EDEN3
EDEN3
A Savage Worlds Setting Sketch
Yesterday on Google+,
I wished that somebody else would write a Super Powers
Companion-compatible science-fantasy sword and sorcery setting in the vein
of Blackstar, He-Man and the
Masters of the Universe, Crystar the Crystal
Warrior, etc. Response was enthusiastic and – of course – my stupid brain
immediately began churning out ideas.
Anyway, here’s some notes toward an SFS&S setting…
EDEN3
World
of Wonders
 |
| A wondrous world |
Worlds have risen and worlds have died
many times since the Cosmos was born. Now – one the far reaches of the Cosmos –
a new world is in its birth pangs. Eden3 has been
seeded by far-traveled, long-lost civilizations and now its barbarous
inhabitants struggle to master the strange wonders their forebears left behind.
 |
| ARC-Angels |
Though the orbiting supercomputer DeusMAX and its cadre of ARC-Angels were set in place to defend Eden3 from extraplanetary interference, a serpent has still come to this wondrous garden…
Probes from the Blight, a malevolent techno-organic empire, have breached DeusMAX’s defenses above the eastern continent of Sylvania, where they convert land and people into drones…
Probes from the Blight, a malevolent techno-organic empire, have breached DeusMAX’s defenses above the eastern continent of Sylvania, where they convert land and people into drones…
 |
| Blighted lands |
Emissaries from the Blight – representing
themselves as humanoid ambassadors of a foreign power, rather than the soulless
constructs of an evil machine – have sown discord in the other lands of Eden3.
 |
| Siliconoids |
They have sown the seeds of civil war amongst the
Siliconoids of the Ringing Mountains…
 |
| Thunder-Tamers |
And amidst the Thunder-Tamers of the southern
continent of Primordia...
 |
| Feralia |
 |
| Millennia |
DeusMAX has responded by alerting the world’s
natives through signs and portents, sending ARC-Angels as its messengers, and
awakening heroes.
The fate of Eden3 is in the balance. Will you
champion Good or Evil?
Design Notes
No Ersatz Good Guys
A pet peeve I have with a lot of
settings inspired by unlicensed properties is that they stick in NPCs that take
all the good parts. In every damned superhero setting, there’s always some NPC
who’s already Superman, who’s already Batman, who’s already Wonder Woman.
Cartoon Action Hour has its own pseudo-Masters
of the Universe setting, but then ruins it by inserting its own version of
He-Man. Screw that. The players of the campaign
should get to take those roles (if they want them). It might be helpful to
include some character builds as examples, but they’ll be really, really
generic examples like “World’s Strongest Man” or “Felinoid Noble.”
Bad guys,
on the other hand, are fair game. I’m already thinking “Nekronomikus” for the
Skeletor knock-off.
Race Build Packages
I figure a good way to help save
time on building characters would be to put together some “races” as packages
of powers. I can’t remember how many points Four-Color Heroes get, but I’d say
take about a third of those to go to standardized races – Siliconoids,
Felinoids, Weaponeers, etc. – and then the rest can be customized for
individual characters. This might mean breaking some of the power-buying rules,
but who really cares? I don’t.
(“Weaponeers”
is my half-formed thought as to how to characterize She-Ra, He-Man, Blackstar, Thundarr,
and most of their human friends. Most of them seem to have some kind of gimmick
related to a weapon or piece of armor – like all of the above’s swords or Fisto’s
big honkin’ glove – hence “Weaponeers.”)
Savage, Not Silly
As much as Eden3 may be inspired by a bunch of goofy
toys, this wouldn’t be a saccharine-sweet setting. In this world, the heroes
get to actually hit people with their magical swords and mighty fists. There
would be peril and death and competent villains. You could – I suppose – run it
as a kid-friendly setting, but that’s not how I would run it.
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