We continue to drive down deeper into our real-time worldbuilding experiment armed with the comments of our listeners.
One of the best things you can build for your campaign to feel real and immersive is by creating factions. Groups and organizations that have their own motives and goals that are distinct from the players. This creates inciting incidents, backstory fodder, and moving parts that conflict with the characters and create impetus for adventure.
In this episode, Tony, Chris, and Dave finally begin discussing the biggest faction, and the inciting incident for the Boomtown setting, the shadowy conglomerate from the east coast of the world that is the driving force behind gathering the newly discovered ancient magical technology. Make sure to Join the Conversation!
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4:05 We begin with some possible ways this conglomerate might be formed and their motives.
6:45 It’s important to create the floor for the overall campaign setting.
10:00 The concept of the theocracy of the “Divine State” begins to take shape.
12:35 The main fulcrum of your campaign setting. DM Dave posits the struggle between religion and faith.
17:50 The beginning of the idea of the conglomerate as a “Triumvirate”: Religion, Commerce, and Military.
21:24 The need for a break in time in history: The Cataclysm, The Calamity, The Doom of Valyria, etc.
23:50 The internal struggles of the Triumvirate create more adventure hooks.
25:10 Factions that develop because of opposition to the Triumvirate.
35:45 Answering who these other factions are changes the campaign setting: Technological Magic vs Inherent Magic and Power.
40:25 The Triumvirate is human-centric. Boomtowns are plural societies.
46:35 Final Thoughts.
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I notice that in your world the Conglomerate/Divine Kingdom seems to be the only country/nation in the world. There are factions within but no actual competitors. They are the only one with access to the wasteland where the tech/magic is found. Why? Would it be more interesting if there were other countries out there also looking for this stuff? Maybe they are all frantically looking out of fear that someone else might find something REALLY powerful that would upset the balance of power in the world. Just a thought.
This is a very good idea and one that is, undoubtedly, true. The Conglomerate is just the one that we know about now. The largest civilization to arise from whatever happened in the past, so the players would probably start unaware of other factions.