The Nature GM

The Ostlands is the homebrew setting for my newest campaign. This is the first ever setting that I have created collaboratively with my players, sketching out the bones of the world through questions and answers. I am very pleased with the results.

I could have spent hours, even days, building a new campaign setting with competing factions, in-depth lore, and a dozen varieties of obscure magical fish which overachieving characters might discover one of (for example).

I could have created maps, prepared a lengthy handout, and made my players’ eyes glaze over from information overload.

I certainly have before.

But no, after playing in a setting that is extremely detailed and my players and I both forget who is allied with whom and why are we here again, I wanted to try something simpler. Something that the players understood better because it was theirs, too, as well as mine.

This is what they came up with and how we got there.

Creating The Ostlands

To begin with, I had three setting concepts for the players to choose from. One was an analog to the Spice Road and was set in a time of peace and prosperity, one was a post-apocalyptic setting where venturing beyond city walls was entering into very real danger, and one, which of course they chose, was a long shore with many islands where one might face pirates and many different peoples.

I asked them how common they wanted magic to be. Half of the players have never played before, so they did not have a strong frame of reference for making a decision. I think I persuaded them that having more limited magic can make the game challenging in a more exciting way. We will find out whether or not this ends up being true.

Having established the basic setting and the prevalence of magic, I asked them the following questions:

• Who rules the land?
• What was the last calamity?
• What is the greatest threat?
• How is religion structured?
• How is magic structured?
• Whom do you serve?
• What ancestries live in the realm?

That was it. And yet it is plenty for us to gain a fairly clear shared understanding of what this place is and how it functions.

It also led to the tower of magic being named after someone’s cat. As it should be.

The Ostlands: Realm of a Thousand Shores

Setting Overview

The Ostlands are a coastal territory that spans a long shore from NW to SE, cut off from the rest of the continent by impassible mountains. Here there are many pirates and wandering charlatans working for their personal gain. It is a frontier land where great risks can yield great rewards.

Magic is uncommon in the Ostlands: you will spend many quests searching for artifacts rather than gold. You cannot normally purchase any magic items or potions, but you can create scrolls of spells you know. In keeping with a low magic setting, the maximum character level will be 5.

Ostlandians

Half-elves are the most common people in this realm, followed closely by humans and dwarves. Elves, gnomes, and tabaxi are relatively uncommon. These are the playable ancestries.

It is said that even more exotic peoples live in remote areas in the mountains or on isolated islands. Perhaps you will meet some of them.

Society & Recent Events

Government

Each territory in the Ostlands is ruled by a jarl who loosely unites the different clans. Many clans have histories of warring for land and wealth, and trade flows between territories under an uneasy truce.

Tension between the clans has worsened since the freak destruction of the trading town Beorvic, which vanished overnight. Some claim it was destroyed by a landslide sent by an angry god. Others suggest that something even more calamitous occurred.

Religion

Most civilized peoples practice Aegir, which teaches that existence, like the sea, is a harmony of life and death. The sea is that from which all life is born and that to which we all return for our final rest.

Some secretly participate in the cult-like worship of Ghede, who grants power over death. Recent sightings of zombies rising from the waves have led to an increase in the fear and worship of Ghede.

Magic

All magical knowledge is protected in the well-guarded Tower of Maru. Few serious mages and practically no reliable information can be found outside its walls.

Your Party

You are mercenaries who have been hired by the head wizard Laymorda of the Tower of Maru. You are tasked with uncovering the cause behind all the zombie sailors, and, if possible, putting a stop to it. You will have (limited) access to the resources of the Tower of Maru for identifying found items, etc.

Closing Thoughts

As stated, I am happy with the setting that we came up with together, and I am optimistic that the players are invested already in the world.

I am interested to hear if anyone else has built a setting with their players, and how it went. Or conversely, if you have made a very detailed setting that no one could quite remember the details of.

We ended up with both Nordic and Voodoo elements in The Ostlands. I will be reading about both to gain inspiration for new monsters and villains. You will likely see some of them.

Until then, keep exploring.

(Post cover Image by Yakup Ipek.)