impediment: Loremaster: Metahand: Mystic Theurge: Polearm Adept Spear Adept
Shadowdancer:

So we have the base classes, almost as they are (with a few backstory changes), and some new ones:

- Battlemage, a Sorceror/Fighter mix. Probably overpowered.
- Crusader, a Paladin/Fighter mix. All the smiting ^^
- Wanderer, a Barbarian/Ranger, without that annoying Rage.

It seems to me that rangers would not take kindly to wanderers.... very similar abilities, but without the restrictions? perhaps in game rangers in general treat wanderers in general with disdain, contempt, or even full out aggression and anger? call them blasphemers, or more appropriately, usurpers of nature's gifts? just an idea


*fades out*

Interesting thought, but in the Core game, what about Rangers as seen by Druids? Paladins by Clerics? Bards by just about everyone?

I don't really see any particular restrictions on the Ranger, myself... but I could be blind ^^

i believe those things should be in the Core too, but who am I? lol


but seriously, it just makes sense to me... and the druids would feel the same way, i'd imagine, and towards the rangers to a lesser degree... perhaps especially the druids, for rangers share a great many powers with the druids, without that pesky armor/shield restiction... and the wanderers now too... and they need not worship, only be respectful? how does one define respect?

obviously, it would be up to each individual druid/ranger/wanderer, and by no means a broad attitude... it just crossed my mind that it would be there.... but i've been wrong before *grin*

*evaporates*